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Razvan Macici, Nederburg cellar master, enjoying Edelkeur

An interesting feature this year is a pair of whites nearing their teens, a 12-year-old Semillon and an 11-year-old Chardonnay, both with lots of life in them still, according to the selection panel.

Those who buy as an investment and track pricing patterns will have noted the rise in value over the years achieved by some of these Private Bin wines. The 1979 Edelkeur that in 2009 went for R3,500 a case, as an example, fetched R5,000 in 2012, and a record R29,000 in 2014.

Brözel's best

Although the 1979 vintage doesn't appear in the 2015 catalogue, the 1977 Edelkeur certainly does. A Veritas double gold medallist, it is the oldest offering this year and the only wine outside Europe to be awarded Top Ten status at the 2007 International Botrytis Type Wine and Sweet Competition in Budapest, when it more than held its own against famous-name Tokays, Trockenbeerenauslese wines and Sauternes. Eight years ago, the judges in Hungary lauded it for its "aroma of fruit, burnt wood, coffee bean (and) smoke," its "smooth, rich and concentrated" characters and excellent "limpidity, colour and persistence". Tasting it recently in Paarl, the auction's selection committee was similarly impressed by the noble late harvest icon, made by luminary Günter Brözel.

Also on offer is the 1982 Edelkeur, another venerable beauty made by Brözel.

Gunter Brozel with Nederburg Edelkeur 1977 & 1979

For those seeking younger vintages, there is the 2005 Edelkeur that last went under the hammer in 2013, when the top price fetched was R3,800 a case. The 2007 vintage is also available this year. Both, multi-gold medallists have been made by Razvan Macici, who has accelerated the international award-winning tradition established by Brözel.

His 2009 Eminence, another flagship dessert wine in the 2015 catalogue, was judged the wine of the show at the 2011 Five Nations Wine Challenge in Sydney. The 2008 Eminence, also on offer this year, earned 96 points to take the trophy for the best unfortified dessert wine at the 2011 Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show, and was one of the top ten wines in the 2011 Muscats du Monde in France.

There are two other dessert wines to look out for: the 2002 S316 Weisser Riesling and the 2007, unnumbered Semillon Noble Late Harvest, another double-gold winner.

Last year, the highest price for the 2009 vintage of Nederburg's Private Bin R163 Cabernet Sauvignon was R5,500 a case. Enthusiasts will be watching very closely to how the 2010 vintage fares this year. A similarly rich wine with abundant black and red fruit flavours and notes of coffee and cassis, its firm but silky tannins give it the structure to age another 20 years at least. The same longevity holds for the very elegant and assured 2004 R104 Petit Verdot.

In addition to the Private Bin 2003 D266 Semillon and 2004 D270 Chardonnay, there is the 2004 R115, a Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon blend. The other two reds are the 2007 R121 Shiraz and 2006 R181 Merlot, another Veritas gold winner. For more details, go to www.nederburgauction.co.za.

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