THE CATALOGUE has been published; the countdown has begun. The first Fine South African Wine Auction by Strauss & Co, Wine Cellar Fine Wine Merchants and Sommelier Higgo Jacobs is set for 8 June 2019 in Johannesburg – with Cape Town next up come September in what will become an ongoing programme of interest to wine investors and hedonists. “The application of strict criteria with regard to quality, provenance and rarity will enable collectors to buy outstanding wines with confidence in a seamless and highly transparent manner,” says Jacobs.

A step up from the Nederburg Auction, or a variation, rather? Wine Cellar director Roland Peens reflects that there has been an immense appreciation in fine wine prices over the last decade, which has coincided with a leap in quality and the limited availability of certain wines from the last century that are now regarded as gems. Lots are sourced from leading producers as well as approved private cellars. The event is more public than trade, more consumer than industry.

Frank Kilbourn of Strauss & Co remarks that while perfectly-stored bottles of top Bordeaux wine from the last few decades regularly go under the hammer in London and Hong Kong, for example, very few vintage wines are traded in South Africa. It’s high time that fine wines of the Cape are offered by way of a secondary market in a structured and sustainable manner, elevating them to the same degree of collectability as the visual and decorative arts.

So, which of the 183 lots are most likely to attract most excitement from bidders on the day, at R1000, R2000, R3000 a bottle or more? Well, for starters:

Kanonkop Paul Sauer 2015 – from a Stellenbosch ‘first growth’, the wine scored 100/100 by UK wine critic Tim Atkin MW in 2018, sparking much debate.

George Spies Cabernet 1966 – somewhat mysterious and the only South African wine to receive a ‘perfect’ score from leading UK wine authority Jancis Robinson MW.

Sadie Family Soldaat 2012 – Grenache from the Piekenierskloof, from revered Swartland ‘revolutionary’ Eben Sadie; “most likely his rarest red”.

Kanonkop Black Label Pinotage 2006 – first vintage of limited edition version of the best from a Simonsberg pioneer of South Africa’s signature red variety.

Sadie Pofadder 2011 – single-vineyard Cinsaut from an old block on Riebeek Mountain, made by the Master of Wine Institute’s Winemaker of the Year in 2017.

Stellenzicht Syrah 1994 – first vintage of winemaker André van Rensberg (now of Vergelegen) and one of Stellenbosch’s greatest wines from the 1990s; cult status.

Rustenberg Peter Barlow Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 – one of South Africa’s best track records, and another Simonsberg wine that has improved with age, big time.

Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 1986 – first vintage of the recreation of wine famous for its popularity among the European aristocracy in the 18th and 19th centuries.

For all of the items on auction, pertinent info about them and what they’re expected to fetch in Rand, see here.