Groovy Hermanus hedonist and winemaker Bartho Eksteen took a leaf out of Lou "Mambo #5" Bega's songbook when he christened his oaked sauvignon blanc Hermanuspietersfontein No. 5, a wine that saw him crowned Diners Club Winemaker of the Year at the end of November.

As he told his fans via newsletter: "I'm so happy, my smile would go right around my head if my ears weren't in the way."

At this year's Diners Club Winemaker of the Year competition, with sauvignon blanc as category, six different styles presented themselves to the judges. Any one could have been declared a worthy winner. But once the labels were revealed, it was clear that various geographic boxes had been ticked and both vintages visited, with three of the sauvignon six from the comet 2009 vintage and three from vibrant 2010. Here are my notes on the contenders:

1. KWV The Mentors 2009

The Bottelary Hills in Stellenbosch is Ground Zero for quality chenin blanc from producers such as Mooiplaas and Stellenrust. Aussie cellar-master Richard Rowe swears by the terroir for aromatic sauvignon too, capturing tropical flavours of pineapple and fig with intense fruit sweetness and a grassy green component, which is the calling card of the cultivar.

2. Steenberg 2010

Constantia is where it all started for wine as a whole (three and a half centuries ago) and sauvignon blanc in particular, when the late Ross Gower made a remarkable example from young vines at Klein Constantia in 1986. This was about the time Steenberg were planting their famous single vineyard, which produced this granadilla, lemon and lime marvel with a citrus zing, some pawpaw and a flinty minerality. Winemaker JD Pretorius reports that the vines are now taking strain, suffering from dead arm, dropsy and Alzheimer's, but the fruit is still fine, albeit at accountants' despair levels of 2 tons/ha.

3. Meinert La Barry 2010

How romantic to make a wine for your wife and even drive from Devon Valley to Elgin to get the grapes. This is what Martin Meinert did for his wife, Leigh Ann Barry, and the result is a tropical mélange with lemon grass, zippy acidity and overarching Elgin elegance.

4. Hermanuspietersfontein No. 5 2009

Exotic oak on the nose from an equal mix of first, second and third fill barrels and rich fruit with a 15% sémillon component, this is a winemakers' wine. The grapes hail from the Sondagskloof between Stanford and Napier in the southern Cape and the hallmark is tension and complexity: layers of flavour woven into a seamless whole by a master winemaker.

5. Allée Bleue 2010

Van Zyl du Toit coaxes tropical opulence using a technique of "lees rubbing" he learnt from sauvignon sage Charles Hopkins of De Grendel fame. The grapes are from Walker Bay and retain that salty, zingy freshness of their natal appellation.

6. Groote Post 2009

Dusty green peppers and asparagus on the nose and palate confirm this is no terroir-by-truck job, but rather a robust expression of grapes grown on the Darling farm where Hildagonda J Duckitt baked tortoises two centuries ago. Winemaker Lukas Wentzel has got the measure of this grassy green style and produced a benchmark of a popular style.

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