The Nederburg Auction has been running for 35 years, during which time it went from being an unheralded and unrecognised event to the most prestigious occasion on the wine industry calendar. It began as something of a fun day in the sun for the country's retailers. Few knew what to do with small parcels of supposedly rare wines so prices were ludicrously low. Even in 1975 it was uneconomical to produce a 750ml bottle of Edelkeur for R1-44! In the boom times which followed, however, the story was always about record turnovers and higher-than-ever average prices.

In the past few years it has moved into a kind of no-man's-land: too big to be disregarded, not cutting edge enough to attract the market-makers, and with entertainment - canapés and risqué fashion - that is more South Coast than Camp's Bay. In the meantime it has been superseded by the Cape Winemakers Guild auction, a bit of a homespun and rather clubby event whose success is probably as much a mystery to those who direct it as it has been to those who have witnessed it.

Initially the Guild's success had little impact on Nederburg, but the Paarl sale has now been caught in the spotlight of the inevitable comparison. The same producers, selling at both auctions within a few weeks of each other, obtain vastly different results for very similar wines. It's not difficult to predict where this will lead if Distell - which owns Nederburg and therefore funds the operation - doesn't do something more substantial than a little cosmetic surgery.

Replacing the local auctioneer with Anthony Barne from Bonhams in London is a little like firing the coach when the team is not performing: it looks like you're addressing the disease, while the symptoms persist. There's nothing wrong with palliative care - though the unhappy truth is that unless there are buyers in the room, there's nothing the man with the gavel can do (legally) to drum up the feeding frenzy prices which have characterised the Guild sale.

The good news is that, until there's a dramatic turnaround in the image of the auction, there may not be enough bidders to mop up Nederburg's much larger volumes. This makes 2010 more of a buyer's occasion than could ever have been imagined five years ago. I tasted a selection of the wines on offer, and found several which were excellent and unlikely to break the bank. Of the reds the Nederburg Private Bin R181 Merlot 2001 is truly exceptional, complex, persistent, with velour-like textures and tobacco and mulberry spice. Among the whites, the D252 2008 Sauvignon-Semillon, the D234 Sauvignon Blanc 2008, the D270 Chardonnay 2007 (all from Nederburg) and two Chenins - the Bellingham Maverick 2006 and the Mountain Oaks 2005 (from 50 year old vines, organically farmed) - were the ones I'd chase down.

In addition, glancing through the catalogue, I identified a few worth a flutter. These include the 1998 Kanonkop Cabernet, the 1991 Kanonkop Paul Sauer, the 2002 Le Riche Cabernet Reserve, the 2004 La Motte Pierneef Shiraz-Viognier, the 2004 Rustenberg John X Merriman, the 2004 Seidelberg Un Deux Trois, the 2003 Vilafonte Series C, the 2005 L'Avenir Grand Vin Pinotage 2005, the 1982 Meerendal Pinotage, the 1974 Zonnebloem Pinotage and the 1974 Zonnebloem Shiraz.

White wine drinkers should be seeking out the 2003 Mulderbosch Barrel-fermented Chardonnay, the 2008 Uva Mira Single Vineyard Chardonnay, the 2007 Zonnebloem Semillon, and the 2007 De Grendel Koetshuis Sauvignon Blanc. All of the Nederburg dessert wines (they are truly world class and are under-valued compared to Sauternes and the Rheingau) could comfortably be included. Finally, the small parcel of fortifieds - which includes 1930 KWV Muscadel, a 1983 Monis "Marsala" and two fairly current wines from Nuy - justify the effort of using the Bergkelder's new public bidding platform. (For more information on how to use this innovative public bidding arrangement contact Michael van Deventer on 021 8098285 or mvandeventer@distell.co.za.)