Alheit Vineyards : Cartology 2021

The purity and authenticity of a white Western Cape wine

The property

Located in the Walker Bay region of South Africa, Alheit Vineyards is a family estate created in 2011 by Chris and Suzaan Alheit. After travelling to the world's greatest wine-producing countries (United States, France, Australia, Germany), this young couple settled in 2010 on Hemelrand Farm, with the ambition of revealing the potential of old South African vineyards of Chenin and Semillon grapes.

Convinced that the quality and beauty of a wine comes exclusively from its vineyard of origin, they focus most of their work on rigorous vineyard management. Their minimalist approach to making white wines aims to capture the pure and authentic expression of these great terroirs with their rare and unique soil mosaic. Over the years, Alheit Vineyards has become one of South Africa's most fascinating estates.

The vineyard

Cartology is a Western Cape wine that tells the history of the estate, made from a blend of the property’s best plots. These old vines are between thirty-five and fifty years old and are goblet pruned and non-irrigated. The Chenin comes from the Skurfberg parcels with clay and red sand soils, Malmesbury, Upper Blaauwklippenau, Perdeberg, False Bay, Tygerberg with granite and schist soils and the steep slopes of Bottelary with granite and some schist. The Semillon comes from the plots of La Colline in Franschhoek grown on quartz-rich sandstone and granite soil.

The wine

This wine, named Cartology in reference to the study of maps, is intended to trace the identity of each of the old vineyards in the Cape region like an exploration map.

Winemaking and ageing

After the harvest, the grapes were sorted by hand and pressed in whole bunches. The juice was very lightly settled. A simple and careful vinification then began with fermentation with indigenous yeasts in oval cement vats, clay jars, foudres or old barrels (of various sizes). The wine was aged on its lees for about twelve months, followed by a further six months in vats on its fine lees without fining before bottling.

Blend

Chenin blanc (90%)
Sémillon (10%)

Characteristics and tasting tips for Cartology 2021 from Alheit Vineyard

Nose
Chiselled and elegant, the nose releases herbaceous and ripe pear scents, supported by notes of citrus peel.

Palate
Pure and authentic, the palate has a great structure. Balanced and opulent without being heavy, the palate entices with its lovely  intensity and saline length.

Storage

Cartology 2021 from Alheit Vineyards can be tasted from today, or can be laid down for some years to reveal all its aromatic palette.