Blanc looks

South Africa believes that Sauvignon Blanc has a bright future. It's not quite up there with Chardonnay plantings yet, and it's still a long way from Chenin, which still rules the roost, but Sauvignon Blanc South Africa-style is in the ascendant.

There are good examples in a number of different styles popping up all over the Cape - from Durbanville to Elgin, from Constantia even to Robertson. Generally, though, there are two main styles - the blowsy, New Zealand-gooseberry look, and the more subtle, herbaceous, Sancerre style. Of course, the idea is that it should also have a South African identity - but would tasters be able to single that out? And what makes them typically South African, anyway? Most importantly, how does South African Sauvignon Blanc fare against its fˆted New Zealand and French rivals?

The panel We gathered at Kensington Place, a landmark restaurant in London's Notting Hill, on a particularly hot and humid day. Much to everybody's relief, crisp air-conditioning equalled the crispness of the wines. Chef and co-proprietor Rowley Leigh shifts a fair amount of Sauvignon, although, at present, it's New Zealand that pulls them in - especially when paired with Leigh's squid with chilli jam ("They love it," he says). So what would he, and his sommelier Alessandro Marchesan, make of the South African line-up?

Joining Leigh was Dawn Davies, head sommelier of Knightsbridge newcomer Zuma; Gearoìd Devaney, fresh from three-Michelin-starred Paris restaurant Pierre Gagnaire, where he was assistant sommelier, and now head sommelier of London's L'Oranger; restaurant guide critic and editor Mario Wyn Jones; and the token South African, wine consultant Kate Thal. Caterer‘s wine correspondent, Fiona Sims, totted up the marks.

The wines
Suppliers were asked to submit current stocks of South African Sauvignon Blanc - we got 25 in all, mostly from the 2001 vintage, with two newly landed from earlier in 2002. The wines came from a variety of regions in South Africa, from Durbanville to Paarl, Stellenbosch to Walker Bay. All the wines were tasted blind.

The verdict South Africa should feel pretty pleased with itself. The marking was consistent throughout, and so were the scores - with only a handful of bum notes. There was plenty to recommend, and six to get excited about, with one outright winner that stopped all tasters in their tracks.

But there were two notable omissions - Buitenwerwachting and Mulderbosch get serious respect for their Sauvignon Blanc, but sadly, on this occasion, they decided not to show. Never mind, it meant that Neil Ellis could steal the show.

That said, most tasters felt that there could have been more fireworks. In fact, though marks were generally up, comments were surprisingly downbeat.

"There was nothing there that really blew me away," said Devaney, with Marchesan nodding in agreement. "OK, so Sauvignon Blanc is not exactly my favourite grape variety, but I was expecting more of a South African typicity on the nose, or at least a more complex mineral character. I was expecting more of that prickly nettle and gooseberry compote thing - though some did get close."

Fellow sommelier Davies agreed. "There was nothing really spectacular," she said, "and not much that was significantly different. And, generally, these were too grassy for me, though they were well made. They are the right style for Zuma - light, fresh and clean, with lots of citrussy fruit - so they could stand up to the food, but the likes of Isabel and Palliser [from New Zealand] appeal to me more."

Leigh said: "I found most of them surprisingly restrained, and too many finished on a sour note. I didn't find any of the extravagances of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, which I personally find more exciting. And then, of course, you've got to remember that there's also a lot of good Sauvignon Blanc in France."

Wyn Jones found the asparagus notes a little dominating in some, and the vegetal flavours "a bit off-putting". "Pleasant without being I-must-have-that is how I'd sum the tasting up," he concluded.

Thal was, surprisingly, the tasting's harshest critic. "Most of them were not very good," she said. "There were lots there that were thin, mean and acidic - I guess they are showing the effects of diseased plant stock. I only found six that I really liked - but they could hold their heads up with the best of them."

The results

Prices are for a case of 12 DPD excluding VAT.

Ratings are as follows:

* Best quality
Very good
* Recommended

*
2001 Neil Ellis Groenekloof £68.28, Raisin Social
020 8686 8500

2001 Simonsig £64, Chaliè Richards
01403 250500

2001 Kumkani £26.75 (for six), Waverley Wines & Spirits
08705 673377

2001 Klein Constantia £42.54 (for six), Lay & Wheeler
01206 764446

2001 Springfield Estate "Life from Stone" £36.50 (for six), Bibendum Wine
020 7722 5577

2001 Welmoed Reserve £22.95 (for six), Myliko Wines
01204 392222

**
2001 Mooiplaas £53, Vinceros UK
01209 314711

*
2001 Land's End Elim Vineyards £62.88, Raisin Social

*
2001 Plaisir de Merle £79.20, Heyman Barwell Jones
020 7922 1610

*
2001 Blue Rock (Charles Back) £51, Great Western Wine
01225 322800

*
2001 Dieu Donne £39.87, Patriarche Wine Agencies
020 7381 4016

*
2002 Bouchard Finlayson £78, Seckford Wines
01394 446622

*
2001 Broken Stone £57.48, Wrightson
01325 374134

*
2001 Goote Post £57.25, Louis Latour
020 7409 7276

*
2001 Avontuur £66.48, Anthony Byrne Fine Wines
01487 814555

*
2001 Jordan £79, SA Wine Imports
01780 755810

*
2001 Morgenhof £64.46, McKinley Vintners
01279 626801

*
2001 Eersterrivier £47.38, Walter Siegel
01256 701101

We also tasted: 2001 Durbanville Hills
2001 Southern Right
2001 Nitida
2001 Altydgedacht
2001 Havanna Hills
2002 Capell's Court
2001 Kleine Zalze