Brandies auction: Thirst-quenching sale

Strauss & Co, South Africa’s leading auction house renowned for fine art and wine auctions, is thrilled to announce the Strauss & Co Cape Fine Brandy Auction, a timed online sale taking place from 6-18 November.

The inaugural auction will feature a curated selection of South Africa’s rarest and most remarkable Cape Fine Brandies, offering connoisseurs the chance to acquire aged treasures from the country’s top distillers.

The auction will run exclusively online and close at 6pm on Monday.

Cape Brandy has a storied legacy dates back centuries, with the earliest known production recorded in 1672.

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Crafted primarily from Chenin Blanc grapes, South African brandy undergoes a rigorous process similar to Cognac production, involving double distillation in copper pot stills and a minimum of three years of maturation in oak casks.

To qualify as a Cape Brandy, the spirit must adhere to specific standards: produced with grapes grown in South Africa’s Cape Wine Regions, double pot still distilled, aged in oak casks of less than 340 litres for a minimum of three years, with a minimum alcohol content of 38% and quality-certified by an independent body.

South African Brandy Association ambassador Shane Mumba shares five things you didn’t know about fine Cape brandy:

• South African brandy comes in three styles: blended, vintage and potstill.
• World-Class Recognition – South African brandy is internationally celebrated, often winning major global trophies.
• High-Quality Ingredients – Made from premium wines, especially Chenin Blanc and Colombard grapes.
• Crafted with Care – Potstill brandies undergo double distillation in copper pot stills and age in oak barrels for a minimum of three years.
• Blended Brandy Trend – Blended brandies are now popular on the cocktail scene.
• At a pre-auction masterclass tasting with a selection of the producers, Roland Peens, Strauss & Co wine specialist noted the following points of interest:
• South African Brandy is full of fruit and flavour, with a rich history and high collectability,
• There is huge value in these spirits, as Cognac of the same quality would be many times the price,
• Often these casks would be blended away and lost forever, hence the rarity of single cask Cape Fine Brandy,
• Cape Fine Brandy is often richer, more exotic and flavourful with riper fruit than Cognac and
• These Cape Fine Brandies are great investments, since they age forever and don’t need special conditions.

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For an enhanced tasting experience Mumba recommends:

• Use a clean brandy snifter or ISO wine tasting glass;
• Add a dash of pure, unchlorinated water if desired,
• Avoid swirling the glass and do not warm the brandy – room temperature is best,
• Begin nosing from 5cm above the glass, moving down slowly to savour the aroma, and
• Sip, swirl in your mouth, and let the flavours emerge as the alcohol’s intensity subsides.

The Strauss & Co Cape Fine Brandy offering includes:

Boplaas; Strauss & Co Potstill Reserve Single Harvest 2005, Sydney Back; Strauss & Co 17-Year-Old Potstill Brandy, Sydney Back; Strauss & Co 22-Year-Old Potstill Brandy, Kaapzicht; Strauss & Co 25-Year-Old Potstill Brandy, KWV; Strauss & Co Limited Edition Single Varietal Pinotage Potstill Brandy, Joseph Barry; Strauss & Co XXO Single Cask Nr. 0306, and Van Ryn’s; Strauss & Co 14-Year-Old PX Cask Finish.

These brandies are being auctioned in varying lot sizes to appeal to both trade and private bidders.

The auction offering also gives bidders the opportunity to buy the perfect corporate or Christmas Gifts.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to acquire the finest Cape brandies SA has to offer.

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