Wine Composition
26% Chardonnay, 26% Chenin Blanc, 23% Roussanne, 21% Verdelho, 4% Muscat
Awards
Tim Atkin | 92 points
Wine Spectator | 91 points
Technical Analysis
Alcohol Percentage
13.5%
Winemakers Comments
A blend of Roussane, some Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, a small amount of Verdelho and some Muscat Blanc. An impressive nose with notes of roasted nuts, ripe apples, stone fruit and flowers. A powerful, creamy wine with a pleasantly balancing natural acidity. The basic idea of this mixed sentence is to revive an old Cape tradition. Certainly with varieties that are adapted to today's times and in an unusually high place of 360 meters above the sea.
Previous Awards
WA | 94
Winemaker
Name - Chris Alheit
Winery
Chris & Suzaan Alheit are a husband and wife team. They have traveled and worked harvest together in California’s Napa Valley, Western Australia, St Emilion, the Clare Valley & the Mosel River. Their love for adventure overseas has led them to New Zealand, Languedoc, Roussillon, Provence, the Northern & Southern Rhone & the Cyclades in Greece. They have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for the great wines of Europe, a place they consider to be the heartland of truly fine wine. They strive, in their winemaking, to apply lessons learned in Europe to what they do in the Cape. Alheit is based on Hemelrand, a beautiful mountain farm situated high on the Hemel & Aarde Ridge in Walker Bay. This rugged piece of fynbos covered land belongs to Hans & Mary Anne Evenhuis. Complete with stone buildings, Hemelrand is planted in an olive grove, lavender fields, and a very exciting young vineyard. The Alheit’s aim is to make wines that have a fine form and are not bulky. The result is finely crafted wines that have ample power, but no excess weight – something akin to a gymnast, rather than a sumo wrestler. The Alheit’s are absolute minimalist in their winemaking approach. Grapes are whole bunch pressed. No enzymes, sulfur or yeast are used. The grapes undergo natural fermentation in old barrels with absolutely no new oak used. The first sulfur is applied in winter. The wines are not racked and they stay on the lees for ten months. Filtration is used only if absolutely needed. The wine is held for seven months prior to release.
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