2018 Cartology

Chris Alheit was my first port of call on a chilly winter’s day at his winery in Hemel-en-Aarde that he runs with his wife Suzaan. Before broaching his newest releases, we had a frank exchange about the current state of play in the South African wine industry. Behind his self-effacing humor lies a pensive winemaker. It is part of what underlies Alheit’s success. He suggested, correctly, in my opinion, that it is time for the industry to open a new chapter. The industry has now grown up. So, what’s next?

Part of our discussion is woven into my main introduction. We then set about the task in hand, and Alheit gave his view on recent growing seasons and how they have reconfigured his cuvées.

“It was a really good vintage in 2023, whereas I thought 2022 was mediocre, a bit over-cropped,” he explained with a frankness rarely heard in Bordeaux or Burgundy. “The vines are super sensitive to rain and can overproduce easily, plus we had heatwaves in 2022. In 2023, for the early-ripening whites, we had a nice winter and cool spring with no heatwaves, nothing close to the previous year. But in late January and through February, everything south of the Bottelary Hills started getting regular downpours and our Pinots got rained out. I’ve got a fantastic cellar team that really helped. Instead of 250 tons in 2022, in 2023, we had 170 tons of fruit, which is about as much wine as I ever want to make. The only spot affected by oïdium was a plot that makes Nautical Dawn, so there are only 2,000 liters of that cuvée. Cartology is a bit brighter as it contains some of the Chenin Blanc that usually goes into Nautical Dawn. For Swartland and Bottelary, well, that is some of the best fruit I've harvested. Hereafter Here has some old vineyard fruit, but maybe that was a mistake looking back and, in the future, it will be composed of just younger vines, like a small nursery for Cartology. For the Cartology, I always want to have some of the top Sémillon from later-ripening parts of the vineyard on the lower slopes. We waited and waited. But the wine wasn't there and so the Semillon Monument was not bottled and blended into Cartology.”

I asked about any changes in the cellar. “We are gradually moving to larger vessels, including six diamond-shaped concrete tanks, plus concrete eggs and foudres. The cement vats are great for Fire By Night on granite soils, for example. I planted a hectare of Pontac [a red-fleshed variety once widely planted in Stellenbosch] on the farm in the Swartland, and I’m about to plant another two hectares. It is the only red variety that fits in with what we want to do.”

I concur with Alheit. His 2023s surpass his 2022s, which means they are quite brilliant, especially the Fire By Night and Magnetic North. Alheit’s wines represent the apex of contemporary Cape winemaking, infused with character, nuance and expression of place without a sense of conformity. No wonder that allocations are rapidly snapped up. Plus, the label designs are stunning. See also “Fogwell”, a new joint venture whereby Alheit shows he’s also a dab hand at Syrah.

As has become tradition, I tasted Chris Alheit’s latest releases with Peter-Allen Finlayson (Crystallum and Gabriëlskloof) and John Seccombe (Thorne & Daughters). Together, they make a riotous trio so that when I ask them to recreate the boyband pose that I saw on social media a few months ago, they instantly and disturbingly naturally adopt that slightly pretentious, faraway look and gestures of N*SYNC or New Kids on the Block. So, maybe there’s another vocation should winemaking go to pot, but judging by the quality of wines, there’s little to no chance of that happening. Alheit continues to expand his operation and told me that he had recently bought a farm with 22 hectares of vines. However, 16 hectares of that require replanting, Alheit stressing that he would never include fruit from young vines in his Cartology cuvée. His 2022s have spent just shy of a year on the lees and were all bottled in June 2023. “There’s a lot more juice in the cellar. I pressed just under 200 tons,” he explains. “We went from 1.3 tons/ha to 3.0tons/ha.” The samples that I tasted had been opened the previous day and by all accounts, had retained all of their freshness and vitality (as an aside, Alheit’s reductive approach means that I always give them a long decant). As expected, it’s a typical strong range from Alheit in 2022, and as usual, these are wines that are as much about texture as aromas and/or flavors, reminiscent of say, Eben Sadie’s “Old Vine Series.” The white blend that forms Hemelrand Vine Garden is an absolute peach, while his Fire By Night and Nautical Blend demonstrate what Chenin Blanc is capable of from the right terroir in the hands of a dedicated winemaker. Alheit mentioned that obtaining acidity in his Cartology was difficult in this vintage. Still, his struggle was not in vain, even if I err towards his single vineyard cuvées in 2022.

I always meet and taste with Chris Alheit, more known by his nickname “Butch”, with fellow winemakers John Seccombe (Thorne & Daughters) and Peter-Allen Finlayson (Crystallum and Gabriëlskloof). In fact, the first time we met a decade ago was at the winery these three musketeers were sharing. Alheit’s debut Cartology put the estate on the map (no pun intended). Since then, he has augmented his portfolio with a dazzling array of single-vineyard bottlings that push the envelope of both vines and winemaker, sometimes over the limit in the case of the now defunct “Radio Lazarus”. In 2020, his Fire By Night is M.I.A. as Alheit declassified the cuvée a month prior to bottling. He is constantly foraging for new parcels of old vines on terroirs that meet his exacting standards; this vintage is no different with a couple of new labels, including “Hereafter Here” that comes from younger vines on the Nuwedam Farm that Alheit purchased in 2019. Alheit informs me that he declassified fruit from the farm in 2020, and they will enter his portfolio in the future.

“The 2020s were fermented to dryness and stayed on the gross lees for 12 months,” he explains. “We transfer into blending tanks in January for bottling early June. From 2019 onwards, there is a total of 18 months’ élevage, making the wines more integrated with more depth and finesse. I feel that they are now comfortable in their own skin. We moved to Diam in 2018, and consequently, the wines need a little more time. I have quite a light hand with SO2, so the change hasn’t been difficult.”

Alheit’s wines typify contemporary winemaking in the Cape: terroir-driven, low intervention (but not natural), texturally-satisfying, cerebral and occasionally challenging wines that can rivet you to the spot. I often find that when drinking these at home, they benefit from an hour decant as they can be a bit shy on first pouring. But they represent some of the greatest wines being produced on the Cape at the moment, and the allocations sell out almost immediately upon release.

I always meet and taste with Chris Alheit, more known by his nickname “Butch”, with fellow winemakers John Seccombe (Thorne & Daughters) and Peter-Allen Finlayson (Crystallum and Gabriëlskloof). In fact, the first time we met a decade ago was at the winery these three musketeers were sharing. Alheit’s debut Cartology put the estate on the map (no pun intended). Since then, he has augmented his portfolio with a dazzling array of single-vineyard bottlings that push the envelope of both vines and winemaker, sometimes over the limit in the case of the now defunct “Radio Lazarus”. In 2020, his Fire By Night is M.I.A. as Alheit declassified the cuvée a month prior to bottling. He is constantly foraging for new parcels of old vines on terroirs that meet his exacting standards; this vintage is no different with a couple of new labels, including “Hereafter Here” that comes from younger vines on the Nuwedam Farm that Alheit purchased in 2019. Alheit informs me that he declassified fruit from the farm in 2020, and they will enter his portfolio in the future.

“The 2020s were fermented to dryness and stayed on the gross lees for 12 months,” he explains. “We transfer into blending tanks in January for bottling early June. From 2019 onwards, there is a total of 18 months’ élevage, making the wines more integrated with more depth and finesse. I feel that they are now comfortable in their own skin. We moved to Diam in 2018, and consequently, the wines need a little more time. I have quite a light hand with SO2, so the change hasn’t been difficult.”

Alheit’s wines typify contemporary winemaking in the Cape: terroir-driven, low intervention (but not natural), texturally-satisfying, cerebral and occasionally challenging wines that can rivet you to the spot. I often find that when drinking these at home, they benefit from an hour decant as they can be a bit shy on first pouring. But they represent some of the greatest wines being produced on the Cape at the moment, and the allocations sell out almost immediately upon release.

I spoke to Chris Alheit at his winery, where we discussed his 2019s. These wines represent another raft of outstanding, terroir-driven, “honest” bottlings. “The vines had struggled in 2018 and then they went nuts in 2019,” Alheit explained. “It was a dream year, not unlike 2017. Plus, we had a full tank of the Cartology, which I think has become more refined. The 2019 Magnetic North has 3.5gm/L residual sugar. It just happened that way – the fermentation just stopped. Maybe that’s why everyone seems to like it. The Fire By Night had to be renamed Broom Ridge. I’m still not sure I like that name – maybe I’ll get used to it. It has a very nice pH and it just came naturally and didn’t require a lot of thought. The Nautical Dawn was an early pick on January 25 and matured in two foudres. I also made a sweet wine, Lost & Found, after several failed attempts. The farm where I sourced the fruit from was taken over by the owner’s son, who invited me back for another try, and he had pruned the vines harder and improved the canopy. We dried the grapes on the farm for two weeks and it underwent a four- or five-day pressing. We made around 2,000 liters in a stainless steel tank that fermented until around November. There’s about 54 Brix [equating to over 400gm/L residual sugar].” Alheit’s Lost & Found blew me away with its purity and precision, very Eszencia-like in style with a sublime viscous texture. The bad news is that it’s a one-off. Alas, after six generations of ownership, the son moved to Australia and the farm was sold. The new proprietors have not made their intentions clear, but in any case, Chris Alheit admitted that the departure meant that he lost his enthusiasm to pursue it further.

I first met Chris Alheit back when his maiden 2011 Cartology was in barrel, introduced by Peter-Allen Finlayson whose Crystallum project was just getting off the ground. The two rented the same wine facility together with John Seccombe of Thorne & Daughters. The winery has certainly expanded since I was last here with more space at Chris’ disposal. I find him in typically philosophical mood. “I have the feeling that chapter one is drawing to a close and 2017 marks the turning of a page,” he explains. “The 2017 has been the realization of the last few years. When we put 2017 Cartology together I was thinking it would be the last vintage. My wife and I talk a lot about making “origin” wine. I’ve thought a lot about Cartology that tends to be graded down because it is Western Cape [i.e. a multi-regional blend.] We learned a lot and learned about the vineyards that has helped us get to this point. We have plans to plant up in the mountains in Ceres. I got to know a farmer who planted Riesling for me in 2015. It’s a totally different climate. I believe we are just scratching the surface with the Cape. Ceres is very exciting. We now have five Chenins on different soils and keep the same approach: never acidify and never manipulate. I like a lot of fine solids in the ferments because they add dimension and structure and amplify the acidity. I like tannins in white – it gives them more-ishness.” Prior to my visit there was a great deal of hubbub about the quality of Chris Alheit’s 2017s and the speculation was well founded since these are stunning, quite cerebral wines. The quality starts from the labels, beautifully drawn and individually evocative of where the vines are located. From small beginnings, in just seven years he expanded his portfolio as he found new sites (with the assistance of old vine forager, Rosa Kruger) each with their own expression. The wines do need time to open up and I would even go as far to advise decanting them for an hour or two. These come highly recommended. Vinous readers can expect a more in-depth article on Alheit with a complete vertical of all the Cartology wines to date.

If a restaurant is the nexus between food and wine then Hide is London’s most important opening this year. Hide was born with a platinum spoon in its mouth. It has everything: the location, the chef, the staff, the decor, the wine and behind it all, money... a lot of money. That is no shoo-in for success, but it helps. Given how Hide’s existence stems from wine, it is likely to become an oenophile Mecca, and I have a duty to give Vinous readers the lowdown. Allowing them six weeks to settle in, I wanted to see whether Hide would impact London’s restaurant scene in the same way as Hedonism did for fine wine retailing.