Chenin & Pinotage
Timed Online Auction, 4 - 11 September 2023
Chenin & Pinotage
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
About this Item
Chris and Suzanne Alheit set the wine world on fire with their maiden 2011 Cartology receiving 96 points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. Aiming to harness the best old vineyards across the Cape, the Cartology offered a textured old-vine Chenin Blanc Semillon blend with startling purity and depth. Passionate and focused on the expression of place, tiny, long-forgotten parcels were added to the range, and are today South Africa’s most profound white wines. We auction maiden vintages of Magnetic Makstok on the legendary ‘Skurfkop’ in the Citrusdal area, Huilkrans in the Paardeberg, La Colline in Franschhoek, and, extremely rare Radio Lazarus in Stellenbosch.
Winemakers personal tasting note:
'The unique soils must have played a big role in how these vines coped with the dry year. There’s a clay layer about two meters below that must act as a reservoir, enabling the vines to do well in such conditions. We’ve never had a wine quite like this in the cellar. The nose is extremely impressive: high toned citrus and fynbos notes screaming love poetry at your nose. The palate is totally electric, bright, powerful and long. This is my personal favourite of our bottlings to date.' - Chris Alheit
Why the odd name? The vineyard lies a few degrees off true north from the cellar, roughly on magnetic North. The name implies distance and exploration. It implies a true course of action or movement. It implies an attractive force causing us to drive miles and miles for these vines. There is plenty of iron in the soil, which is a magnetic element, so that fit nicely too.
In physical reality, Magnetic North is always moving, it never remains in the same place, so there is the added implication of a mysterious unattainable target.
'Since it’s maiden vintage in 2013, this wine has become a perennial star in our lineup. It’s the one we would send out to war if you know what I mean. Every vintage it managed to combine power and finesse in a way very few other Chenin vineyard from anywhere (not just the Cape) are able to do.' - Chris Alheit
Provenance
Private Client
Critics Ratings
'It was so dry, but we’ve ended up with this,” says Chris Alheit, talking of this remarkable Chenin from blocks 10 and 13 of Basi van Lill’s West Coast farm. Aged in older wood, it’s very high in acidity and minerality, with aromas of white flowers segueing into a chiselled, appley, stony palate with leesy complexity and an undertone of oak. Drink 2018-26' - Tim Atkin SA Wine Report 2017, 97/100
'Another hit from Chris and Suzann Alheit. Two adjacent parcels of ungrafted Chenin vines: delicate pear and white blossom yet great persistence. Drinking Window 2018 - 2026' - Decanter.com, 96/100 (2017)
'A place that inspires foolishness and wonder" admit the Alheits of this ungrafted Citrusdal Mountain vineyard. 2016 rewards their folly with uncompromising lemony freshness, resonating pebbly intensity. A Chenin of awe-inspiring individuality, worthy of ripe old age' - Platter's SA Wine Guide 2018, 4.5*
'Intense fruity nose with a hint of something metal? Huge wine but by no means fat. Very intense concentration though not alcohol. Sit up and beg! If this were a dog, you certainly couldn’t ignore it. I think ideally you might wait for it to settle down a bit and develop some subtlety.' - Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, 17.5/20 (Oct 2017)
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