Cellar notes #25: A taste of South Africa

2003 Vergelegen Sauvignon Blanc, £7.49, Sainsbury's, Waitrose A dash of semillon rounds out the lemongrass fruitiness in this restrained, minerally sauvignon with a gooseberry ripeness and elegance.

2003 Vergelegen Sauvignon Blanc, £7.49, Sainsbury's, Waitrose A dash of semillon rounds out the lemongrass fruitiness in this restrained, minerally sauvignon with a gooseberry ripeness and elegance.

2003 Springfield Special Cuvée Sauvignon Blanc, Robertson, £7.49, Sainsbury's, £7.99, Waitrose South Africa's best value sauvignon? It's a spritz-fresh dry white with intense tropical grapefruity flavours.

2003 The Berrio Sauvignon Blanc, Elim, £9.99, Oddbins Made by Flagstone from grapes grown by Francis Pratt in Elim, this is a delicately herbaceous, almost Sancerre-like dry white, but for an opulent, tropical fruit richness and refreshingly zesty acidity.

2003 Spier Private Collection Sauvignon Blanc, Stellenbosch, £9.98, Asda From the cool areas of Durbanville and Helderberg, this blend combines capsicum aromas with rich gooseberry fruitiness spliced by crisp acidity.

2003 Steenberg Sauvignon Reserve, £12.50, Swig, London W4 (0800 0272 272; imbibe@swig.co.uk) One of a tiny handful of whites to be awarded five stars in the 2004 John Platter South African Wine Guide, this is a powerfully aromatic dry white with rich, nettley aromas and intensely flavoured gooseberry and tropical fruit, midway between supercharged Sancerre and New Zealand.

2003 Iona Sauvignon Blanc, £12, Villeneuve Wines, Scotland (01721 722500) Making the most of Elgin's cool climate, Andrew Gunn's dry white, with its green-bean and asparagus nose, reminiscent of New Zealand, is a refreshingly fruity, bone-dry sauvignon with an elegance and finesse. Iona is a name to watch.