Soldaat 2016

Provenance

The late David Brice was a respected wine connoisseur, collector and co-founder of Wine Cellar, fine wine merchants. His lifelong passion for wine from all corners of the world wine, and generosity, helped develop a culture of fine wine in South Africa and beyond. Always with value and authenticity in mind, the collection spans a wide range of styles from leading producers and diverse regions. The wines were professionally imported under refrigeration and carefully stored at Wine Cellar thereafter. Many of the producers are not available in South Africa and provide an excellent buying opportunity.

David celebrated the variation of vintage but also took advantage of great vintages. Over the last 10 years the 2016s have proven to be one of the greatest modern-day Bordeaux vintages, on par or superior to the likes of 2010, 2009 or 2005. Across Bordeaux, the wines are structured and pure combining exotic notes and sweet fruit. As part of our annual 10-year auction, we showcase 2016 Bordeaux vintage which will delight over many decades, especially in large format. David also bought the highly regarded Italian vintage, which produced exceptional wines in Piedmont and Tuscany especially.

For more detailed information on the lots, please feel free to contact Roland Peens (roland@winecellar.co.za). Roland spent many years sharing and enjoying these wines with David Brice and is happy to provide further insight into the collection.

Critics Ratings

'Lovely warming nose of strawberry jam on warm scones, crushed gravel and sweet fynbos herbal notes before bramble berry fruits with a distinct savoury, meaty finish.' - Greg Sherwood MW, 93+/100 (Jan 2023)

'Grenache from Piekenierskloof, 2016 treads lightly despite ripeness relative to other reds in line-up. Fragrant, with attractive sanguine tones, spicy characters; refreshing grape tannin grip & endless densely packed fruit finish. Year in concrete 'eggs'.' - Platter's SA Wine Guide 2018, 4.5* (94/100)

'A bright, fresh style, with unadorned raspberry and boysenberry fruit flavors streaming through, flecked with dried anise, black tea and shiso leaf notes. A well-embedded iron hint through the finish adds spine and cut. Very refined. Grenache. Drink now through 2022.' - James Molesworth, Wine Spectator, 93/100 (Feb 2018)

'For my money, this is the best Grenache in South Africa. Made with 85% whole bunches, it's a fine, elegant, floral red showing flavours of plum, bramble and liquorice, sweet Asian spices, fine tannins and remarkable freshness from its altitude of 708 metres. 2019-28.' - Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2017, 96/100

'Grenache. Light nose. Rather mild and well behaved with some light saltiness. Fresh and floral. Far from Châteauneuf-du-Pape intensity! Long. It builds on the end.' - Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, 16.5+/20 (Oct 2017)