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September 2011 - On the eve of its 80th
birthday next year, Chateau Libertas, the
grandfather of South African red blends,
is in great shape with a reputation to match.
At the 2011 Nederburg Auction, a trio
of 50-year-old bottles went for an impressive
R20 000, the equivalent of R6 666 a 750ml
bottle. The 1961 vintage wine was bought
by a foreign company trading between Asia
and Africa.
There were two other lots of vintage
Chateau Libertas that also fetched handsome
prices. A six-bottle case of 1965 was
sold to a local chain for R14 000 (or
R2 333 a bottle), while a 1967 case of
six bottles went under the hammer for
R8 800 (R1 466 a bottle), sold to a Chinese
buyer.
Chateau Libertas was developed by Dr
William Charles Winshaw in 1932 as an
elegant Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend
and has been made without interruption
ever since. |
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