The oldest wine among the 15 is a 1978 Pinotage from Jacobsdal which lies in the hills above Kuils River, followed by a 1982 Cabernet Sauvignon from Alto, the exclusively red-wine estate on the slopes of the Helderberg near Stellenbosch.

Among the three white wines is a 2007 Gewürtztraminer from Neethlingshof. This niche wine, one of the few of the cultivar available locally, was made from the grapes of a dryland vineyard planted some 25 years ago by Günter Brözel.

The other two whites are the well-known single-vineyard Sauvignon blancs from the sea-facing Lomond in the ward of Cape Agulhas. They are the 2006 Pincushion and the 2007 Sugarbush. Both wines have developed a reputation for longevity. According to winemaker Kobus Gerber the Pincushion is only now “approaching its optimum, with a wonderful richness of flavours coming to the fore”.

The 2007 Sugarbush won the trophy for the best Sauvignon blanc at the annual Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show in 2009 and then repeated this feat in 2011 at the same show, this time in the museum class. Later vintages of both these wines have just been included in the list of Top 100 SA Wines.

Among the 11 reds there are two blends – a 2002 Alto Rouge and a 2001 Le Bonheur Prima. Alto Rouge is one of South Africa’s oldest and most respected red blends while the Le Bonheur Prima has during the last few years become something of an institution at the auction.

The 1978 Pinotage from Jacobsdal will come under the hammer, as will the 1998 Neethlingshof Pinotage.

There are three Cabernet Sauvignons among the 15 wines. Besides the 1982 from Alto, wines from Allesverloren (2001 vintage) and Jacobsdal (2003 vintage) will also be auctioned. The latter won a grand gold medal at the Selections Mondiales in Canada in 2007.

Stellenzicht has always been particularly known for its Shiraz and the few cases from its 1997 vintage going on auction are expected to attract considerable buyer interest. The same goes for Allesverloren Shiraz 2007, a signature wine from this Swartland estate which has done much to establish its enviable reputation.

The enormous success of Malbec in Argentina has led to a considerable following for this varietal locally. Among its foremost exponents here is Niel Bester, who has been in charge of winemaking at Plaisir de Merle since 1993. His 2007 vintage will be auctioned.

The accent on this year’s line-up, he says, is on Nederburg’s ageworthy dessert wines, ranging from the 1977 Edelkeur that was awarded Top Ten status at the 2007 International Botrytis Type Wine and Sweet Competition in Budapest, to Edelkeurs from 1979, 1998, 2004 and 2007.  The winery’s other high-profile sweet wine, Eminence is also well represented with three vintages: the 1991, 1998 and 2001. There are also several single-cultivar noble late harvest wines on offer, two Weisser Rieslings (2001 and 2004), two Semillons (2000 and 2002), as well as a Gewürztraminer (2010).

Macici is very excited about the whites on offer.  “We are particularly proud of the whites selected. They are ageing extremely well and are really in absolutely top shape.  We have the 2006 and 2010 vintages of the single-vineyard D234 Sauvignon Blanc made from a dryland block in the Groenekloof near Darling, showing powerful grassy and herbaceous notes but beautifully balanced and generous on the palate. The D253 Sauvignon Blanc/Chardonnay is a 2005 wine and is still bright and youthful with cool-climate Sauvignon blanc characters that combine with Chardonnay from Durbanville, fermented in new French oak.”

He also highlights the D266, an unwooded Semillon from the 2009 vintage, which he describes as the ideal wine list offering as it complements so many different styles of cuisine from Asian to Mediterranean, and the 2009 D270 Chardonnay, displaying both freshness and length.

Amongst the reds are four fine-drinking wines from 2001, his maiden year with Nederburg – a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Shiraz, a Merlot and a Petit Verdot, as well as more recent iterations. There are also two red blends from 2000, a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot and a Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon. “All show a lovely vivacity coupled with excellent integration between fruit and wood.”

Details of the wines are featured in the Nederburg Auction catalogue, available in June.

Then and now

I recently came across a 1977 Decanter magazine, which featured a report on the Nederburg Auction of that year. The 25 year old observations on whom and what impressed the UK journalists are enlightening.

Comments from Tony Lord in an article titled: ‘The World’s most beautiful wine region’, begins with the words, “The lush vineyards of South Africa’s Cape Province lie historically and technically, if not geographically, at the crossroads of the wine world. The Cape wines have their roots in Europe, particularly in France and Germany, and many facets of the industry reflect this heritage.” Mr. Lord continues elsewhere, “The roughly 100 000 hectares under vine are split among upwards of 10 000 growers…”. The co-op system of old is explained in succinct terms, and the biggest change that the writer foresaw was the growth predicated in wine brands as a result of the 1972 Wine of Origin legislation which would allow estates to market wines under their own labels. Wineries such as Nederburg, Kanonkop, Groot Constantia, Overgaauw, Rustenburg, Simonsvlei, Swartland, Uiterwyk, and Vergengoegd (sic), are touted as names to look out for in the future, as they would be able to take advantage of the change in approach and market their wines directly. The Mount Nelson and Lanzerac Hotel were the recommended hotels to stay in, and recommended restaurants included Ons Huisie, Le Gourmet, and The Round House.

Mr. Lord also penned an article on the third Nederburg wine auction where he describes a feast fit for emperors, which it is estimated cost the princely sum of £6.00 per person! The auction revenue was reported as just over £150 000 from around 5000 cases sold. When we bear in mind that a Pound bought you R1.60 in 1977, then the 2011 Nederburg Auction total of over R6 million, leads me to query how much we have moved forward in the intervening years. Perhaps the advert from Cape Wine Importers in the same pages, which offers a 12x75cl case of Nederburg Stein, delivered to the UK for £22.00 (including VAT and insurance!), best illustrates how much things have changed.

Patrick Grubb’s article in the same edition details a visit by 51 MWs (when last did 50 plus MWs visit anywhere en masse?) is a masterpiece of restrained praise for the wines of the Cape with some of the familiar stops such as Meerlust, Boschendal, Rustenburg, Twee Jongegezzellen, and Uitkyk, appearing. The hospitality shown to this group of visitors is alluded to by a number of references, and as Mr. Grubb also conducted the Nederburg Auction, perhaps his enthusiasm rubbed off on buyers.

The most interesting aspect of the articles that appear in this edition are the comments on South African Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinotage, and white wines. Our Cabernet Sauvignon, for example, is seen as a great value for money alternative to Bordeaux reds. A comparative tasting of 10 South African wines and 4 Bordeaux wines had the French topping and tailing the South African scores. Value wise, our wines were seen to be far ahead of their French counterparts. White wines were considered to have improved immeasurably but the implied threat of flabbiness remains unspoken in the background.

So what’s the point of all this nostalgia? How much has changed since 1977 beyond the demise of the Co-ops, the emergence of Distell as the powerhouse of the wine industry, and the growth of private cellars (all of which are of course pretty major changes)? Or is it that everything has changed and that the industry of 35 years ago wouldn’t recognise itself now? How much further down the line are we now as an Industry compared to 1977?

Are our viticultural and winemaking techniques better now than back then? Do we have the most beautiful wine region in the world, and are we still hospitable as a nation? I would absolutely argue yes to all of these questions, but have South African wines risen beyond the price opportunity that was so visible back then to occupy their place alongside the top wines of Bordeaux and other regions? Unfortunately, the response to this is mostly no. What then is missing in order to deliver success for brand South Africa?

Some South African wine brands do find themselves priced in the higher echelons of global price points, but they are sadly few and far between. The failure of the majority of South African brands to attract higher price points globally is the systemic failure of us all. Our plantings are more or less the same, around 100 000 hectares, and the emphasis on more “noble” varietals both in the vineyards and supermarket shelves has led to a change in drinking habits and some market upliftment in some channels or market segments, but in the main our prices remain consistently the lowest of all New World wines. News from Germany received this year during ProWein, seems to indicate there is an opportunity for South Africa to break out of the New World category and move away from being associated with the rest of the New World wines. If this opportunity can be grasped, then South Africa will have truly arrived as a category in Germany. That Germans however pay amongst the lowest price per bottle of any wine-drinking nation should not be lost on observers however. Two European countries where South Africa is a distinct category are Holland and Sweden, but in Holland prices remain very low, and in Sweden the category has grown out of the success of Bag In Box wines. The UK remains a perennial thorn in South African brand owner’s sides but a serious wine brand avoids the UK at their peril. The growth of supermarket own label wines in the UK are also a threat to the South African category as much as they are a threat to all branded wines. Our exposure to Asia and North America remains slim.

Simply put, we need to become better at selling and marketing our wines. Appreciating category and brand building life cycles, and the ability to engineer the approach required to build a name amongst buyers, consumers, and commentators alike, are skills that remain in short supply in South Africa. Public Relations remains a misunderstood beast to many, and the lack of cooperation between brand owners continues to affect our ability to grow effectively. Winemakers share information willingly it seems, but marketeers less so. Brands that have succeeded over time and have remained in high regard since 1977 are those brands whose owners understand the time value equation of building wine brands, and who have invested in effective brand building. How many of today’s brands will still be here in another 35 years?

Read the original article here

A total of 73 wineries were rigorously hand-picked by the auction selection panel for this year’s showcase, including 12 newcomers – Almenkerk, Beyerskloof, Bosman Family Vineyards, Mont Destin, Rietvallei, Rupert & Rothschild, Shannon Wines, Strandveld, The Auction Crossing, The Goose Wines, Wildekrans and Wonderfontein – alongside the original five participants, Delheim, Groot Constantia, Overgaauw, Simonsig and Nederburg, which have been on every auction since 1975.

Says Nederburg Auction business manager Dalene Steyn: “The Nederburg Auction is all about creating a culture of exclusivity. All wines selected to participate receive the “Nederburg Auction selection” seal of endorsement – the ultimate prestigious recognition that, given the auction’s stringent selection criteria, can be quite hard to achieve.”

Sommelier and logistics manager for the 2012 selection tasting Higgo Jacobs concurs; “Less than half the wines submitted made it onto this year’s auction. From a consumer point of view I believe this is a positive outcome, as it shows that the tasting panel has been strict in applying the judging criteria and are confident that the wines approved are great vintages that display the best potential from a wine appreciation, maturation and/or collector’s point of view.”

The selection tasting is conducted blind by a panel of wine experts, including Cape Wine Masters, sommeliers and wine judges, and the entire process is audited to ensure a fair result.

Higgo continues: “Only white wines three years or older, and red wines five years and older, are allowed to be submitted, because from a food and wine pairing point of view, the wines selected must be properly matured wines ready for consumption in restaurants. This also gives the auction an added advantage when it comes to offering older wines, which are more subtle and therefore better at complementing a food experience.”

A list of this year’s auction wines can be viewed and downloaded here. A short YouTube video clip with comments from some of this year’s judging panel can be viewed below, and is also available at this link: http://youtu.be/noa8P93wQyo. The official catalogue will be available in June.

The highlight of the Auction was the record R68 000 paid for a single case of 6 x 750 ml bottles of Monis Collectors Port 1948 (R11 333 per bottle). The special case of Port was bought by Nigerian businessman and importer of wine, Mr Obi Josephat Ndibe. It is the second year that Mr Ndibe has surprised the local buyers by snatching away some of the very rare wines in South Africa. The previous highest price for one case of 6 x 750 ml bottles was R62 000, paid last year for the 1964 Nederburg Port.

According to auction organisers, there is a new appreciation for the old and scarce South African red and fortified wines, like the 1948 Monis Port. This has led to an overall increase in prices achieved for both these categories. In particular overseas buyers showed a renewed interest in South African wines and were responsible for 46% of overall wine sales, up from the 30% fetched last year.

Once again there has been a healthy increase in the average price paid for wines at the auction this year, with a 30% increase to R1 985 per nine-litre case (2010 – R1 506). Top buyers were Checkers, followed by Spar and Metro Cash & Carry from Germany.

For the first time in a number of years, five overseas buyers in the top ten category contributed 27% towards the purchase of wines. Top spots were taken by international buyers Metro Cash & Carry from Germany, Flemingo International from India, Rayan Investments from Angola, and Hotel Pension Palmquell from Namibia.

From a local perspective, South African supermarket groups have once again dominated the local portfolio of buyers, taking 26% of the sales directly to the consumers. Checkers took the number one position this year, with 10% of total sales, equalling R611 000, followed by the combined purchases of the Spar group of R599 000. Makro and Pick ‘n Pay were also amongst the top ten buyers. Additionally Woermann Brock, from Namibia, and Fana’s Tavern from East London complete the top ten list.

Apart from the top ten buyers accounting for 58% of the total sales, 24 foreign buyers were responsible for close to half of the total auction sales. Distell MD Jan Scannell, commented that the increase in foreign interest is the result of Distell’s footprint increasing globally, and the aim is to get our best wines into countries abroad. Carina Gous, Distell’s Business Director of Wines, commented that she was very pleased that there were no unsold lots at this year’s auction, an indication of the high quality and keen interest in the wines on offer.

With the largest increase in prices this year amongst red wines, the average price shot up 43% to R2 166 per nine-litre case. The Private Collection item of Chateau Libertas 1961 (3 x 750ml – R6 666 per bottle) fetched the highest price of R20 000 per case. The high prices paid for very rare, old South African red wines highlighted the appreciation of these scarce, special wines, many of which are only available at the auction, in limited quantities. Other reds that fetched top prices included Lanzerac Cabernet 1957, Chateau Libertas 1965, Lanzerac Pinotage 1961 and Zonnebloem Cabernet 1971.

The average price paid for a dry white wine was R1 200 per nine-litre case, with the top price paid for De Wetshof Finesse Chardonnay 2003 (R633 per bottle). Other top prices went to Uva Mira Single Vineyard Chardonnay 2004, De Wetshof Bateleur Chardonnay 2006 Magnums and Ataraxia Chardonnay 2007, a first-time participant.

Other ports that fetched high prices were the KWV Ruby Port 1949, KWV White Port 1966 and Bredell’s Vintage Port 1991. The average price paid for ports was R7 360.

The highest price paid for a Noble Late Harvest wine was R10 000 for 12 x 375ml of Nederburg Edelkeur 1979 (R833 per bottle). Other top prices went to Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 1998, De Wetshof Noble Late Harvest 1991 and Nederburg Edelkeur 1999. The average price for noble late harvest wine was R2 710 per nine-litre case.

The average price paid for Méthode Cap Classique was R2 417 per nine-litre case, with the top price paid for the Private Collection item of Graham Beck Brut MCC 1994 (R1 375 per magnum bottle). Other top prices went to J.C. Le Roux Pinot Noir MCC 1989 (magnums) and Pongrácz Desiderius 2001.

The average price for fortified wine was R2 018 per nine-litre case, with the highest price for a single bottle of KWV 1930 Muscadel, a whopping R6 500. Other fortifieds with high prices included the KWV Hanepoot Jerepigo 1969 and Monis Marsala 1983.

US-based wine blogger of the year, David White, guest speaker at this year’s auction, highlighted the importance of social media in the marketing and promotion of wines in the future. He remarked: “The internet presents a remarkable opportunity to interact directly with the end-user. You can actually demonstrate a return on investment. If you engage online, you can point to a specific number of existing and potential consumers you identified and interacted with.”

The charity sale on the day raised R183 100 for the beneficiaries, Goedgedacht Trust, the Pebbles Project Trust and the Anna Foundation. The highest price paid on the charity auction was for a single bottle of Échezeaux-H Du Villaine 1966, donated by Duimpie Bayly on behalf of the Distell Tabernacle Wine Collection and bought by Obi Ndibe of Nigeria for R31 000. View comments about the results from Distell’s director for wines, Carina Gous, in the clip below.

Download a copy of the 2011 Auction Media Presentation here: Nederburg Auction 2011 Media Presentation