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.
Fire by Night is a single origin Chenin Blanc wine grown on Alheit's Paardeberg property called Nuwedam. The Paardeberg holds a mythical place in their hearts. It is both ground zero for the quality revolution that’s sweeping the Cape, and home base for some of our country’s wine heroes. Previously under-valued, the Paardeberg sports an embarrassment of riches: pure decomposed granite soil and an abundance of dry-farmed old bushvines.
Provenance
Wine Cellar Private Client
Critics Ratings
'The 2018 Fire by Night is pure Swartland Chenin Blanc and aged in the same minimal-intervention manner as Cartology. This is quite reticent on the nose at first, manifesting orange blossom and honeysuckle/jasmine aromas with aeration but never achieving the intensity of the Cartology. The entrancing palate features tangerine and quince notes on the entry, pitch-perfect acidity and an effervescent finish that urges you to take another sip immediately. Feel that energy! This is a quite brilliant wine from Chris Alheit.' - Neal Martin, Vinous, 96/100 (Oct 2019)
'Fire by Night comes from a farm that Chris Alheit acquired in August 2019, which secures the source of this impressive Chenin. Made with fruit from a cooler, morning sun-facing parcel, it shows the taut, almost austere minerality that's a feature of the Nuwedam farm, layers of spice, lees and subtle oak and lovely precision. 2021-30.' - Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2019, 94/100
'Chiseled and energetic, this Chenin shows melon, yellow apple and mirabelle plum flavors of great intensity, underscored by mouthwatering acidity. Hints of juniper and sea salt add a savory, fresh component, which extends on the finish. Beautifully put together, with a gorgeous mouthfeel. Best from 2022 through 2032.' - Wine Spectator, 93/100 (Nov 2020)
'A little less open than the Cartology. Some lime fruit and crunchy green apple, tangerine as it opens. A gentle oak mealiness on the palate and fabulous fruit purity with a dry finesse that seems to be the granite effect. Utterly mouth-watering without being tart. Very persistent.' - Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com, 17.5/20 (Sep 2019)
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