Nigerian takes Nederburg’s top lots

Nigerian businessman Obi Ndibe has walked away with the top lots at this year’s Nederburg Auction.

Ndibe bought both the most expensive South African bottle at the sale and the highest priced wine.

The businessman and wine importer secured a single case of 6 x 750 ml bottles of Monis Collectors Port 1948 for R68,000 (£5,530), the highest price ever paid for a South African wine at the auction.

The previous highest price for one case of 6 x 750 ml bottles was R62,000 (£5,000), paid last year for the 1964 Nederburg Port.

Ndibe was also behind the highest bid of the charity auction, which was R31,000 (£2,526) for a single bottle of Echezeaux-H Du Villaine 1966, donated by Duimpie Bayly on behalf of the Distell Tabernacle Wine Collection.

This year’s event on 16-17 September in Paarl marked the 37th Nederburg Auction and raised a total of R6,133,840 (£500,000), up 8% from the R5.7 million (£463,000) fetched last year, despite the 19% fewer cases on offer.

The sale raised R183,100 (£14,920) for the beneficiaries, Goedgedacht Trust, the Pebbles Project Trust and the Anna Foundation.