Rhône Theme
Timed Online Auction, 2 - 12 February 2024
Rhône | International & South African offering
About the SessionThe first sale of the 2024 Strauss & Co Fine Wine Auction calendar is an exciting Rhône valley and Rhône-style offering and has fast-become one of the most popular at Strauss & Co Fine Wine Auctions.
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About this Item
Eben Sadie is South Africa’s most revered winemaker and he arguably kick-started the local fine wine revolution. Over two decades his pursuit for quality in the Swartland has been unparalleled in South Africa and he was voted Winemaker of the Year in 2017 by the International Master of Wine Institute. Eben’s wines were influenced by the Rhône and Spain, with traditional local varieties sourced from pockets of old bush vines and unique terroirs. Long-ageing Columella is often regarded as South Africa’s best red, while Palladius similarly offers an incredible Swartland expression and decades of longevity. The old vine single vineyard series, which was first released in the 2009 vintage, is now firmly the most sought-after release of the year. Mev Kirsten is South Africa’s rarest white wine, produced from a century old Stellenbosch vineyard, while the now legendary Skurfberg received 100 points from Tim Atkin in 2020.
An Incredibly rare opportunity to purchase very early vintages of South Africa's Iconic Red.
Columella is named after the ancient Roman writer who produced perhaps the earliest good treatise on viticulture in his De re rustica. Starting in 2000, Eben’s goal was to produce the finest expression of the Swartland and today Columella is South Africa’s most coveted red wine.
Provenance
Wine Cellar Private Client
Critics Ratings
‘Usual stringent quality measures taken to extreme in 2005, resulting in ‘controlled power and freshness, a paradox for the vintage’. Darkly ripe fruit, perfumed nutmeg spice and supple, savoury tannins beautifully integrated into textured sensation. Shiraz with 20% Mourvèdre. 2 years in French oak.’ - Platter’s SA Wine Guide 2008, 4.5*
‘Offers a stunning array of blue and black fruit - blackberry, boysenberry, blueberry and currant - that is pure, driven and refined, with licorice, sweet spice, vanilla, mineral and sanguine notes flittering throughout. Despite its concentration, this is remarkably elegant, with superb length and a seamless finish. Welcome to the majors, South Africa. Syrah and Mourvèdre.’ - James Molesworth, Wine Spectator, 95/100 (Aug 2007)
‘Two years in small oak. Dark rusty red colour with lots of shading at the pale rim. Very warm, rich, briary cocktail on the nose with some prunes and dark chocolate. Fragrant almost floral but sweet and a bit pruney on the palate. Eben describes this as southern Rhône compared with the more northern Rhône style of the 2012.’ - Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, 17/20 (Jan 2015)
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