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A bottle stored in my underground Victorian cellar.
Jancis Robinson: 17.5/20
Alheit says: ‘We’ve wanted to make a Paardeberg wine for some time, but I suppose we’ve never had the courage or confidence to do what we’re doing now. The Paardeberg holds a mythical place in our minds. It’s the landscape that sparked the wine revolution that’s currently sweeping the Cape. It’s home to modern heroes like Sadie Family, AA Badenhorst, and David & Nadia. Several other top producers also buy parcels from the mountain. What’s so special about it? In a few words: pure decomposed granite soils, and an abundance of old dry-farmed bush vines, much of which is Chenin – an embarrassment of riches. Typically, the wines from Paardeberg have a real sense of purity or clarity about them. At their best, they can be quite powerful without being heavy. Fire by Night comes from the Joubertskloof side of the mountain, from three very special parcels of Chenin Blanc grown on Nuwedam farm, planted between 1974 and 1980. We’ve worked with these parcels since 2011 and feel that they exemplify the beauty of the mountain.’ Production was 3,300 bottles. One parcel fermented in cement eggs since 2014 (the other part in barrel) – he was an egg sceptic until he tasted a Chardonnay out of cement. It preserves the wine’s nervous personality but gives it fat from the lees. For Alheit, the pioneers of Swartland were like the ‘Fire by Night’ that led the people of Israel.
Greengage and green plum. Herby citrus, grapefruit, straw. Mouth-watering, salty, very crisp. Taut and almost chalky in texture, chewy but not tannic, with lovely dry, zesty grapefruit and salty notes and smoky on the finish. (JH)
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