Alheit Vineyards 'Cartology' Bush Vines 2021
Cartology 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 Sémillon. These grapes have been planted in the Cape for centuries. Cartology has become our staple offering. It serves as a poster child for our project, and also seems to have become a flag bearer for Cape heritage wine in general.
Grape Varietals & Regions: Cartology 2020 is 93% Chenin blanc and 7% Sémillon. The Chenin comes from our parcels in the Skurfberg, Perdeberg, Upper Blaauwklippen, False Bay and Tygerberg. The Sémillon comes from the old La Colline block in Franschhoek. As a rule, the Cartology parcels are dry-farmed bush vines, with a minimum age of thirty years, although most are between forty and fifty years old. Average yields for these parcels is around 3 tons/Ha or around 20hl/Ha.
Taste Profile: Alheit Cartology Chenin Blanc looks alive and bright, pale gold in colour. The nose shows citrus oil and pear, with some subtle floral/honey tones. The palate is very well proportioned, with firm mid-palate structure, medium rich mouth feel, and long carry. Flavour persists and even intensifies throughout its length. The wine finishes dry and saline, refreshing the palate. This vintage has a sappy, thirst-quenching quality
about it.
Winemaking Process: The grapes are hand sorted and whole bunch pressed. The juice is very lightly settled (we like very cloudy raw juice) with no additions to the raw juice, wild fermentation in either cements eggs, clay pots, foudres, or old barrels (various sizes). Fermentation can last anywhere between 3 weeks and 11 months. The wine is kept on lees for around twelve months, then rested in tank on fine lees without fining for a further six months prior to bottling. Very simple, careful winemaking.
