My First Nederburg Auction

As children, the Nederburg Auction, was always a highlight in our calendar as much as it was in my parents. Of course, we did not ever get to go to the event, but we knew very well, that when my parents returned home late in the afternoon, they would be bearing a large and beautiful chocolate sculpture, which had formed part of their dessert – a hot air balloon one year, a wine bottle the next. So it was most graciously that I accepted an invitation to this year’s Nederburg auction.

We went in support one of our consulting clients, Etienne le Riche. Etienne and my dad worked together at Rustenberg. During his time at Rustenberg, Etienne produced some of the most famous South African reds at the time (the ’82 Dry Red gets a mention in Jeffrey Archer’s Fourth Commandment). In the 90’s, Etienne left Rustenberg to start making his own wines. He now has a boutique cellar producing ultra-premium reds (Cab is his focus), with minimum flash and maximum focus on top quality wines.

At the auction, his Cab Reserve 1997, which rightfully had the second highest per bottle reserve price (R250 per bottle), ended up selling for R284 to R317 per bottle. During the lunch, I had the opportunity to chat to Mark, Etienne’s assistant wine maker, who explained how, out of harvest season, he would spend his days hand labelling with much care, each and every bottle of Le Riche!