IT WAS ‘all' about Alheit at Strauss & Co's ‘Young Guns' wine auction. Well, Crystallum got a look-in with their Pinot Noir, but otherwise the attention of the big spenders was focused mainly on the Chenin Blancs of winemaker Chris Alheit – he who is based on the Ridge in Hemel-en-Aarde between Hermanus and Caledon but who sources his grapes wherever he considers the vineyards special enough. As spokesman for the auctioneers Roland Peens put it: “Serious bidding on Alheit 2017s, many well above high estimates! The gap to the rest is big.”
The top price paid on the day was R32 830 for a case of the last vintage of Radio Lazarus, made by Alheit and his team in 2017 before the vines that the grapes came from in Bottelary-Stellenbosch were pulled out. For more about the auction and the full results of the sale, click here. The producers whose wines were curated by Cape Town retailer Wine Cellar and sommelier Higgo Jacobs included: Alheit, B Vintners, Blankbottle, Carinus, Crystallum, Damascene, David & Nadia, Erika Obermeyer, Harry Hartman, Hogan, Illimis, Lelie van Saron, Metzer, Momento, Natte Valleij, Paserene, Patatsfontein, Rall, Restless River, Saurwein, Savage, Scions of Sinai, Sijnn, Sons of Sugarland, Storm, Thistle & Weed, Thorne & Daughters, Trizanne, Van Loggerenberg.
OVER R2000 A BOTTLE
Alheit Radio Lazarus 2017 (Chenin)
R32 830 paid for 6×750ml: R5472 pb
WO Bottelary, Cellar on Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge
Alheit Nautical Dawn 2017 (Chenin)
R23 450 paid for 6×750ml: R3908 pb
WO Stellenbosch, Cellar on Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge
Alheit Magnetic North 2017 (Chenin)
R22 278 paid for 6×750ml: R3713 pb
WO Citrusdal Mountain, Cellar on Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge
Alheit Fire by Night 2017 (Chenin)
R18 760 paid for 6×750ml: R3127 pb
Fruit from various areas, Cellar on Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge
Alheit Huilkrans 2017 (Chenin)
R18 760 paid for 6×750ml: R3127 pb
WO Citrusdal Mountain, Cellar on Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge
Alheit La Colline Vineyard 2017 (Semillon)
R14 070 paid for 6×750ml: R2345 pb
WO Franschhoek, Cellar on Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge
Crystallum Cuvée Cinema Pinot Noir 2015
R12 898 paid for 6×750ml: R2150 pb
WO Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, Cellar in Bot River