Wine and Co - Alheit has landed...
ALHEIT NEW RELEASES
The 2019 vintage from Chris Alheit was released earlier this year and it took a while for us to get them on our shelves, but we have them, at last! Here are Winemag's Christian Eedes' tasting notes for each of them:
Cartology 2019: 90% Chenin Blanc, 10% Semillon. The “flagbearer” of the range and what a super-sexy wine it is in 2019! The nose shows citrus, apple, peach and hay to go with some flinty reduction and a little waxiness. The palate has great fruit density, punchy acidity playing off against a slightly oily texture while the finish is long and pithy. Properly complex (La Colline had to go somewhere…). CE’s rating: 95/100.
Broom Ridge 2019: From Chenin Blanc vineyards planted between 1972 and 1985. The nose shows a quite particular thatchy note as well as some potpourri before pear, white peach and lime. The palate is lean and energetic with a super-dry finish. Rather severe at this point but will no doubt unfurl into something rather beautiful in time. CE’s rating: 95/100.
Nautical Dawn 2019: From a 1978 vineyard on the Sinai Hill in the Firgrove area of Stellenbosch. A pretty nose of flowers, talcum powder, white peach and citrus. The palate has great fruit definition and crisp acidity before a slightly bitter finish. This has a lovely clarity about it - pure, balanced and wonderfully sleek. CE’s rating: 95/100.
Huilkrans 2019: From Skurfberg Chenin Blanc. A striking nose of citrus, peach, dried herbs and baking spice plus a rather funky waxiness. With great depth of fruit and vibrant acidity, this is altogether more powerful and showy than other recent vintages. It’s still extraordinarily complex and long, however. CE’s rating: 95/100.
Magnetic North 2019: From ungrafted Skurfberg Chenin Blanc. Compelling aromatics of pear, peach and grapefruit with both some smoky reduction and hay in the background. The palate, as ever, is just wonderfully pure, harmonious and long. It’s a little higher in alcohol and residual sugar than usual but this serves only to give the wine extra presence. Has a real completeness about it. CE’s rating: 97/100.
Hemelrand Vine Garden 2019: 42% Roussanne, 22% Chardonnay, 16% Chenin Blanc, 16% Verdelho and 4% Muscat. An exotic and enticing nose with pronounced notes of honeysuckle and dried herbs before pear, peach and spice plus a hint of reduction. The palate shows pure, clean fruit to go with lemon-like acidity and a dry finish. Seamlessly assembled. CE’s rating: 93/100.
Lost & Found 2019: A straw wine from a Breedekloof vineyard of Hanepoot planted in the late 1800s, thought to be the oldest producing vineyard in the country. A fabulously complex nose showing top notes of barley sugar, straw, mint, dried herbs and potpourri before preserved orange, dried apricot and caramel. The palate is inevitably viscous in texture but there’s also riveting acidity and the finish is dry. Profoundly good. CE’s rating: 98/100.
These are all produced in tiny amounts so, as usual, our stocks are limited. Please send us an email if you would like to order any of them.
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About Us
Have you ever heard about a great wine but could never find a bottle for yourself (to share with friends, of course)? Well, the team at Wine & Company do all the hard work for you! We visit wine farms and attend tastings to find, taste, and then stock wine from the smaller Estates and independent winemakers who buy grapes and produce outstanding wine under their own labels - much the same as the French negociants have been doing for centuries. Given that these winemakers make wine in such small quantities, sometimes just a single barrel, their wine will never be found on the shelves of the major retailers, but only in specialist shops like Wine & Company on High Street, Hermanus.
In addition to the great selection of well-known wines and MCC's, we also stock local craft gin and beer, French Champagne, La Trappe Trappist Ales as well as whisky and other spirits. Wine & Company (established in 1998 by Bartho Eksteen) has a well-earned reputation for stocking hard-to-find small-batch wines and we strive to continue this great tradition. If you purchase a bottle of wine from us and it is faulty or you are not satisfied with the quality, we will gladly replace the bottle and return the faulty wine to the winemaker.
Feel free to contact Wine & Company if you need a particular wine and we will do our best to source it for you. We are also able to ship wine locally and to most countries so do ask about international shipping.
