Cape Heritage and The Loire
Timed Online Auction, 1 - 12 August 2024
Cape Heritage - White Wines
About the SessionThe Cape Heritage White Wine Session features the noble variety, Chenin Blanc, known for its versatility and fruit intensity. South Africa has the oldest Chenin Blanc vines in the world and produces long-aging, diverse and fine wines.
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.
When most people think of Franschhoek, they think of a beautiful little town surrounded by even more beautiful mountains. Not many people know that Franschhoek is the capital of old vine Semillon in the Cape. For wine people, these parcels are a bit of a national treasure.
La Colline is the name of a fruit farm on the southern slopes of the Dassenberg and is home to one of the true greats of Cape heritage vineyards. The vines were planted in 1936 by Antonie Roux, the grandfather of the current farmer Anton Roux. It’s situated between 310 and 350m above sea-level on quartz rich sandstone and granite soil. During summer, these tightly planted bushvines form a wild looking mess of life and grapes. In winter they resemble a crowd of drunkards cartwheeling across the slope. It is a beautiful old thing.
These vines are related to the original vineyard material brought to the Cape in the mid-1600s. Generations of farmers selecting their plants over centuries has led to some unique genetics: parcels of vines like this have several different colours of Semillon growing side by side in a gnarly mess of vine wood: Gris, Rose, Blanc, Vert at the very least. This is very Cape DNA.
Provenance
Private Client
Critics Ratings
‘Pale gold. Nutty almond oak notes, with brown spices (Sémillon Gris?). Some reductive tones too. Ripe lemon and lemon curd. Full-bodied, with a rich but distinctly saline and dusty, savoury palate. Salinity supports its freshness. Long, fine and youthful.’ – Tim Jackson MW, JancisRobinson.com, 17/20 (Aug 2021)
‘In the interplanted La Colline vineyard, the majority of Semillon grapes are gold-skinned, but there are also green, pink and gris colours too. Planted in 1936, it is farmed today by Anton Roux, and since 2015 winemaker Chris Alheit has harvested the grapes together, before whole bunch pressing. The 2018 (with 12% Semillon Gris) has a bit more power than its predecessors; Chris says this is because 20% of the crop comes from the shallow soils at the vineyard’s highest point. Aromas of white citrus, hay and ginger blossom, before a more savoury bay leaf edge and the sweetness of orange peel. Deeply concentrated on the palate, the generous mouthfeel displays orange, white peach and apples. The power is reigned in by energetic acidity and the waxy finish is long and complex.’ – Malu Lambert, Decanter.com, 96/100 (May 2020)
‘Everyone that buys grapes from Anton Roux's 1936 Franschhoek Vineyard makes an exceptional wine with them. Combining Semillon and small amounts of Semillon Gris, this is a herbal, waxy, multi-layered delight with notes of camomile and green tea and dense, focused flavours. 2022-28’ - Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2019, 96/100
‘From Franschhoek Semillon. As ever, some reduction before white peach, naartjie, red apple and a hint of waxiness on the nose. A bit of a brute on the palate – dense, full and very flavourful with a slight bitter quality to the finish. Lots going on but perhaps slightly less refinement that previous vintages.’ – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 94/100 (Aug 2019)
‘The 2018 La Colline is 100% Sémillon from Franschhoek. It demands some time to coalesce on the nose, eventually offering tangerine, beeswax, lanolin and light walnut aromas that achieve wonderful definition. The palate is well balanced with a waxy-textured opening. Flecks of white chocolate and almond infuse the honeyed fruit on the caressing finish. Lovely, but this is not quite as intellectual as some of Alheit’s Chenin Blancs.’ – Neal Martin, Vinous, 93/100 (Oct 2019)
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