Alheit Vineyards 'Huilkrans' 2022

98 Points Greg Sherwood

Made from 35 to 55 year old vines planted on deep orange sand over gravel and clay yields a profound expression of Chenin Blanc displaying complex notes of wet slate minerality, salted nectarines, white peach, dried herbs, fresh hay and smoky fynbos hints. This is a very serious white wine with an imposing presence, where the glycerol palate whispers sublime class. The palate depth and breadth is simply astounding, reassuringly rich and tangy with all the freshness and tension you’d expect with a beguiling intensity and length of pear purée and Poire William nuances. Tantalisingly austere and saline with fruit reserve, a mineral focus with a spicy, wet river pebble liquid minerality, the texture is dream-like, silky, sultry, and elegantly persistent. A Grand Cru wine in every sense of the word! A real stunner. Drink from release and over the next 20+ years.