South African & International Fine Wine
Live Auction, 14 September 2019
Session One
About this Item
Believed to be South Africa’s oldest red blend, Chateau Libertas was established by Dr William Charles Winshaw in 1932 to introduce a lightly wooded dry red blend. It has been produced every year since. A unique blend of Cinsaut, Cabernet Sauvignon and later Pinotage, vintages such as 1940, 57 and 61 are remarkably composed and revered today, especially in 750ml bottle.
These rare bottles from the Winshaw family cellar are some of the last known bottles in existence. This wine has been checked and re-corked by Amorim cork under supervision of auction curator Higgo Jacobs, assuring providence, quality and long life.
Provenance
Winshaw La GratitudeCritics Ratings
‘An incredibly youthful, vibrant and aromatic expression, this red wine at 61 years old is the most distinguished stately gentleman of wines I have ever encountered. Loaded full of youthful creme de cassis, boiled black berry sweets, macerated black cherries, earthy ripe prunes, raisined cranberries, fynbos spice, dried mint leaf and a profoundly pure and balanced palate minerality that follows the fruit complexity of the nose. It’s not just the mellow concentration and regal balance that astounds the senses, but the sweet fruited glycerol texture, the vibrantly fresh palate and tightly packed sweet mellow tannins that seduce the senses and invite you in for more. This is the stuff of legends, a wine you will want to tell your kids you drank. It’s also a wine that not only brought tears to grown winemakers eyes, but also the first perfect score on the Fine Wine Safari and possibly the first ever de facto 100 point score for a South African still wine! Yes!’ – Greg Sherwood MW, Wine Safari, 100/100