Alheit Vineyards | Sadie Family Wines | Vilafonté
Live Virtual Auction, 10 October 2021
Fine Wine
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.
Cartology is one of the most recognisable Cape white blends today.
Cartology (meaning the study of maps) is a vinous exploration of Cape heritage. It’s intended to be a picture of the Cape, seen through the lens of her old vineyards, in a given vintage. The cuveé is composed of rare and extraordinary parcels of mature dryland bushvines, of heritage grapes, namely Chenin blanc and Semillon. These grapes have been planted in the Cape for centuries. As a rule, the Cartology parcels are dry farmed bushvines, with a minimum age of thirty years, altough most are between forty and fifty years old. Cartology has become the staple offering. It serves as a poster child for the Alheit Vineyards project, and also seems to have become a flag bearer for Cape Heritage wine in general.
Previously selected as one of Decanter magazine’s top four wines of 2013.
Critics Ratings
‘The bouquet is very well-defined with great clarity, very reminiscent of the 2011, opening up with aeration to reveal subtle scents of lemon curd, apricot, honeysuckle and Mirabelle. The palate is well-balanced, harmonious in the mouth, everything understated at first, but it builds nicely toward a taut, saline finish… Succinct is the word that comes to mind - and that is not an easy attribute to instill into a wine’ – Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (October 2014), 93/100
‘13 from 4 old blocks of Chenin, one (12%) of Semillon. Scents of warmed stone, fynbos, fruit (with semillon’s lanolin & lemon). Triumphant but understated power from start to long, long finish. Already complex layers of sweet, serene flavours in supple, silky harmony. Will develop.’ – Platter’s SA Wine Guide 2015, 4.5*
‘This is really spicy on the nose, more rocky and mineral. Real tension here, arrow-like at the core but clothed in non-sweet lemony fruit depth. This has so much tension and some grip in the texture. Less creamy but very fruity, more peppery on the finish. Becoming very scented on the nose. Not the same concentration as in 2011 and 2014 but more minerally and direct.’ – Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com (July 2018), 17/20
‘(88% Chenin Blanc and 12% Semillon; from low-yielding old bush vines): Pale straw-yellow. Fresh, subtle aromas of citrus fruit, pear, honeysuckle, minerals and lanolin, plus a whiff of redcurrant. A laid-back midweight wine with a slight umami salinity to its understated lemon, quince, stone and dried herb flavors. This very young white wine finishes with sneaky persistence.’ – Stephen Tanzer, Vinous.com (June 2015), 91/100
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