Commercially, South African Sauvignon Blanc began with a couple of vine-cuttings from a block in Stellenbosch, out by the Nietvoorbij Institute. Research centre, like. Early 1970s.

Danie de Wet, better-known for Chardonnay, was visiting his old chum. This be the Hungarian count Desiderius Pongrácz who had hot-footed it from the homeland on account of some trouble with the Russians, setting himself up quite nicely as one of the Cape’s main viticulture honchos.

De Wet was looking to add lustre and classic wine of the premium kind to the Cape, which back then was basically a gigantic wine factory making all kinds of innocuous stuff from, predominantly, Chenin Blanc, Palomino and Cinsaut. And he wanted white wine, the likes of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc that, back then, had not yet been bottled in South Africa.

Pongrácz handed De Wet some contraband cuttings from Nietvoorbij’s experimental, research vineyards, the plant-stuff comprising Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Back on De Wetshof in Robertson, the Chardonnay didn’t cut it, material being fraught with mediocrity. But the purloined Sauvignon Blanc, another story. Like wow. Great vines, good vino.

And the source of that material became known as the weerstasie (weather station) clone, seeing as the Nietvoorbij experimental Sauvignon Blanc vineyard happened to be situated next to a weather station. For monitoring those somewhat important climatic conditions wine farmers might find interesting.

De Wetshof Sauvignon Blanc hit it in 1980, three years after the first Cape Sauvignon Blanc was made in 1977 at Verdun farm, today known as Asara outside Stellenbosch.

But man, did Sauvignon Blanc South Africa take-off after De Wet began propagating and forwarding this weerstasie clone. In 1981, some 409ha of the stuff was planted at the Cape. By 1985, over 2 200ha had found its way to various parcels of local wineland turf, 1 800ha of planting done in four years being quite frenetic and keen in any one’s lingo. For, Sauvignon Blanc was coming a thing down south, although back then the folks could hardly have predicted it becoming the country’s best-sold white variety, a situation it’s been in for quite a while now.

Circle back to 1985. I was donning a George Michael earring and tossing projectiles at apartheid police, while my mate Francois Botha was planting a vineyard. Out on his family spread named Wangenheim in the Breedekloof. It was a Sauvignon Blanc vineyard, the original weerstasie clone. Planting this for Du Toitskloof Wines, the winery his old man Hennie had helped establish in 1962. The Bothas, they thought big and they thought ahead. Check out today where Du Toitskloof is major Tom on the South African Sauvignon Blanc scene.

So, the scene today has changed. Lotsa different Sauvignon Blanc clones around, what with winemakers getting all the wiser, travelling the world and stuff. But the original weerstasie clone…man does it still cut it. As affirmed ‘positive’ by the Old Vine Sauvignon Blanc from said Du Toitskloof, made from – better believe it – the very 2.8ha block Francois had planted in 1985, and what the guy still be farming today. Like a rock.

The old weerstasie block is rooted to those sandy loam soils, alluvial to the max, with a gritty spread of river stones and broken rock. Irrigation only been done for the past 10 years, as the old lady needs moisturising-up, at veraison and just before harvest.

Gotta hand it to the folk at Du Toitskloof for getting a wine specifically made from this single vineyard. Shows the legacy, the story of Cape Sauvignon Blanc through the weerstasie clone. Shows that a frigid maritime climate not be needed to make primo Sauvignon Blanc wine in South Africa. Shows that, like the land’s Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc and Sémillon offerings, Sauvignon Blanc is right up there in the stratospheric spectrum of ultimate quality.

Harvest comes, the grapes are handled reductive, full-on, with dry-ice. In the winery, 24 hours’ skin-contact allows the juice to draw, deeply, taste and feel and that invigorating, expressive Sauvignon Blanc heart. Fermented in barrel and aged in wood on lees for 100 days.

I drank the first bottle with such keen wonder, I’ve just opened the second to try to tell a story about how the experience is nailed. Kind of not necessary, as it is the sort of wine deserves speaking for itself.

But what I’m gathering, is that the Sauvignon Blanc green, cut-grass pyrazine attributes have been overpowered. As be the case with those tropical, beach-thong clad thiols.

It’s texture first, coaxing and caressing with a presence longer than an eulogy by a bunch of pot-smoking hippies at a Kris Kristofferson memorial. This is a Sauvignon Blanc that wants you to love it, and has you not wanting to let go.

Plenty of honey-suckle here, with a scoop of Key Lime pie, though any tendency to the overtly sweet is washed off by a gush of mountain stream and cracked rock. A slight, coy nuttiness has found its way into the wine, somehow, as has a slice of cool golden melon. Sun-dried, pear as well. A touch of salt-lick blends into all this, making things sort-of umami, only that term dit not exist when the weerstasie clone was born and began spreading the gospel of Cape Sauvignon Blanc to legions of those thinking that white wine deserves a special place on earth.

Well, this legacy number from Du Toitskloof hits that spot. Weathering no storm, sailing ahead into territory charted and true, where amazement and awe await, yet expectations exceeded. Now that’s a wonderful world.