Perfect-score SA wines to ‘flow’ under hammer at Strauss & Co

Leading fine art auction house Strauss & Co is more often associated with knocking down fine art to global buyers with deep pockets.

However it will now also be moving into the arena of fine and rare South African wines by hosting an unprecedented new auction in June.

Strauss & Co’s inaugural Fine Wine Auction will be held in partnership with online retailer WineCellar.co.za and sommelier Higgo Jacobs.

It will place at 3pm on June 8 at Strauss & Co’s offices in Johannesburg, to be followed by a second auction in Cape Town on September 14.

The Joburg auction is part of a week of art and wine, and follows after Strauss & Co’s first Saturday Live Art Auction in the morning.

Keen bidders not based in Gauteng won’t miss out as absentee bids and telephone bids will be accepted.

Jacobs has curated 180 lots for what is being expected to be a ground-breaking, exciting and comprehensive auction.

The lineup will include great modern wines, along with historic wines, plus SA’s three perfect-score wines.

Among the most impressive lots are four lots with six bottles each of Kanonkop Paul Sauer 2015, which earned 100 points from Master of Wine Tim Atkin.

Two other wines that have received perfect scores from international critics, are also on offer.

The GS 1966 Cabernet was produced as an experiment by George Spies, a winemaker at Monis.

It was reportedly very tannic in its youth and was never commercially released.

As the wine matured, rare bottles became recognised by wine royalty, most notably Jancis Robinson, who awarded it the perfect 20 points.

More recently, the Chateau Libertas 1957 from the Winshaw cellar was awarded 100/100 from Master of Wine Greg Sherwood.

The 1957 was re-corked by Amorim Cork, securing quality and further long life.

Wines on offer will span three centuries, starting with SA’s oldest living wine, the Jaubert Muscat d’Alexandrie 1800, up to the latest 2018 vintage.

Seven generations of the Joubert family have cared for the 100-litre barrel of Muscat which is topped up each year.

Other legends include a Magnum of KWV 1948 vintage port and the unreleased first vintage of Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 1986.

Two extremely rare wines from the 1990s are also on offer: three bottles of Cordoba Crescendo 1998 and six bottles of the Penfolds-beating Stellenzicht Syrah 1994.

Perhaps the rarest wine in the modern era to feature is one six-bottle lot of the unreleased Alheit Family Radio Lazerus 2018.

Anyone wanting to participate in the sale, but unable to attend in person, may submit an absentee bid or request a telephone bid.

The catalogue is at straussart.co.za and Winecellar.co.za; completed bid forms must be mailed to bids@straussart.co.za or call 011-728-8246.