CWG Auction provides inkling of who’s who at cutting edge of Wine SA
GIVEN BELOW are the average prices fetched per bottle at the 2016 Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Auction at Spier in Stellenbosch, i.e. per 750ml, i.e. to get some idea of consumer demand and brand value when it comes to many of South Africa’s top wines. The CWG auction of special vineyard or barrel selections and experimental bottlings now realises more than double in total earnings relative to what the Nederburg Auction of older stuff in Paarl does a couple of weeks earlier on the calendar. And together they beg the question: which are the most desirable wines of the Cape?
Of course, you can only gauge so much from these auction results. For starters, there are selection processes involved, and in the case of the Guild there’s the matter of club membership. Then there’s the question of age, with some wines from recent harvests and others made back in the previous century. Also, there are some top producers who choose not to put their wines under the hammer, or very seldom – wines such as Eben Sadie’s Columella, Vin de Constance, Raats, and various so-called ‘cult’ wines from boutique outfits. Plus, you can’t rule out the possibility of unnatural market forces at play – one sometimes wonders, for instance, about certain producers indirectly/secretly bidding on their own wine.
SOLD FOR OVER R1000 A BOTTLE – AVG PRICES PER 750ml
R1831 – Kanonkop CWG Paul Sauer 2013 (Bordeaux-style red blend)
R1670 – Boekenhoutskloof Syrah Auction Reserve 2014
R1532 – Etienne le Riche Special Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
R1510 – Hartenberg CWG Auction Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
R1448 – Beyerskloof Traildust Pinotage 2014
R1386 – Newton Johnson Family Vineyards Seadragon Pinot Noir 2015
R1359 – Rust en Vrede CWG Auction Estate 2013
R1353 – Cederberg Teen Die Hoog Shiraz 2014
R1238 – Hartenberg CWG Auction Shiraz 2012
R1183 – Boschkloof Epilogue Syrah 2014
R1230 – Ataraxia Under The Gavel Chardonnay 2015
R1201 – Kanonkop CWG Pinotage 2014
R1173 – Rust en Vrede CWG Auction Estate 2013 (sold in 1.5 litre bottles)
R1144 – Saronsberg Sneeusig Shiraz 2012
R1138 – Rijk’s CWG Pinotage 2013
R1122 – Mullineux Trifecta Syrah 2013
R1104 – Saronsberg Die Erf Shiraz Grenache Mourvèdre Viognier 2011
R1056 – Jordan Chardonnay Auction Selection 2015
R1040 – Luddite The Broken Ankle Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
R1016 – Sijnn /awa 2014 (Syrah Mourvèdre, sold in 1.5 litre bottles)
R1003 – Silverthorn Big Dog II Méthode Cap Classique 2011 (sparkling)
NEW RECORDS SET AT CWG AUCTION 2016
• Total sales amounted to R13.8 million – almost R2m more than in 2015
• Total line-up comprised 34 reds, 15 whites, 3 MCC sparklers, 1 port, 1 brandy
• 2428 cases (6 x 750ml equivalent) sold at average price of R5697 per case / R950pb
• Number of buyers amounted to 152 – 125 local buyers accounting for 84% of purchases
• Kanonkop CWG Paul Sauer 2013 fetched top price for red with highest bid of R2233pb
• Jordan Chardonnay Auction Selection 2015 fetched highest price for white wine: R1566pb
• Silverthorn Big Dog II Méthode Cap Classique 2011 fetched highest price for bubbly: R1166pb
• Boplaas Cape Vintage Auction Reserve 2009 fetched highest price for port: R1166
For more information about the CWG Auction, click here.
