Alheit Cartology 2017
-
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Blend: 87% Chenin Blanc, 13% Semillon
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Cartology Bush Vines represents all that is good about Chenin Blanc from South Africa. With so many different styles existing in South Africa today, the Catrology has a focused and refined nose with a weight on the mid-palate that can be felt by the drinker. This wine is both precise and elegant. Just by feeling the wine on the palate, you begin to sense the love and attention this wine received during its élevage. Muskmelon, creamy peach yogurt and Meyer lemon glide over the palate and will make you do a double take. Sensations of light beeswax and dusty citrus blossoms follow the fruit onto the finish. The wine is full-bodied with a full-structured finish that lingers long. This is going into my cellar, and I recommend that you grab a bottle for yourself.
-
Wine Spectator
Mouthfilling, but still a bit tight, featuring cardamom details flirting with yellow apple and honeysuckle notes. Very nuanced, with electric acidity and savory minerality that give this energy and focus. The mouthwatering finish is marked by details of quinine and verbena. Should develop nicely. Chenin Blanc and Sémillon. Best from 2021 through 2027.
-
Wine Enthusiast
At first, this is shy and reserved on the nose, with faint scents of white melon, lemon pith, honeysuckle and orange blossom. The palate offers a bit more expression, with ginger-orange tea, fresh hay and melon rind flavors that are braced up by tart, orange-laced acidity that invigorates the palate and carries through to the close. Best after 2021.
Other Vintages
2021- Vinous
-
Parker
Robert -
Spirits
Wine &
- Vinous
-
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
- Vinous
-
Spectator
Wine
- Vinous
-
Spectator
Wine -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Parker
Robert -
Spectator
Wine
-
Parker
Robert
With hundreds of white grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended white wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used in white wine blends, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a variety that creates a soft and full-bodied white wine blend, like Chardonnay, would do well combined with one that is more fragrant and naturally high in acidity. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
With an important wine renaissance in full swing, impressive red and white bargains abound in South Africa. The country has a particularly long and rich history with winemaking, especially considering its status as part of the “New World.” In the mid-17th century, the lusciously sweet dessert wines of Constantia were highly prized by the European aristocracy. Since then, the South African wine industry has experienced some setbacks due to the phylloxera infestation of the late 1800s and political difficulties throughout the following century.
Today, however, South Africa is increasingly responsible for high-demand, high-quality wines—a blessing to put the country back on the international wine map. Wine production is mainly situated around Cape Town, where the climate is generally warm to hot. But the Benguela Current from Antarctica provides brisk ocean breezes necessary for steady ripening of grapes. Similarly, cooler, high-elevation vineyard sites throughout South Africa offer similar, favorable growing conditions.
South Africa’s wine zones are divided into region, then smaller districts and finally wards, but the country’s wine styles are differentiated more by grape variety than by region. Pinotage, a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault, is the country’s “signature” grape, responsible for red-fruit-driven, spicy, earthy reds. When Pinotage is blended with other red varieties, like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah or Pinot Noir (all commonly vinified alone as well), it is often labeled as a “Cape Blend.” Chenin Blanc (locally known as “Steen”) dominates white wine production, with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc following close behind.