OF THE SOUTH African wines auctioned by Strauss & Co on 25 July 2021, Cordoba Crescendo 2003 attracted most interest from the online bidders. Although, selling for R2150 a bottle (R12 898 for 6×750ml bottles), it fetched less than what many might have expected of such a ‘cult’ label, a Cab Franc-driven blend from the Helderberg in Stellenbosch – this vintage
Read moreCAN YOU BELIEVE IT! Just after a case of Alheit’s 2017 Radio Lazarus sold for R34 140, i.e. R5690pb, a single bottle of the 2018 vintage sold for R25 036, followed by a bottle of the 2012 for R6449… Whether or not whoever paid over R25K thought he or she was buying one or six bottles of this wine
Read moreAT THE 2021 Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Auction hosted by Bonhams in London, fetching the highest prices on the day were Abrie Beeslaar and the Kanonkop Estate in Stellenbosch, and David Nieuwoudt of the Cederberg Private Cellar. The 2018 vintage of Kanonkop CWG Paul Sauer (Cab-led red blend) attracted bids of up to R2500 per 750ml bottle and R2125 pb
Read moreAT STRAUSS & Co’s 27 September 2021 fine wine auction of 10-year-olds, the Sadie Family of the Swartland, Klein Constantia as well as the Stellenbosch cellars of Kanonkop, Vilafonté and Glenelly stood out as those fetching more than R2000 a bottle. Bidding for the red blend Keet First Verse and the Reserve Cab from Le Riche stopped just short of
Read moreAMAZING! They’d never get away with it in the modern era: different bottles, different-looking labels, but same wine, same vintage. Things were so different back then. Apparently not all Grand Constance / Groot Constantia wine of the 1800s was bottled at source. It was not uncommon for this sweet nectar to be shipped from the Cape to England and Europe
Read moreRECORDS APLENTY! There were five bottles up for grabs at the Strauss & Co Fine Wine Auction held in Johannesburg on 14 September 2021. All South African wines, ranging from a 34-year-old dessert to one from a barrel first filled in 1800 – some buyers in the room, some bidding online and others phoning through. Never before had anybody paid
Read morePORSELEINBERG was South Africa’s star of the show at Strauss & Co’s August 2021 fine wine auction. The Rhône-themed line-up included the flagships of numerous top producers in the Cape winelands and France, with the local favourites including De Trafford of Stellenbosch, Mullineux and Porseleinberg of Riebeek-Kasteel as well as The Sadie Family of the Paardeberg outside Malmesbury. The top
Read moreANOTHER Strauss & Co Fine Wine (and Spirit) Auction done and dusted, another look at the sensational sweet wines of the world, cause to reflect once again on South Africa’s biggest names when it comes to Natural Sweet, Noble Late Harvest, Straw Wine and fortifieds. The thing is, while there are quite a number Classified as top Cape dessert wines
Read moreIT TOOK OVER six weeks following the CFRWA in Stellenbosch on 22 May 2021 for the final final results of the bidding to be released, addressing the confusion surrounding an earlier set of unaudited figures and a period during which some producers whose bottles and cases came under the hammer were not sure what their wines had sold for. See
Read moreWHEN DISTELL submitted a little bottle of 200-year-old Grand Constance dessert wine for sale on the 2021 Cape Fine & Rare Wine Auction it was estimated to fetch R80 000 to R130 000. After all, once destined for delivery to Napoleon and until recently secured in the Stellenbosch company’s ‘Tabernacle’, the Constantia museum piece has one hellava backstory. That it
Read moreUPS AND DOWNS were the order of the day at Strauss & Co’s mid-year fine wine online auction on 7 June 2021. Some of the wines highlighted by the Wine Cellar merchants and the auctioneers prior to the sale with a Stellenbosch theme didn’t attract quite the level of interest that was anticipated. The case of Laurence Graff Reserve 2011
Read moreWOULDN’T it be something to see the luxury brands De Toren and 4G Wines slug it out in a head-to-head on auction, to test how seriously mature Meerlust Rubicon fares under the gavel against Kanonkop Paul Sauer of a similar age, or to get bidders to show which way they’re leaning these days when it comes to the sweets of
Read moreCONSTANTIA Fresh dinners rather than a bash on the lawn. A Chenin Blanc picnic in Stellenbosch instead of a party on the beach in Cape Town. Then some belated tastings of 2020 Veritas award winners, the first of them to take place in Paarl. But there’s more! A different kind of sparkling wine festival in Franschhoek, food and wine affairs
Read moreSTRAUSS & Co’s 2021 ‘Cape Heritage’ Fine Wine Auction focused on Chenin Blanc and Pinotage. The online sale also listed red and white blends, including a rare old beauty regarded as one of the benchmarks of yesteryear. For some the 1957 Chateau Libertas was the standout, fetching the highest price on the day of R17 588 for a single bottle
Read moreSTRAUSS & CO kicked off their 2021 fine wine auction calendar by way of a ‘Rhône collection’, beginning with top South African producers such as Boschkloof, De Trafford, Hartenberg and Rust en Vrede of Stellenbosch as well as David & Nadia, Mullineux, Porseleinberg and Sadie of the Swartland, followed by famous benchmarks from French producers including Alain Graillot, Michel Chapoutier,
Read moreSOLD FOR OVER R5000 A BOTTLE THE FOLLOWING fine wines of the Cape fetched the highest prices at various auctions over the past 12 months or so – all attracting bids of more than R5000 a bottle. None of these beauties sold for over R1000 on release – the golden oldies originally changed hands for less than R100 – and
Read moreTHE LAST Strauss & Co Fine Wine Online Auction in 2020 comprised a sale of ultra rare Bordeaux, beginning with Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux-style red blends from the Cape and finishing with some of the best from France. Top price paid for a South African beauty was R32 830 for a single bottle of 1966 GS Cabernet – not far
Read moreSTELLENBOSCH and Swartland cellars fetched the highest prices for South African reds and whites offered at the Strauss & Co Fine Wine Auction of 10-year-olds conducted online in October 2020. For details of the SA wines that were most in demand, see below. For the full results of the auction, which also featured a number of top European wines, click
Read moreIN THE WORDS of auctioneers Strauss & Co, reflecting on their September 2020 online sale of beauties produced by South African Young Guns: “Notable highlights from the fine-wine session included the handsome prices achieved by the Riebeek-Kasteel winery Porseleinberg for its Syrah vintages… Other noteworthy results include Alheit’s Magnetic North Mountain Makstok… and Walker Bay winery Crystallum’s Cuvée Cinéma…” However,
Read moreWHAT TO MAKE of Strauss & Co’s July 2020 online auction of fine South African wines?! For the auction catalogue, click here. Full results of the sale here. There were just three producers involved: ‘first growth’ Kanonkop on the slopes of the Simonsberg in Stellenbosch where they make a range of top reds from a range of varieties, Klein Constantia
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