Description
“CELLAR INFORMATION Flavour-wise, the grapes were perfect but, with almost twice as much fruit as expected, the concentration these vineyards usually deliver was not quite there. Conceding that not all the resulting wine was ever going to make the cut for his grand vin, he knew he needed to maak ‘n plan…
So, whilst we are experiencing a shortfall in the overall production of wines under the Alheit Vineyards label for this next campaign, followers of the Liberator are only set to benefit from the component parts that failed to make the grade.
Rick has already proclaimed the result to be virtually extra-terrestrial… VINEYARD INFORMATION No less than a five-hour drive from relative civilisation and six hours back (in order to ‘protect the integrity of the fruit’), it takes numerous round trips to pick these low-yielding, old vine chenin grapes. And this is just one of the extreme sites where our winemaking protagonist harvests fruit from, only to end up as a bi-product of his own highly regarded, and equally highly sought-after wines…
The ‘return of midnight bakkie’ suggests a follow up to an earlier Liberator release. It is, although previously, our winemaker had demanded complete anonymity, his face pixelated to hide his true identity. This time, however, his cover has been completely blown…
The winter of 2021 was wet, and our pixel-faced winemaker didn’t factor for the potential increase in the crop sourced from his carefully selected vineyards. Historically, having purchased grapes by the hectare (rather than conventionally by the tonne), our boy-wonder was caught on the hop. Too many grapes means too much wine in the cellar.”
Producer Profile
Vineyard Information
As a rule, the Cartology parcels are dry farmed bushvines, with a minimum age of 35 years, although most are between 40 and 50 years old. Average yields for these parcels is around 3 tons/Ha or around 20hl/Ha. Cartology 2022 is 92% Chenin Blanc and 8% Sémillon. The Chenin comes from our parcels in the Skurfberg, Malmesbury, Perdeberg, Bottelary, Upper Blaauwklippen, False Bay and Tygerberg. The Sémillon comes from the old La Colline block in Franschhoek.
Cellar Information
The grapes were hand sorted and whole bunch pressed. The juice was very lightly settled (we like very cloudy raw juice) with no additions to the raw juice, wild fermentation took place in cements eggs, clay pots, foudres, and old barrels (various sizes). Fermentation of various parcels lasted anywhere between 3 weeks and 11 months. The wine was kept on lees for around 12 months, then rested in tank on fine lees without fining for a further five months prior to bottling. Very simple, careful winemaking.
Tasting note
“This flagship blend from Chris Alheit is made from 92% Chenin Blanc and 8% Semillon grapes sourced from eight disparate old vine vineyards of between 40 and 60 years old. The youthful aromatics display a melange of granitic minerality over notes of peach, tangerine, orange oil and wet hay nuances. The 2022 is beautifully cool, harmonious and overtly mineral-led with dusty dried herbs, white peach, green pear and yellow stone fruits. The acids are gentle, soft spoken but deliciously tangy and the finish creamy, leesy and delightfully mouth-coating with and impressively persistent length. Yet another superb Cartology release from Chris ‘Butch’ Alheit. Drink now and over the next 10 to 12+ years.” – Greg Sherwood MW (95+ Points)
