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Strauss & Co vinous auction treasures, a trio of top SA wine producers

16 Mar 2021

Fine wine has been heralded internationally as a consistent and lucrative investment asset and, in times of fragility, fine wine investment offers welcome stability. “Fine wine is made to be enjoyed and has been incredibly well-received at Strauss & Co auctions,” says Wine Cellar fine wine merchants CEO James Pietersen. “As fine wine is produced in small quantities and certain vintages are not easily available, value and demand are continuously on the rise, making fine wine different from other types of asset-backed investments.”

The Strauss & Co auction team is proud to have procured a trio of South Africa’s finest wine producers ahead of the upcoming 11 April fine wine auction, featuring De Toren Private Cellar, Meerlust Estate and Mullineux family wines.

De Toren

De Toren Private Cellar’s new owners, headed by Swiss-based CEO Daniel Mueller, have a clear vision to keep the Polkadraai Hills property at the top of the luxury market. The young winemaking team, headed by Charles Williams, have narrowed the focus on elegance and purity, in line with a move to certified organic in 2020.

“Managing partner Albie Kock has been at De Toren from the beginning and we are delighted to showcase his maiden 1999 vintage of Fusion V. While the 1999 is more classic in style, the Fusion V delights palates with modern styling and rich exotic fruit,” says winemaker Charles. “The wines tend to require 8-12 years for the powerful fruit and oak to integrate – when our wines get to 12-13 years of age you find the balance of powerful fruit, acidity and tannins. Malbec is also very important, supplies X-factor to Fusion.’

De Toren Z has become less of a second wine and competes in quality with the Fusion V. It is also produced from the 5 Bordeaux varieties. With more Merlot in the blend however, it offers a softer guise and very silky tannins. It tends to offer better drinkability slightly earlier on. The extremely rare Directors Reserve is produced in only exceptional vintages at De Toren, namely in 2000, 2004, 2009 and 2017.

Book 17 is an ostentatious, full-bodied, 1000-bottle Cape Bordeaux blend that offers supreme power and silky tannins. Equally, the Black Lion is a luxuriously styled boutique wine, 100% shiraz from Stellenbosch and Swartland that is aged in 200% new oak. Both wines have towering structures for long-term aging.

Strauss & Co fine wine is proud to present a list of de Toren Private Cellar’s finest for the Strauss & Co April auction, a true definition of South Africa’s luxury wines.

De Toren Fusion V 1999

The iconic Left Bank based blend from De Toren. Named for the ‘fusing’ together of Bordeaux’s five famous varietals (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Merlot and Malbec). The Fusion V celebrated its maiden vintage in 1999 and was introduced to the international markets. Under the guidance of Albie Koch this Bordeaux left-bank inspired blend has accumulated an energised and praised following from wine aficionados both in South Africa and abroad (especially in the US).

De Toren Book XVII 2012

The Book XVII name originates from the writings of the Roman philosopher ‘Pliny the Elder’ who in book number 17 touches on why wines from certain areas are exceptional. With its maiden vintage in 2010, and with no more than 1200 exclusively numbered bottles produced with each vintage. Book XVII is poised to become an icon of history in its own right, and one that Pilny, no doubt, would have given his coveted stamp of approval. Handmade and crafted at De Toren. 

De Toren Fusion V Directors Reserve 2009

The collection of De Toren Director’s Reserve wines is a very rare selection of limited-edition wines, only released in years regarded as an extraordinary vintage. These handcrafted wines are truly exceptional, and only produced in years during which the continuous quest for absolute perfection, has reached its pinnacle. The wines from this exclusive collection, and these specific vintages, showed true greatness of remarkable complexity and elegance. 

Meerlust

Long-recognised for producing world-class wines, Meerlust Estate has been the pride of the Myburgh family since 1756. Today traditional dedication to the art of winemaking continues under the guidance of 8^th generation owner of Meerlust Wine Estate, Hannes Myburgh. His father Nico created the iconic Rubicon, and Hannes along with Giorgio Dalla Cia and later Chris Williams, have kept Meerlust at the top of the industry for 4 decades. Rubicon is produced in meaningful volumes at premium level, and offers incredible consistency in its elegant, age-worthy style. In fact, Meerlust wines tend to blossom in their second decade of life, especially the top vintages.

There have been sizeable upgrades to the estate over the last year, adding to the splendour of the historical property. Wim Truter’s appointment with Chris Williams stepping out is the big news, however. As chief winemaker at KWV, he brings fine winemaking experience at a large scale. Wim is particularly excited by the portion of vineyards across the Eerste river, planted with merlot and pinot noir. Both varieties blossomed under Williams’ care and show remarkable purity of fruit combined with elegance and savouriness.

The name ‘Rubicon’ is from ancient Roman days as the crucial border of the ancient capital was named the Rubicon River. When the border was crossed it was deemed as an irrevocable point in history, much like the introduction of Rubicon to the South African fine wine market. Finally, in 1980 after several years of experimentation with fellow winemaker Giorgio Dalla Cia, their new estate was born and it was unlike anything South Africa had seen before. The introduction was a Rubicon moment for South African fine wine market.

And going under the hammer during the April Strauss & Co fine wine auction on 11 April:

Meerlust Rubicon 2001

One of SA’s most recognised blends, this was a stellar vintage for Rubicon, and it was awarded the Gold Medal at the Basel Wine Fair in September 2006.

Meerlust Rubicon 2009

Proclaimed by Meerlust to be one of the very best produced it achieved a silver at the 2019 Old Mutual Trophy wine show and 2015 Sommelier Wine Awards.

Meerlust Cabernet Sauvignon 1978 (Insert image of Meerlust Cabernet Sauvignon 1978)

After the successful 1975 which won young wine awards, the richer 1978 shows more Cabernet Sauvignon character and power. The 1978 Rubicon remains of the finest and longest-aging wines of the 1970s.

Mullineux Family Wines

The rise of Mullineux Family Wines over the last decade has been nothing short of spectacular. Andrea and Chris have already earned 30 Platters 5 Stars and the guide’s coveted ‘Winery of the Year’ award an incredible four times, Wine Enthusiast ‘International Winemakers of the Year’ in 2016 and Tim Atkin’s ‘South African Winemakers of the Year’ followed in 2017. Andrea is also chair of the Cape Winemakers Guild.

In 2020, the Swartland winery joined Porseleinberg, Kanonkop and Sadie Family with South Africa’s only 100-point wines. The first iteration of the Olerasay straw wine received 99 points from Neal Martin while No 2, a solera blend of vintages 2008-2019, earned the perfect 100! “It is an ethereal wine that gives me no choice but to use a simple word loaded with meaning and one I rarely use with respect to wine… perfection.” wrote Neal Martin of Vinous.com. While their vintage straw wine is now benchmark in the new world, the Essence 2012 was fermented in barrel for more than 4 years and reduced to a fine elixir with over 600g/l of residual sugar. It was awarded Sweet Wine of the Year by Tim Atkin and received the 2nd highest rating in Wine Advocate’s SA Report.

Success with Syrah has been equally compelling. It took Andrea and Chris almost a decade to identify single vineyards that showcase the Swartland soils in Granite, Schist and Iron. “Mullineux epitomise elegant, terroir-driven, traditionally tailored wines that deliver nuanced scents and flavours while rarely treading over 13.5% alcohol,” comments Neal. This allows their Syrah’s to unwind over time and the maiden vintages are just starting to reveal their true character. Expect the single vineyard Syrahs to age well for 2 decades.

Reaching the pinnacle with yet another category, the Mullineux Old Vines White is ranked among the best of South African white blends, underpinned by unctuous but mineral old vine Swartland Chenin Blanc. It too offers superb agebility, displaying more nuttiness and depth over time. Lastly, but certainly not least, the single terroir Chenin Blancs mingle at the top of South Africa’s great white wines. Precise, elegant and profound, which can be said for all Mullineux Family Wines’ magic offerings.

Mullineux wines available during the Strauss & Co fine wine auction 11 April:

Mullineux Olerasy No.2

“It is an ethereal wine that gives me no choice but to use a simple word loaded with meaning and one I rarely use with respect to wine… perfection.”  Neal Martin, Vinous – 100 points

Mullineux Old Vines White Vertical 2014 – 2019  (Insert Old Vines Image)

“The Swartland is blessed with an abundance of old vine Chenin and we use this as the backbone of our white blend. We then add several small parcels of Mediterranean varieties for complexity, balance and aromatic lift. The grapes come from vineyard parcels in different parts of the Swartland:  the stony Shale and Schist based soils of the Kasteelberg,  the decomposed Granite of the Paardeberg and the rolling, iron-rich hills west of Malmesbury.”

Platter’s SA Wine Guide 2014, 2017, 2018 – 5*

Mullineux Essence 2012

‘The 2012 Essence is essentially the last of two-day pressing, fermented for four years in barrel, 4.5% alcohol with (drum roll please) a whopping 650 grams per liter of residual sugar. It was pressed at around 80 brix! Refulgent amber in color, it has a gorgeous orange sorbet, syrup, fig, Seville orange marmalade and quince-scented bouquet that is very well defined. The palate is, to quote Chris himself, a “complete monster”—a diabetic’s worst nightmare. The senses are bewildered and then seduced by the payload of sweet honeyed fruit, the 14.5 grams of acidity maintaining the balance and freshness. It positively lacquers the inside of the mouth and the finish delivers just a very subtle bitter lemon note that prevents it from being cloying. Outrageous and probably immortal. There are 700 bottles, all 250-milliliters.”