Bouchard Finlayson has launched a special Collector’s Corner for the discerning palette within its Tasting Room, showcasing a range of specific vintage wines as collector’s items. Within this range are ‘Peter’s Picks’, personally chosen by winemaker Peter Finlayson and featuring some of his favourite gems from library stock, including the lauded Bouchard Finlayson Tête de Cuvée 2000 and Kaaimansgat Limited Edition Chardonnay 2009. The collection is now available for sale at the cellar door, or may be ordered directly from the vineyard, telephonically or by email.
Peter Finlayson, who is known as South Africa’s ‘Pinot Pioneer’, was the first modern-day winemaker in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley and was instrumental in putting the Walker Bay wine region on the map. The vineyard's terroir provides ideal conditions, allowing Finlayson to produce wines of top quality, especially Pinot noir and Chardonnay, as well as Sauvignon Blanc.
With the introduction of the Collector’s Corner, Finlayson stresses the importance of ‘Wine Time’, which he says is ‘the need to project one’s promised pleasure to its trusted supreme maturation point. Icon wines of today are mostly made to be laid down and be given the opportunity to mature and blossom.’
One of Finlayson’s so-called ‘Cinderella’ wines is Bouchard Finlayson’s Missionvale Chardonnay, of which the 2009 vintage forms part of Peter’s Picks: ‘I have always enjoyed older red wines, but have also developed a taste for matured whites. It has become a focal concern of mine to ensure that we increase our stock of Cinderella wines. The current release of Missionvale Chardonnay (2011) is most certainly a beauty in a youthful time warp. Another four years and ‘Wine Time’ will have done its magic!’
Peter’s Picks - Reds
Téte De Cuvée Pinot Noir 2000 (R1 000)
Galpin Peak Pinot Noir 1995 (R400)
Galpin Peak Pinot Noir 2002 (R400)
Galpin Peak Pinot Noir 2005 (R400)
Hannibal 2004 (R300)
Peter’s Picks - Whites
Sans Barrique Chardonnay 2008 (R200)
Missionvale Chardonnay 2009 (R300)
Kaaimansgat Limited Edition Chardonnay 2009 (R300)
ABOUT BOUCHARD FINLAYSON
Established in 1989 in the temperate Hemel-en-Aarde Valley on 125 hectares (312 acres) of Walker Bay's prime viticultural land, Bouchard Finlayson Vineyard and Winery is a small cellar dedicated to the quality production of Pinot noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc. Ever since releasing their first vintages, the name Bouchard Finlayson has been internationally synonymous with excellence.
Today, owned by the Red Carnation Hotels’ Tollman family and under the leadership of Victoria Tollman and winemaker Peter Finlayson, 22 hectares (54 acres) of the estate are currently under vine with 50% devoted to the varietal for which Peter is most acclaimed – Pinot noir. Other cultivars under production include Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc and Sangiovese, as well as a handful under exploration. Bouchard Finlayson is an accredited Championship member of the Biodiversity and Wine initiative (BWI).
Situated on the R320 near Hermanus, Bouchard Finlayson vineyard and winery is open for tastings and sales Monday to Friday from 09h30 to 17h00 and on Saturdays from 10h00 to 13h00. For further information, call +27 28 312 3515; Email; or visit www.bouchardfinlayson.co.za
