April 4, 2025
Fire by Night 2023 - Alheit's Brilluant Double 97-Point Chenin
2023 Alheit Fire By Night
97 Points - “This has a breathtaking mineral-driven bouquet, with struck flint and just a touch of reduction. Captivating!”- Neal Martin
Alheit Vineyards, founded by Chris and Suzaan Alheit, has quickly become a benchmark for South African white wine, especially for site-specific expressions of Chenin Blanc. Their focus on old-vine, dry-farmed vineyards—coupled with a minimalist, terroir-first approach in the cellar—has positioned them at the forefront of the Cape’s new wave. Each wine in the range tells the story of a single place, with remarkable clarity and detail, showcasing the potential of the Cape’s diverse soils and climates.
Fire by Night 2023 is sourced from the Alheits’ own Nuwedam farm on the granitic slopes of the Paardeberg, with vines planted between 1971 and 1985. The wine is taut and focused, with an unmistakable sense of place. Aromatically, it offers a flinty, mineral-driven bouquet with hints of struck match, fennel, oatmeal, and thatch, backed by subtle wood spice. On the palate, it’s precise and sapid, with racy acidity, fine texture, and notes of lemongrass and ginger unfolding across a long, mouth-watering finish. Aged in a mix of cement eggs and foudres, this is a brilliant expression of Paardeberg Chenin—restrained, detailed, and built to age.
Today we have a limited number of bottles of the 2023 Fire by Night 2023 which has scored a double 97-Points score from Tim Atkin and Neal Martin. Neal Martin writes that Alheit’s “2023s surpass his 2022s, which means they are quite brilliant, especially the Fire By Night […] Alheit’s wines represent the apex of contemporary Cape winemaking, infused with character, nuance and expression of place without a sense of conformity. No wonder that allocations are rapidly snapped up.”
With just a handful of bottles available, this is a rare chance to secure one of the Cape’s most compelling Chenin Blancs in a vintage already being hailed as a modern benchmark. If you’re a fan of mineral-driven whites with real ageing potential, Fire by Night 2023 deserves a place in your cellar—before it disappears from ours.
Alheit Vineyards Fire by Night 2023
€45.95* inc NL VAT per bottle
97 Points | Tim Atkin MW
Fire by Night comes from the Alheits' Newudam farm, made with grapes from parcels planted between 1972 and 1985 on the Paardeberg. You can taste the granite here, as well as the intensity of dry-farmed old vines: focused, taut and concentrated, with fennel, oatmeal and thatch aromas, subtle wood spices and a flinty, mouth-watering finish. 2025-35
97 Points | Vinous, Neal Martin
The 2023 Fire by Night, which comes from dry-farmed bush vines planted between 1971 and 1985 on Alheit's farm in the Paardeberg in Swartland, was whole-cluster-pressed and settled overnight. It was aged half in cement egg and half in foudres for 12 months. This has a breathtaking mineral-driven bouquet, with struck flint and just a touch of reduction. Captivating! The palate is very well balanced with a taut line of acidity. Sapid in the mouth and judiciously spiced with lemongrass and ginger, it fans out beautifully on the finish. It's a stunning Fire By Night.
*Prices are accurate as of the blog publication date and may be subject to change.