Young Guns and New Wave Producers
Timed Online Auction, 17 - 27 November 2023
Young Gun and New Wave Producers
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.
Sourced from the single La Colline vineyard, planted in 1936 roughly 350m above sea level on a southern slope in the Franschhoek valley. Skin fermented Semillon Gris, with one quarter whole bunch pressed Semillon blanc. An inter-planted expression of dark- and light skinned Semillon vines that is now virtually extinct outside of Cape old vines, and so affords a chance to taste something uniquely South African.
Winemaker's Notes: "This is a single vineyard bottling from the old Semillon vineyard that we’ve been working with since the outset. It’s a wonderful, slightly temperamental old beast. Planted between 320m and 360m above sea level on a southern slope in the Franschhoek valley, the wine from this block is always good, but in a good vintage it’s sublime. It was planted by the grandfather of the current farmer on La Colline farm in the year 1936, it’s truly beautiful. It also has a curious dark side: Dark skinned grapes, or Semillon Gris. This oddity still grows in some of the Cape’s older vineyards, though it’s virtually extinct everywhere else on the planet. This affords us a chance to make something unique to the Cape."
Provenance
Private Client
Critics Ratings
'A first outing for this assemblage of Semillon Gris and Blanc from the La Colline vineyard. It’s a restrained, backward wine that needs time to unfurl its flavours. Six days on skins have given the wine texture and grape skin notes, complemented by toasty oak and pure, focused, citrus and lemongrass notes. Drink: 2015-21’ - Tim Atkin, SA Wine Report 2015, 94/100
'For the geeks. 2014 from single Franschhoek vineyard. 75% red-skinned grapes, fermented separately on skins for a week - hence rich red-gold colour & tannic grip. Oxidative winemaking gives earthy, bruised apple note that scarcely detracts from purity & freshness.' - Platter’s SA Wine Guide 2016, 4.5*
Other lots that might interest you
