Tony Jackman
It’s difficult to put a price to the finest wines and a jolly good time but some of the best went for a knock-down price at this year’s Nederberg charity auction
If you’ve ever observed the rich at a charity auction you will know that the thought uppermost in most minds is to grab a bargain at a price that will impress the riff-raff. I remember donating a signi- ficant newspaper edition, framed, to a charity auction. It fetched R100. It had cost me R200 just to frame it. Still, it’s the thought that counts.
Being rich means being able to attend the annual Nederburg Auction in Paarl and actually bid when the charity auction comes around. One, two, three … eight, nine … 56, 57 … it sounds pretty mundane until you understand that the bidding is going up in thousands.
So here’s lot number nine. The Malan family of Simonsig, the farm that gave us the first pinotage and the first local sparkling wine made in the methode Champenoise style, has donated a gourmet dinner for six starting with Cuve Royale and oysters and going on to a lavish dinner prepared by a top Cape chef. Accompanying this will be Simonsig wine spanning 30 years.
Auctioneer Patrick Grubb has barely begun when bidding stops at R5000. The lot took only seconds to auction and a quick calculation puts this at R833 a head. Sure, that’s more than you’d pay down at the Spur, but you’re not going to the Spur, China. You’re heading for a magnificent wine estate for a gourmet dinner with wines older than the models at the fashion show that follows. You should be paying two grand a head, given that pesky charity element.
Lot number one is more impressive. Legendary chef Billy Gallagher has donated a dinner for 10 and an autographed copy of Auguste Escoffier’s classic Guide to Modern Cookery, published in 1907 and regarded as the food bible. There are only 100 of the books in the world signed by the great man, and Gallagher will prepare dishes from the book for you and your nine closest friends.
But wait, there’s more: you also get “the finest classic Nederburg wines” to accompany your feast. And the dinner will be hosted in the penthouse suite of a grand hotel. What did it go for? Bidding began at R3000, an indication of the worth attached to the prize, and lo I say unto you that the bidding did continue until a grand total of R15000 was reached. But the book alone ought to have fetched R5000.
Lot 12 would have brought a tear to many an ageing student’s eye a dinner for six to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Chateau Libertas included four decades of wines. In the company of legendary winemaker Duimpie Bayly (a natural comedian) and other winemakers. Followed by a dinner at an award-winning steakhouse. And each of you leaves with your own magnum of 1980 Chateau Libertas.
Bidding begins at R2000 and quickly rises to R12000. And ends there. So all of that goes for R2000 a head. “All done at R12000?” asks Patrick Grubb, looking, I thought, quite sad. Surely the magnums alone are worth a grand apiece? And what about the sense of occasion how do you measure that in dosh?
Fancy a helicopter ride from the V&A Waterfront to Delheim farm in Stellenbosch for a picnic lunch with the Sperling family (owners of Delheim) to celebrate 50 years in South Africa? You could have picked this up for a mere R8000 for four of you. That happens to be what Cape helicopter companies charge just for the flip, so quite what will be going to charity is a mystery. Presumably the Sperlings will have to dig deep.
A wine lover has donated a 30-year-old bottle of Chateau Haut-Brion, the most famous of all the Bordeaux properties. It goes hold your breath for the starting bid of R500. At today’s rand-euro rate that equates to 50 euros. The guy must be kicking himself.
Lot number 11 is two cases of Overgaauw wine. But wait. They’re not just grabbing the nearest bottles. This is a selection of 20 Overgaauw cabernet sauvignons starting with the 1972 vintage and ending with the 1991. They’re packed in special wooden cases and carry the cellarmaster’s signature. It goes for R11000, or R550 a bottle.
Perhaps the most impressive lot of the day is the selection of 10 bottles of the first Nederburg cabernet sauvignon of the millennium ranging in size from 250ml to 27 litres. This amounts to 91,5 litres of wine. It goes for R65000. Impressive? Well, let’s see. That comes to R710 a litre. But wait, there’s more. You also get a trip for two on the Blue Train between Cape Town and Johannesburg, accompanied by Nederburg cellarmaster Razvan Macici, with connecting air tickets. And Macici will lavish you with more Nederburg wines during your two gourmet meals on board. Still impressed?
Consider this: at the auction proper last Saturday, six bottles of Lanzerac Pinotage 1966 went for R2000 a bottle. Nederburg Auction Cabernet Sauvignon 1972 went for R700 a bottle. Kanonkop Paul Sauer 1993 and Stellenzicht Syrah 1994 both went for R483 a bottle.
Maybe they should have knocked these down for charity too. They might have fetched far less.