Winemaker Notes
#84 of Wine Enthusiast's Top 100 of 2019
The nose is already quite impressive, showing lemon skin, grapefruit, honeysuckle and pear, with a “rusty” savoury type of edge. The palate shows boundless energy, fine tannin and trademark towering acidity. It’s the type of wine that builds in the mouth, revealing more of itself, unfolding, cascading.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Lemon balm, cinnamon bark, yellow field flowers, spiced orange tea, just-dried straw and lightly toasted apple skin all dance on the nose of this ethereal and superbly attractive wine. The mouthfeel is fruited and rounded yet balanced and textured all at once, with a lovely bitterness and a lick of salted butter that play against the ripe orchard and citrus fruit flavors. Lingering notes of waxy melon, orange rind and whole spice like nutmeg and allspice unfold on the long, lightly nutty finish. It's a charmer that's hard to resist but will age well through 2030.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Magnetic North Mountain Makstok pops with power and restraint, finesse and texture. Many can learn from what Alheit is doing (and achieving) with Chenin. The nose translates onto the palate, where all of the classic orchard fruit and bright citrus tones mingle with soft waxy melons and dusty florals. There is a soft nuttiness that is pleasing on the finish. While not as generous as the Cartology or Radio Lazarus, the Magnetic North is sure to grab your attention with its medium to full body and long finish.
Unquestionably one of the most diverse grape varieties, Chenin Blanc can do it all. It shines in every style from bone dry to unctuously sweet, oaked or unoaked, still or sparkling and even as the base for fortified wines and spirits. Perhaps Chenin Blanc’s greatest asset is its ever-present acidity, maintained even under warm growing conditions. Somm Secret—Landing in South Africa in the mid 1800s, today the country has double the acreage of Chenin Blanc planted compared to France. There is also a new wave of dedicated producers committed to restoring old Chenin vines.
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.