Alheit Vineyards – A Complete Cartology Retrospective

A capacity tasting at London’s Institute of Masters of Wine on one of the hottest days in 2018 is testament to the significance of Alheit Vineyards in the context of modern South African wine. Cartology continues to be the poster-boy for multi-regional old vine Chenin Blanc (with up to 10% Semillon) and is rightly seen as a reference point for followers of the South African wine revolution. It wasn’t always easy though, and today Chris Alheit carries an air of almost restless nervousness, allayed by his impish sense of humour, and sporting the makings of what will surely prove to be a quite magnificent mullet; part of a grand plan that will come to fruition at Cape Wine 2018. Like a schoolboy presenting to his friends in front of the class; excited but also a little embarrassed, he cringes at the word “launch” as it feels a bit too… grandiose. But a launch is what it is, and ultimately the wines are suitably smart.

A complete vertical of Cartology from its inception to 2017 seemed like the most appropriate way to document what he meant by “phase one”, and the throes of a discursive tasting session shed a light not just on some wonderful wines but also the man behind the bottles. “Poverty can be a positive and humbling thing”, he stated, “– in small doses at least.” Having literally “blown everything” to visit and work in the vineyards of Germany, France, New Zealand and Australia,  Chris and Suzaan returned to South Africa inspired and determined to do it themselves. “Travel”, he insists, “travel as much as you can. And then keep travelling.” Now back at home, they enlisted the help of Old Vine Specialist Rosa Kruger, and together they uncovered a series of Cape Heritage sites that had both pedigree and potential. Cartology, the study of maps, was a natural choice when it came to choosing a name. With no labour force whatsoever and very little money to speak of, they decided to go “all in. The stakes were high.” The focus then, and still is, old vineyards, and not being able to afford any winery technology to speak of was at that point a negligible worry. The 2011 Cartology was made solely by Chris and Suzaan from vineyard to bottle in basic fashion – frozen coke bottles were dipped in to open wooden fermenters to cool the musts for example – and a total of 22 barrels were filled. A nerve-racking maturation period followed, and a year later, once the 2012 vintage had been and gone, and those wines had finished fermentation and been racked in to barrel they took a breath and examined the situation. They had two vintages in the cellar and no money left. Humble beginnings it is safe to say, as the candour in Chris’ recollections sashayed between pain and pride. Chris Alheit is his own harshest critic;

The 2011 release changed everything. The gamble had paid off. Orders were flooding in and the South African wine press went berserk. By the time 2012 was ready to release the following year they had gone from “being completely out on a limb to knowing that we would be okay.” The rest as they say is history, and this dynamic couple continue to produce some of the country’s most sought-after Chenin Blancs. “You can’t talk about terroir if you manipulate your grapes” is their mantra, favouring full and proper expression in the wines – “90% of early-picked wines are a wasted opportunity, as big a crime as picking too late in my mind. Let the vineyard do what it needs to do naturally.” Steady commercial and critical success has enabled Alheit to focus on prime single vineyard Chenin sites from all over the Cape, each one a faithful reflection of its region and individual site. The 2017 range brings the total to seven unique bottlings, each produced in tiny quantities.

Winemaking is conscientious and adapted to suit the character of each plot. The only hard and fast rules are that all the wines are whole cluster pressed and left to cool overnight. “I’ll come out of the closet and admit that we produce natural wine, although I have never publicized that”, remarks Chris, with the hefty caveat that “it is not good enough to produce unpalatable natural wines. There is a lot of rubbish around and at the end of the day wine needs to be delicious.” So, what does natural mean, in the Alheit school of thought? When it comes to cooling, they impose a minimum temperature of 11C to mirror the lowest natural winter temperature in their region. The use of sulphur is unusual too. Interestingly, especially for a white wine producer, where ordinarily levels might exceed those of reds, at Alheit sulphur is eschewed wherever possible, even at the crusher – customarily a process that compels a small addition. Contrary to the idea that oxygen is an enemy at this stage, they suggest that adding sulphur at that point “takes away the wine’s natural ability to absorb oxygen”, and stunts aromatic and organoleptic flavour development as a result. All the wines are racked from tank to tank before transferring to neutral barrels for fermentation with plenty of solids in the must to help along the way. The only wines “racked clean” prior to fermentation are the Semillons, as Semillon tends to reduce more easily than Chenin Blanc, and although there is no battonage in the cellar, a slightly higher proportion of younger and smaller barrels helps to oxygenate the wines instead. Moreover, since 2015, greater focus has been placed on picking Semillon at full ripeness – particularly in the context of La Colline. Semillon’s thicker skins require longer hang time and, anyway, we’re told, Semillon as part of a blend tends not to affect the pH a great deal, even at the upper limit of ripeness. The Chenins are vinified differently depending on the cuvee, encompassing cement eggs, stainless steel, French oak demi-muid and Austrian Stockinger fuders. In the case of Radio Lazarus they use 650L grey clay pots for fermentation, and the clay itself is excavated from the same hill as the vineyard. Keen to stress that this is not a gimmick, apparently the stoneware is “very different to terracotta, which is a porous and breathable material, whereas ours is fired much hotter and so oxygenates far more slowly. It means that the wine stays tight” – a notion that is plain to see in the glass. Sadly 2017 is likely to be Radio Lazarus’ swansong, as the droughts have hurt this old vineyard to the point where the yield is no longer tenable.

Cartology 2011 is every bit as delicious as it should be; creamy and open, intense and in fine fettle. There is no hurry to drink up, it should continue to improve over the next five years and hold comfortably for another five. 2012 is blessed with golden fruit, blossom and a saline drive on the finish. It also seems drier than the 2011, with more extract underlying. It’s slowly opening up and its earlier reticence and structure Chris ascribes to it being the first vintage that was bottled unfiltered, which caused it to shut down post-release. 2013 is a wine of breadth and opulence with a more honeyed character that’s up-front and enjoyable but lacking the saline spark that other vintages are lifted by. 2014 is stylish, if a little more evolved than the other wines in the line-up; the cooler vintage imbuing the wine with a bristling energy and notes of fresh apricot, salted French butter, lemon curd and nuts with just the slightest earthy note. He concedes that there may have been a bit of noble rot in 2014 given the cool and humid conditions, but no more than 4-5% and, as the climate is generally dry, botrytis is not actively discouraged. 2015 is a step change and rockets from the glass with robust, clear fruit and harmonious balance. In a word: terrific. 2016 was a vintage that required a bit more thought, given the difficult vintage conditions. Indeed, harvest was just as early as 2015 but this time nobody was caught napping. Acidification is a no go for Alheit so instead they opted to pick the Paardeberg sites earlier than usual. To counterbalance this, they blended a higher proportion of Stellenbosch fruit to lend a bit of weight to the higher acid Swartland fruit. In the glass it is tight and pretty with a core of limey fruit, mint and quince with fresh herbs and Sharon fruit. Very good indeed.

In 2017 all the elements appear to come together. Not an easy year of course, but they had enough grapes to do what they wanted to do, and the vintage is increasingly currying favour as an excellent one for whites. Like 2015 in profile but with more hang time and a slower harvest, the grapes could develop more complexity. In 2017 four new vineyards went in to Cartology, replacing Huilkrans in the Skurfberg, which was bottled on its own for the first time. The 2017 Cartology bristles with underlying energy, controlled power and enticing salinity. Tense, young and compact with citrus fruit, apple pith, quince and spices. Fresh herbs, dry earth and robust fruit on the palate.

Cartology has cemented its place as a modern-day South African icon and, for me, ‘17 is their best yet. But as this talented young couple continue to seek out exciting new plots and craft some of the finest Chenins around, with freedom and ingenuity, I for one can’t wait to see what phase two of their story will bring.