Strauss & co - Review 2021

The strong momentum established by Strauss & Co’s wine department in 2020 continued into 2021. In a year of on-going punitive embargoes on the sale of alcohol due to Covid-related regulations, the wine department nonetheless presented insightful thematic selections throughout the year. Starting in February with a 106-lot offering of South African and French Rhône producers, these focused showcases have disproved early criticisms of Strauss & Co’s wine venture by establishing credible and repeatable prices for top producers. A number of Swartland wines performed well in February, with a 2009 vintage case (6 x 750ml) of winemaker Eben Sadie’s refined Columella selling for R22 278. A 2008 6 bottle case of the same shiraz-based blend, also from Sadie, sold for R18 760. Porseleinberg’s Syrah performed well, notably two lots of the 2015 vintage. In March, the wine department presented a 102-lot collection of Cape heritage wines. A sought-after case of Sadie Family’s Skurfberg (2010) sold for R21 105. Niepoort & Sadie’s Cape Charme (2008), a once-off collaboration between Sadie and legendary port producer Dirk Niepoort that produced only 600 bottles, drew considerable interest and achieved R15 243 for 6 x 750ml. The excellent run of results achieved by Kanonkop in 2020 continued in the March sale. Bidders vied for three lots of Kanonkop’s limited edition Black Label Pinotage, made from one of the oldest Pinotage vineyards in South Africa. The 2013 vintage came out tops, earning R23 450, while the 2012 vintage sold for R17 588 and the 2014 vintage for R16 415 (all 6 x 750ml). A single bottle of Chateau Libertas, believed to be South Africa’s oldest red blend, sold for R17 588. The wine session in the April live sale spotlighted a trio of legendary South African producers: De Toren Private Cellar, Meerlust Estate and Mullineux Family Wines. The session earned R989 590 from 133 lots sold (92% lot sell-through rate). The top-selling lot was a single five-litre bottle of Profiling the Legacy and Quality of Local Wine Meerlust’s standout 1982 vintage Cabernet Sauvignon, sold for R23 450. “The maiden 1999 Fusion V from De Toren fetched R4 173 per bottle, but the Mullineux sweet wines stole the show,” said Strauss & Co wine specialist Roland Peens after the sale. “The Mullineux Essence 2012 sold for R5 690 per 250ml bottle, which is surely a record price per volume for a young South African wine.” In May, the wine department presented an impressive 99-lot collection of fine wines from Bordeaux, Burgundy, Alsace and Champagne imported to South Africa in the mid-2000s by a collector and kept in a large private cellar in Bishopscourt. The French-focused single-owner collection earned R1.85 million from 89 lots sold. The top-selling lots included a sealed case of the 2000 Lafite Rothschild Pauillac, a celebrated Bordeaux blend, which sold for R147 940, and three-bottle allocation of the 1993 Armand Rousseau Chambertin, sold for R125 180. “The outcome of this French-themed wine sale is a wonderful outcome for the seller, a passionate and dedicated collector who devoted a great deal of energy to his wine collection after being introduced to producers from Burgundy and Bordeaux,” said Bina Genovese after the successful conclusion of the sale. The June online sale concluded with a session featuring an impressive miscellany of Stellenbosch wines that grossed R888 052 from 114 lots sold. The top-selling wine lot was Mvemve Raats’s De Compostella (2008), which sold for R29 313 for a 6 bottle lot. This highly rated Bordeaux-styled red wine is the product of a collaboration between friends and winemakers Mzokhona Mvemve and Bruwer Raats. Kanonkop Estate’s much-admired Paul Sauer (2015) achieved R22 278 (6 x 750ml). In the cold of winter, the wine department cannily offered a selection of rare, natural and fortified sweet wines alongside a small selection of fine spirits. The top-selling lot was a 700ml 56