As one of South Africa’s most respected producers, Alheit Vineyard declares its aim as being ‘to vinify extraordinary Cape vineyards’. The fact that Chris and Suzaan Alheit set out on their venture to make only white wine, is a testament to their commitment to seek out some of the oldest vineyard blocks in the country.
The 2019 vintage saw a good size crop that attained full ripeness by mid-March. We spread the grapes on wooden racks and on shade cloth, allowing them to dry outdoors for a full two weeks. We pressed the resulting raisins for five days at full pressure, yielding syrup with a sugar concentration of around 54 Brix (54% mass/volume). This juice fermented for more than a year in stainless steel, finally becoming stable at just over 7% alc with a residual sugar of around 450g/l.
*Half Bottle*
