Singaporeans, turtle skirt and South African wines as investments(3)

            This point might be overlooked if South African wines were
            considered rare enough. One such exception is the George Spies
            Cabernet Sauvignon 1966 from Stellenbosch. You've probably read
            about the wine being awarded 95 points in Wine Spectator by James
            Molesworth during a 2007 South African visit. "I found a bottle of
            George Spies 1968 for R10 in a bargain bin," Peens continued. "We
            had it at a tasting the other day and it was phenomenal. It should
            be selling for thousands of Rand on a wine auction."
            Peens wondered if the correct interpretation should be that great
            South African investment wines were amongst those made pre-1980s.
            "We don't seem to have a market for glorious older vintages. But I
            don't believe in local wines from the eighties or early nineties,"
            he admitted candidly.
            Tasting two impressive wine releases last week, the Vilafont?Series
            C 2006, and Morgenster 2005, I thought about local investment wines
            again. Both wines exhibit elegant blending, fine tannins and
            cellaring ability; initial vintages being held back until their
            makers were confident of what was in the bottle. Both achieved
            Platter five-star ratings for the first time in 2009, and have
            cellar door prices upwards of R300. Considerable thought and cash
            injections went into vineyard and cellar practices, and foreign
            expert input came from Americans Phil Freese and Zelma Long
            (Vilafont?, and Pierre Lurton (Morgenster) respectively. Although
            not referring to these wines specifically, Peens' outlook for
            top-end local wines seemed more optimistic going forward. "Perhaps
            South African wines are getting better and more age-worthy. Maybe in
            10 years the investment picture will be different," he suggested.
            I think he's right. Are wines such as Series C and Morgenster going
            to drink better after a few years of ageing? Unquestionably. Neither
            have the track record and history of South African competitor
            wineries, and there is no certainty that either wine will appreciate
            in value. But with world stock markets in flux, I reckon there would
            be riskier moves than gambling on a case or two of each. If all else
            fails, you could follow the example of the MRTs in Singapore after a
            few years cellaring, and drink it.