The 38th annual Cape Winemakers Guild Auction is back on home soil in South Africa this year.
Auction house Strauss & Co will host the sale, sponsored by Nedbank, live and online from 5pm to 8pm on Friday 30 September and 9am to 3pm on Saturday 1 October.
Bidders can attend the auction in person at the Lord Charles Hotel in Somerset West, bid by telephone, or online. They can also leave a commission bid in advance of the sale.
Bonhams auction house held the auction in London in 2020 and 2021 due to the difficulties facing the South African wine industry in the wake of the pandemic.
CWG Chair for 2022, Gordon Newton Johnson.
This year’s Cape Winemakers Guild 2022 Chair, Gordon Newton Johnson, said it was with ‘jubilant expectation’ that the annual auction was not only back in South Africa, but could welcome bidders in person once more to ‘reconnect and share the love of wine’.
‘The South African Wine industry has endured much over the past few years, yet continues to inspire creativity, transcend in excellence and capture the imagination of the wine world,’ Newton Johnson said.
‘The CWG is the embodiment of these virtues as we seek to be at the vanguard of positive change and progress in our industry.’
The CWG was founded in 1982, with the first auction in 1985. Membership of the guild is by invitation only, and this year’s 42 winemakers collectively choose the wines for each auction. These exclusive, small-lot wines are only available via the sale.
The predicted top lots
This year, the 43 CWG wines (see list below) are split into 322 lots of 36, 24 or 12 bottles, divided over Friday’s and Saturday’s auctions.
As in previous sales, the predicted top lot is Kanonkop’s CWG Paul Sauer, made by Abrie Beeslaar. The 2019 vintage of this iconic Bordeaux blend has a pre-auction estimate this year of between £86 and £120 per bottle.
The other two expected top reds are Boekenhoutskloof’s Syrah Auction Reserve 2020, with an estimate of £56 to £86 a bottle, and Cederberg’s Teen die Hoog Shiraz 2020 (£56-£73).
In the whites, pre-auction estimates are close for half a dozen wines, but predicted top lots are Andrea Mullineux’s The Gris Sémillon 2021 at £39 to £56 a bottle, and the Valkyrie Chardonnay 2021 from Samantha O’Keefe of Lismore Estate (£39-£52).
Prospective bidders taste the Cape Winemakers Guild 2022 wines ahead of the auction.
Strauss & Co is also hosting an online-only sale to raise money for the Guild’s Protégé Programme. This auction, now live, closes at 7pm on 3 October.
The 49 lots include rare past auction wines, flagship wines from CWG members and wines made from three of this year’s eight Protégé graduates, as well as bespoke wines and wine-related experiences.
Money raised will go towards education and mentorship to help improve the South African wine industry. A three-year sponsored internship has already produced 30 graduates, 18 of whom are now making wine professionally.
The Cape Winemakers Guild 2022 auction wines
Wines are listed in lot order within their style, with the CWG member-winemaker in brackets.
Sparkling
- Simonsig, Kaapse Vonkel Decade Pinot Meunier, Stellenbosch 2011 (Johan Malan)
- Silverthorn, Big Dog VIII Méthode Cap Classique, Robertson 2017 (John Loubser)
White
- David & Nadia, Velling Chenin Blanc, Swartland 2021 (David Sadie)
- Paul Cluver, The Wagon Trail Chardonnay, Elgin 2021 (Andries Burger)
- Mullineux, The Gris Sémillon, Swartland 2021 (Andrea Mullineux)
- Raats, The Fountain Terroir Specific Chenin Blanc, Polkadraai Hills-Stellenbosch 2021 (Bruwer Raats)
- Beaumont, Hope Single Vineyard Chenin Blanc, Bot River 2020 (Sebastian Beaumont)
- Warwick, The White Lady Auction Chardonnay, Stellenbosch 2020 (JD Pretorius)
- Bartho Eksteen, Vloekskoot Wooded Sauvignon Blanc, Cape Coast 2021 (Bartho Eksteen)
- Gottfried Mocke, Chardonnay Cape South Coast 2021 (Gottfried Mocke)
- De Grendel, Wooded Sauvignon Blanc, Darling 2021 (Charles Hopkins)
- Ataraxia, Under the Gavel Chardonnay, Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge 2021 (Kevin Grant)
- Mullineux, Trifecta Chenin Blanc, Swartland 2020 (Andrea Mullineux)
- Lismore Estate, Valkyrie Chardonnay, Greyton 2021 (Samantha O’Keefe)
- De Trafford, Ou Kopland Chenin Blanc, Stellenbosch 2021 (David Trafford)
- Newton Johnson, Sandford Chardonnay, Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley 2020 (Gordon Newton Johnson)
Red
- Cederberg, Teen Die Hoog Shiraz, Cederberg 2020 (David Nieuwoudt)
- Kanonkop, CWG Paul Sauer Cabernet Sauvignon Blend, Simonsig-Stellenbosch 2019 (Abrie Beeslaar)
- Boekenhoutskloof, Syrah Auction Reserve, Coastal Region 2020 (Marc Kent)
- Spier, Frans K Smit CWG Special Edition Cabernet Sauvignon Blend, Stellenbosch 2018 (Frans Smit)
- Delaire Graff, Banghoek Cabernet Sauvignon, Banghoek-Stellenbosch 2018 (Morné Vrey)
- Saronsberg, Inner Circle Shiraz Blend, Tulbagh 2019 (Dewaldt Heyns)
- Neil Ellis, Jonkershoek Cabernet Sauvignon, Jonkershoek 2018 (Warren Ellis)
- Boplass, CWG Daniel’s Legacy Touriga Nacional Blend, Western Cape 2020 (Carel Nel)
- Ernie Els, CWG Cabernet Sauvignon Blend, Stellenbosch 2019 (Louis Strydom)
- Luddite, Oupa Mourvèdre, Bot River 2019 (Niels Verburg)
- David Finlayson, Edgebaston Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Stellenbosch 2017 (David Finlayson)
- Miles Mossop, Maximilian Cabernet Sauvignon, Stellenbosch 2019 (Miles Mossop)
- Hartenberg, CWG Amphora Merlot, Stellenbosch 2020 (Carl Schulz)
- De Trafford, Perspective Cabernet Franc Blend, Stellenbosch 2020 (David Trafford)
- Bouchard Finlayson, Pinot Noir, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley 2019 (Peter Finlayson)
- Strydom Family, The Game Changer Cabernet Franc-Merlot, Stellenbosch 2017 (Rianie Strydom)
- Newton Johnson, Windansea Pinot Noir, Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley 2020 (Gordon Newton Johnson)
- Lismore Estate, The Sheltering Sky Syrah, Elgin 2020 (Samantha O’Keefe)
- Savage Wines, Auction Syrah, Coastal Region 2020 (Duncan Savage)
- De Grendel, Op Die Berg Pinot Noir, Ceres Plateau 2020 (Charles Hopkins)
- Bartho Eksteen, Fluister Pinot Noir, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley 2021 (Bartho Eksteen)
- Simonsig, Heirloom Shiraz, Stellenbosch 2020 (Johan Malan)
- David & Nadia, Velling Grenache Noir, Swartland 2021 (David Sadie)
- Kanonkop, CWG Pinotage, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch 2019 (Abrie Beeslaar)
- Hartenberg, CWG Auction Shiraz, Stellenbosch 2020 (Carl Schulz)
- Raats, Stella Nova Cabernet Franc, Stellenbosch 2018 (Bruwer Raats)
Fortified
- Boplass, Cape Tawny Reserve Tinta Barocca, Western Cape 2005 (Carel Nel)
