Cape Winemakers Guild Auction 2018: Wines to watch

The 34th Cape Winemakers Guild Auction takes place on Saturday 29 September 2018. Following a preview tasting of the wines in Berry Bros & Rudd's Sussex Cellar in London, here are 10 wines worth watching out for...

The 2018 Cape Winemakers Guild Auction, sponsored by Nedbank, will be held on Saturday 29 September at Spier Wine Estate in Stellenbosch.

The Cape Winemakers Guild (CWG) was founded in 1982 in an effort to increase knowledge sharing. The Guild’s ‘Protégé Programme’ is designed to help winemakers and viticulturalists from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue their ambitions.

Scroll down to see the top 10 picks from the 2018 auction

A maximum of 100 cases of each member’s wine can be sold in the annual Guild auction. Wines are selected for inclusion via a blind tasting held by the CWG panel.

The line-up of 48 wines includes 31 red wines, 14 white wines, two Méthode Cap Classique wines and a port-style wine.

Last year, buyers spent a record R22,300,000 (about £1.3m) at the auction.

Below, we bring you tasting notes and ratings on 10 wines that stood out at the recent pre-auction tasting, hosted by Berry Bros & Rudd in London.

Update – see the results from the auction

‘Overall the auction offered exceptional value across the board, which was good news for the large contingent of private buyers,’ says Boela Gerber, Chairman of the Cape Winemakers Guild.

The highest average prices per case for red wine went to Kanonkop CWG Paul Sauer 2015 (R20,580)

The top achieving white wine, based on an average price per case, was Mullineux ‘The Gris’ Semillon 2017 (R5,657).

The hospitality industry was well-represented amongst the top buyers, with Singita Tsogo Sun and Marble Restaurant snapping up just over R2 million worth of auction wines.

123 buyers attended the 2018 auction, comprising 102 local and 21 foreign buyers. In total, 2,012 cases (6 x 750ml equivalent) were sold.

79% of the wine on offer at the auction was purchased by local buyers, with 21% bought by foreign bidders. The countries represented included the United Kingdom, Denmark, Hong Kong, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, USA, Namibia, Luxembourg, Czech Republic and France.

Top 10 Cape Winemakers Guild auction picks:

Please note: Tasting notes and ratings below do no necessarily constitute buying recommendations, given that prices for the wines will only be determined at auction.