Very few Cape Winemakers Guild members associated with cellars that aren’t among South Afica’s very best

FOR SOME the annual Cape Winemakers Guild Auction is an opportunity to acquire some of what amounts to the best tanks or barrels before they’re combined with others nearly as good for sale in commercial quantities. For others it’s a chance to get one or more of the special cuvées from top cellars, wines made in tiny quantities, sometimes very unique, unusual or experimental even.

Of course, the wines aren’t cheap  this year selling for around R435 per bottle on average overall and R850-plus on average at the high end. But then when you buy at the CWG Auction it’s like choosing in a shop where everything on offer ranges from good to excellent to some of the very best. Most of the cellarmasters involved have impressive track records and this is reflected in the strength of their brands.

In fact more useful than the auction or the identities of the guild members are the names of the cellars where these winemakers are based or the brands that they spend most of their time building. Take Carl Schultz’s Hartenberg Auction Reserve Shiraz 2010 which set a new record for the highest price per six-bottle case of R6200 and fetched an average of R4015 a case… Few will get to enjoy this wine, but there are four other remarkably good Shiraz wines made at this Stellenbosch Estate including three versions that are much easier to come by.

The last time the Hartenberg proprietors were offering their ultra premium Gravel Hill Shiraz it was selling for R675 a bottle, but there’s also The Stork Shiraz at just over R390, the Hartenberg Shiraz at R130 and the Doorkeeper Shiraz at around R73 a bottle  all more affordable than the auction stuff and three of them among the Top 20 SA Shiraz on the basis of reviews by the world’s top wine judges.

Not all of South Africa’s very best winemakers are members of the CWG  cellarmasters including Neil Groenewald (Bellingham), Hermann Kirschbaum (Buitenverwachting), Thys Louw (Diemersdal), Anthony de Jager (Fairview), Hannes Storm (Hamilton Russell), Bruwer Raats, Eben Sadie, Nico van der Merwe (Saxenburg), Rudi Schultz (Thelema) and André van Rensburg (Vergelegen) might not have been invited, turned down their invitation or were part of the guild before opting to bail for whatever reason. Still, it’s no surprise that most of the CWG members head up top cellars where a lot of the country’s finest wines come together.

CWG MEMBERS’ CLAIM TO FAME:


AA Badenhorst: Adi Badenhorst  Good White Blend, Good Red Blend

Ataraxia: Kevin Grant  Top 10 Chardonnay, Top 50 White Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Beyerskloof: Beyers Truter  Top 20 Pinotage, Top 10 Red Blend, Top Wine SA Hall of Fame, Top 50 Red Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Boekenhoutskloof:Marc Kent  Top 10 Cabernet Sauvignon, Top 10 Shiraz, Top 20 Unfortified Dessert Wine, Top Wine SA Hall of Fame, Top 20 Red Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Boplaas: Carel Nel  Top 10 Port, Top Wine SA Hall of Fame
Boschkloof: Jacques Borman  Good Shiraz
Bouchard Finlayson:Peter Finlayson  Top 10 Pinot Noir, Top 50 Red Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Cape Point: Duncan Savage  Top 10 Sauvignon Blanc, Top 10 Semillon, Top 10 White Blend, Top Wine SA Hall of Fame, Top 20 White Wine Cellars, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Cederberg: David Nieuwoudt  Top 10 Chenin Blanc, Top 10 Sauvignon Blanc, Top 10 Semillon, Top 10 Cabernet Sauvignon, Top 10 Shiraz, Top Wine SA Hall of Fame, Top 20 White Wine Cellar, Top 20 Red Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Chamonix: Gottfried Mocke  Top 10 Chardonnay, Top 10 Pinot Noir, Top Wine SA Hall of Fame, Top 20 White Wine Cellar, Top 50 Red Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
De Grendel: Charles Hopkins  Top 20 Sauvignon Blanc, Top 20 Merlot, Top 50 White Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
De Trafford: David Trafford  Top 10 Cabernet Sauvignon, Top 20 Shiraz, Top 10 Unfortified Dessert Wine, Top 50 Red Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
The Drift (Mary le Bow): Bruce Jack  Good Red Blend
Edgebaston: David Finlayson  Good Chardonnay, Good Cabernet Sauvignon
Ernie Els: Louis Strydom  Top 10 Red Blend, Top Wine SA Hall of Fame, Top 20 Red Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Flagstone: Bruce Jack  Top 20 Sauvignon Blanc, Top 20 White Blend, Top 20 Pinotage, Top 50 White Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Graham Beck: Pieter Ferreira  Top 10 Sauvignon Blanc, Top 20 Shiraz, Top 10 Cap Classique Sparkling Wine, Top Wine SA Hall of Fame, Top 20 White Wine Cellar, Top 50 Red Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Grangehurst: Jeremy Walker  Good Red Blend
Groot Constantia:Boela Gerber  Top 20 Chardonnay, Top 20 Pinotage, Top 50 White Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Hartenberg: Carl Schultz  Top 3 Riesling, Top 10 Merlot, Top 10 Shiraz, Top 50 White Wine Cellar, Top 20 Red Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Haskell: Rianie Strydom  Good Shiraz
Hermanuspietersfontein:Bartho Eksteen  Top 10 White Blend
Jordan: Gary Jordan  Top 10 Chardonnay, Top 20 Chenin Blanc, Top 3 Riesling, Top 20 Cabernet Sauvignon, Top 10 Red Blend, Top Wine SA Hall of Fame, Top 20 White Wine Cellar, Top 20 Red Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Kaapzicht: Danie Steytler  Top 10 Pinotage, Top 10 Red Blend, Top Wine SA Hall of Fame, Top 20 Red Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Kanonkop: Abrie Beeslaar  Top 10 Cabernet Sauvignon, Top 10 Pinotage, Top 10 Red Blend, Top Wine SA Hall of Fame, Top 20 Red Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Kleine Zalze: Johan Joubert  Top 10 Chenin Blanc, Top 10 Sauvignon Blanc, Top 10 Shiraz, Top 20 White Wine Cellar, Top 50 Red Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Lanner Hill: Nicky Versfeld, previously of Stellenbosch Vineyards (Co of Wine People)  Top 20 Sauvignon Blanc
Le Riche: Etienne le Riche  Top 20 Cabernet Sauvignon
Louis: Louis Nel, previously of Hidden Valley and Warwick  Good Cabernet Sauvignon
Luddite: Neils Verburg  Good Shiraz
Miles Mossop  Top 10 White Blend, Top 50 White Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Mullineux: Andrea Mullineux, previously of Tulbagh Mountain Vineyards  Top 10 White Blend, Top 20 Unfortified Dessert Wine, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Neil Ellis  Top 20 Cabernet Sauvignon, Top Grenache, Top 50 Red Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Nitida: Bernhard Veller  Top 20 White Blend, Top 50 White Wine Cellar
Overgaauw: Braam van Velden  Good Cabernet Sauvignon, Good Red Blend
Paul Cluver: Andries Burger  Top 10 Chardonnay, Top 10 Pinot Noir, Top 10 Unfortified Dessert Wine, Top Wine SA Hall of Fame, Top 20 White Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Rijk’s: Pierre Wahl  Top 20 Chenin Blanc, Top 10 Semillon, Top 10 Pinotage, Top Wine SA Hall of Fame, Top 50 White Wine Cellar, Top 20 Red Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Rust en Vrede: Coenie Snyman  Top 10 Merlot, Top 10 Red Blend, Top Wine SA Hall of Fame, Top 20 Red Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Saronsberg: Dewaldt Heyns  Top 10 Shiraz, Top 20 Red Blend, Top 20 Red Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Simonsig: Johan Malan  Top 20 Chenin Blanc, Top 10 Pinotage, Top 20 Shiraz, Top 10 Red Blend, Top 10 Cap Classique Sparkling Wine, Top 20 Unfortified Dessert Wine, Top Wine SA Hall of Fame, Top 50 White Wine Cellar, Top 20 Red Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Spier: Frans Smit  Top 10 Chenin Blanc, Top 20 White Blend, Top 10 Cabernet Sauvignon, Top 20 Merlot, Top 10 Pinotage, Top 10 Shiraz, Top Wine SA Hall of Fame, Top 50 White Wine Cellar, Top 20 Red Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Steenberg: John Loubser  Top 10 Sauvignon Blanc, Top 10 Semillon, Top 20 White Blend, Top 10 Merlot, Top 20 White Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Teddy Hall  Good Chenin Blanc
Villiera: Jeff Grier  Top 10 Cap Classique Sparkling Wine, Top 20 Unfortified Dessert Wine, Top 100 Cellars Overall
Vriesenhof: Jan Boland Coetzee  Good Chardonnay, Good Red
Waterford: Kevin Arnold  Top 10 Cabernet Sauvignon, Top 20 Shiraz, Top 50 Red Wine Cellar, Top 100 Cellars Overall

For more about the Cape Winemakers Guild and information regarding past and future auctions, click here. For more about the SA Wine and Cellar Classifications, click here.

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Want to have your say?