CWG 2021 auction wines: the bottles to bid on

The 36th annual Cape Winemakers Guild Auction is being held in London for the second year in a row, due to the difficulties facing the South African wine industry in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Auction house Bonhams will host the sale, sponsored by Nedbank, live and online from 10am London time on 2 October.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of some of the top CWG 2021 auction wines to bid on

The Cape Winemakers Guild (CWG) was founded in 1982, with the first auction in 1985. Membership of the guild is by invitation only, and the 45 winemakers collectively choose the wines for each auction. These exclusive, small-lot wines are only available via the sale.

This year, the 45 wines (see list below) are split into 485 lots of 36, 24 or 12 bottles. There are also a number of magnums available in lots of six and 12 bottles.

As in previous sales, the predicted top lot is Kanonkop’s CWG Paul Sauer, made by Abrie Beeslaar. The 2018 vintage of this iconic Bordeaux blend has a pre-auction estimate of £76-£100 a bottle.

Last year, funds raised by the first case of each auction wine were donated to CWG member Samantha O’Keefe. Her Lismore Estate in Greyton was destroyed by fire in December 2019.

This year O’Keefe makes her CWG auction debut, with an exciting Chenin Blanc–Viognier blend. Here Comes the Sun 2020 has a pre-auction estimate of £32-£40 a bottle.

Strong bidding is also expected for the wines of retiring CWG members Jeff Grier (Villiera), Jeremy Walker (Grangehurst) and Jacques Borman (Boschkloof).