Nearly R10‚000 paid for a litre of red wine

19 September 2016 - 10:49 By TMG Digital
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Red wine.
Red wine.
Image: Thinkstock

The top red wine fetched an unsurpassed R9‚777 per litre at the Nederburg Auction at the weekend - paid for 1976 Zonnebloem Shiraz‚ totalling R22‚000 for three 750ml bottles.

Record prices were achieved at the 42nd annual Nederburg Auction‚ with red wine performing particularly well‚ showing a 50% increase in the average price per litre to R961/l.

A total of 10‚506 litres of wine was knocked down by auctioneers Anthony Barne MW of Bonhams and David Elswood of Christies‚ with total sales increasing by 23% over last year‚ in spite of a slightly lower volume on offer of 4% from the 2015 edition.

"It is a clear endorsement from buyers worldwide‚ indicating that a strong appetite exists for fine‚ mature South African wines and that they are willing to back it up with their wallets‚" said auction manager Dalene Steyn.

Leading the charge for South African whites was the De Wetshof Chardonnay Finesse 1993 vintage‚ which reached a record price of R2‚000 per 750ml bottle.

Steyn said South African buyers claimed the biggest portion of wine purchases with two thirds of the sales. “International participation however is on the increase with 3% more successful bids by international buyers‚ totalling 18%.”

Continuing the trend from last year‚ more private buyers entered the Nederburg Auction. These buyers accounted for 22% of total sales.

Tsogo Sun was the top buyer for 2016‚ with a total of just over R1 million‚ followed by the Spar group and the Singita group of luxury lodges.

Keynote speaker and British Master of Wine Tim Atkin said he had never felt more positive about the quality of South African wine. “The 2015 vintage is part of the reason why - but so are the improvements I’ve seen first hand in the vineyards and cellars of the Cape over the last 26 years. There has never been so much great South African wine available. And increasingly‚ these are wines with a true sense of terroir.”

A total of 18 lots were sold at the annual Nederburg Charity Auction‚ which raised just over R500‚000 for two community-based organisations - the Breytenbach Centre in Wellington and the Hope Through Action project in Paarl. The highest price achieved was R70‚000 paid for a single 750ml bottle of Petrus‚ 1988‚ signed by Christian Moueix that was donated by auctioneer Anthony Barne MW.

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