Nautical Dawn is a single origin Chenin blanc wine. Since its maiden vintage in 2017 it has helped to showcase the raw talent of the False Bay coast of Stellenbosch – a vital part of the Cape Chenin story. The wine has quite an extreme nature and a strong personality. Even with early picking this vineyard delivers huge flavour with intense concentration and ripping natural acid.

The Name

Nautical Dawn is the phase of dawn that occurs between astrological dawn and civilian dawn. It’s a mysterious time of day – dark enough to see the stars for navigation, light enough to hoist a sail. We wanted a name that would take you close to the sea and facing East.

Vineyards

On Rustenhof farm in Firgrove (southern Stellenbosch) there’s a small granite hill called Sinai. The crown of the hill has a few small granite domes protruding from the soil. From up there you can see the waves breaking only 4kms away. The hillside is planted from top to bottom with dry farmed bushvine Chenin Blanc. Nautical Dawn is made from a parcel planted in 1978 on the upper part of the slope. The vine rows run with the contour of the hill. The granite soil is shallow and warms quickly, causing this to be one of our earliest picks of the season despite the relentless South-East wind.

Winemaking and Maturation

The grapes were hand sorted and whole bunch pressed. The juice is very lightly settled (we like very cloudy raw juice) with no additions to the raw juice, wild fermentation in took place in old barrels of various sizes. Fermentation lasted for about two months. The wine was kept on lees for around 12 months, then rested in tank on fine lees without fining for a further five months prior to bottling. Very simple, careful winemaking.

Vintage Notes

Total show-off nose again. Honestly such an arrogant bastard of a wine. The palate is full and very energetic, laden with yellow fruit and salt. The finish is ridiculous. (probably my shortest tasting note ever)

Data Sheet:

https://alheitvineyards.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Nautical-Dawn-2024-Factsheet.pdf