*Limited to 1 btl per customer

A powerful yet finely tuned single-vineyard Chenin from Skurfberg, Huilkrans is rich, concentrated and intensely alive. Aromas of citrus peel, lime blossom, apricot and almonds lead into a textured, waxy palate with vibrant acidity and deep mineral drive. Fermented and aged in old wood, it balances breadth and energy beautifully, showing both depth and precision. A serious, characterful Chenin built to age, but already captivating now.

James Suckling | JS 95
Published: Oct 24, 2023

Pomelo pith and lime blossom on the nose, with wild rice, almonds and apricots too. Waxy, creamy and sleek, with a medium body and a lively, zesty freshness, even from a hot vintage. Vibrant and very, very alive. Drink or hold.

The Wine Advocate | RP 94
Published: Dec 29, 2023
Drink: 2024-2040

Displaying a delightful rusticity in the glass, the 2022 Huilkrans offers notes of dusty lemon peel with ripe citrus blossoms before wafting with petrichor and spiced peach skin aromas. Medium-bodied, the wine opens up on the palate, revealing seductive flavors of spiced white tea with pleasing dusty and savory notes. Just under 4,000 bottles were produced after resting in a mix of foudre and old barrels.

Jancis Robinson | JR 18
Published: Oct 17, 2023
Drink: 2024-2032

A single vineyard in Skurfberg, 100% bush-vine Chenin Blanc. Very isolated, planted between 1974 and 1989 on a gentle slope. Deep red sand over red clay. Dry-farmed. The vineyard nearly died during the 2020 drought, and produced no grapes in 2020 and 2021. Spontaneous fermentation in foudres and various sizes of old barrels. On lees in barrel for 12 months, in tank on fine lees for six months. RS 2 g/l, TA 5.46, pH 3.49.
This is intensely, almost shockingly concentrated. Compact layers under vertical folds and taut horizontal tension. Daedalian complexity – it's difficult to describe this resonant wine simply in terms of its deep, golden-orange fruit, its etched orange-pips and apricot-stone bitterness or its to-the-wire acidity. It's just more than the sum of its parts. It has its own force field of magnetic energy.

Tim Atkin Best White Wine of the year (2023)

Alheitvineyards.co.za

Huilkrans is a single origin Chenin Blanc wine. It has gained a very strong following amongst Chenin lovers and is considered by critics to be approximately equal to Magnetic North in quality. If Magnetic North is the tenor voice of Skurfberg, then Huilkrans must be the deeper baritone. It works on a lower, richer frequency, but still unmistakably from this great appellation.

Tasting Notes
Beautiful, broad nose of ripe citrus rind, blossom and apple.  This wine is so easy to love.  The palate shows a flourish of flavour and colour.  That classic mineral undertow that marks it as a Skurfberg wine is ever present. Despite being light on its feet, this wine has real power.  To quote a friend: “This wine is like a gazelle, if that gazelle had grown up on a diet of leopard meat and steroids.”