The South African wine industry is gearing up for this year’s 29th Nederburg Auction, its most prestigious event of the year.
According to Auction Manager Bennie Howard, the 2003 Auction — set to take place on April 11 and 12 at the Nederburg winery in Paarl — will feature a record number of items to be auctioned at 175, with 14 new producers also participating, bringing the total number of wineries represented to 96.
Howard said on Monday that some 9 603 cases comprising 116 red wines, 40 white wines, five sparkling wines and 14 fortified wines, will go under the hammer of veteran auctioneer, Patrick Grubb.
Those producers making their debut are Bergsig, Cape Chamonix Wine Farm, Cape Point Vineyards, Grangehurst Winery, Hazendal, Iona, Koelenhof Wine Cellar, Laibach Vineyards, MC Square, Mooiplaas, Southern Right, Steenberg, SylvanVale Vineyards and Upland Estate.
Leading the red wines are 35 red blends, followed by 29 Cabernet Sauvignon, 22 Pinotage, 17 Shiraz/Syrah, eight Merlot, four Pinot Noir and one Cabernet Franc. One notable trend this year is the surge in the number of Shiraz/Syrah entries, Howard noted.
The Pinotage wines include the 1998 Absa Top Ten Winners, participating in the auction for the second year running, as well as the 1966 and 1968 vintages of Lanzerac Pinotage that traditionally open and close the bidding. Last year the Lanzerac 1966 vintage netted the highest price for red wines at R12 000 per case (of 6 x 750 ml).
Among the eight Merlots is the first from Nederburg — the 1998 Nederburg Private Bin Auction Merlot R181. Also making its debut is the 1998 Hazendal Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon red blend that won winemaker Ronel Wiid the Diners Club Winemaker of the Year award in 1999.
Meanwhile, the white wine category is made up of 14 Chardonnay, eight Chenin Blanc, five Sauvignon Blanc, one Semillon, a Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc blend, 10 Noble Late Harvest and one Special Late Harvest.
The Chardonnays include the award-winning Vergelegen Chardonnay Reserve 1999, which took the highest price in its category at the 2002 auction (R2 700 per case), and another contender Cape Chamonix making its debut with its flagship wine — Chamonix Chardonnay Reserve 1997.
There are six wines in the pre-release category — the Newton Johnson Sandstone Sauvignon Blanc 2002, Fort Simon Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc 2002, Havana Hills Bizweni Merlot 2000 and three wines from Nederburg.
Nederburg’s pre-releases include the Nederburg Auction Reserve Chenin Blanc 2002, its first Noble Late Harvest Sparkling Wine 2001 and probably the world’s first blend of three Italian cultivars – the Nederburg Private Bin Auction Sangiovese/Barbera/Nebbiolo 2001.
The limited edition Nederburg Noble Late Harvest Sparkling Wine 2001, also a world first, has been dubbed the ‘double bubble’, because it serves as both a dessert and sparkling wine.
The new Nederburg Italian blend impressed last year’s auction guest speaker, the legendary Italian winemaker Marchesi Piero Antinori, who described it as “a very unusual blend and also for this reason very intriguing.”
Strengthening the fortified wine category are nine ports and five Muscadel/Jerepigo wines from the usual auction stalwarts, Boplaas, Die Krans, Du Toitskloof, Landskroon, Monis, Nuy, Rooiberg, Simonsvlei, Vergenoegd, Weltevrede and Wellington Wine Cellars, as well as one from a newcomer ‒ the award-winning Bergsig Cape Late Bottled Vintage 1997.
The Monis Port Stamp Collection 1948 vintage, which took the highest price in its category (R2 700 per case) last year, is again on auction this year. Included among the sparkling wine participants is Pongrácz, which took the highest price for its MCC last year when its 1990 vintage sold for R680 rand per case (1 x 3 litre). This year its 1992 vintage is on sale.
“I am very excited to see such a brilliant variety of top South African wines on auction this year, as it offers the auction a marvelous opportunity to showcase our rare and mature wines to the local and international markets,” said Howard.
There has been a steady increase in the prices obtained on the auction since inception. Last year the average price per case was R862,66 (or R1 153,93 rand per nine-litre case) compared with R19,12 in 1975. Total auction sales last year topped R7,3-million. – I-Net Bridge