Young Guns
Online-Only Auction, 17 - 28 November 2022
Young Guns | For the classicists and the geeks alike, an incredible collection
About the SessionWhat is a Young Gun?
A talented winemaker who pushes the boundaries, breaks the rules and creates cutting-edge wines with personality and energy. Young Guns either work, or have worked for notable estates, but also produce unique wines under their own labels. They are dynamic, working together in pushing the envelope and promoting brand SA. They are the winemakers who should be on your radar as they are making some of the most daring, innovative, and simply delicious wines in SA. They travel and taste extensively, drawing inspiration from the classics through to the more edgy, hip styles and techniques, from the profound and obscure wine regions of the world. And then they apply their own creative interpretations on home soil, often searching for unique vineyard sites, cultivars and old vines. The results are most often small in numbers and high in demand, selling out on release. They are the rising stars, the future icons and ultimately, tomorrow’s investment wines.
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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.
Critics Ratings
‘Wonderfully expressive of 80+ year Franschhoek Semillon vineyard. 2017 shows exuberant, ripely scented lemon rind and spices. The wine’s richness and full body is invigorated by sheer concentration of flavour, firm dry finish. Excellent potential. Fermented/aged in ‘youngest’ old oak (4-5 years) ”as it needs to breathe”.’ - Platter’s SA Wine Guide 2019, 5* (95/100)
‘Chris Alheit is one of a small and privileged group who buy fruit from Anton Roux’s 1936 vineyard on the southern side of Dassenberg. Dense and richly coloured, it has yeasty, savoury, choux pastry and jasmine notes and a broad, skilfully oaked finish. 2020-27.’ - Tim Atkin SA Special Report 2018, 94/100
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