Bouchard Finlayson releases new vintages
Tuesday, 4 August, 2015
Bouchard Finlayson
Bouchard Finlayson has released its latest white and red signature vintages from 2015, 2013 and 2012 – years with wildly varying weather conditions, making for intriguing results. The new releases are available at the cellar in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, and at leading wine merchants around the country.
As winemaker Peter Finlayson notes, ‘vintage 2015 has distinguished itself as a stellar event - a rain-free summer presented an opportunity to capture near perfect, finely flavoured fruit of outstanding quality.’ A notable result of these favourable conditions is the Bouchard Finlayson 2015 Sauvignon Blanc Reserve. Last produced in 2012, this vintage has been created from two standalone tanks of Sauvignon Blanc, complemented by blending in 14.8% Semillon. It is a rare gem, with a limited run of only 6000 bottles.
Finlayson further mentions that the maturity of the Bouchard Finlayson vines (first plantings date back to 1990) plays an integral part in presenting designer fruit of targeted structure and elegance. Another ameliorating factor is the winemaker’s viticulture approach of planting vines close together - a method that is unusual in the Cape but offers greater competition between vines, leading to less vigour and consequently brighter wines with more depth and colour. This approach harks back to the past, when vineyards were tended by horses - 65% of Bouchard Finlayson’s vineyard lands are free of wheeled tractors.
Despite Sauvignon Blanc being Bouchard Finlayson’s least promoted or exposed wine, it proves to be the winery’s most successful label in terms of being appreciated and valued by the market, thanks to its delicious flavour and easy drinking nature. This appeal is backed by Peter Finlayson’s cautious approach in ensuring a comfortable balance between fruit maturity and accommodating acid balance in the final crafting of the wine. The Bouchard Finlayson 2015 Walker Bay Sauvignon Blanc presents a notable, flawless crop of ‘very happy grapes’, as Finlayson describes it. He continues to say that ‘the vintage was early, mimicking 2004, which illustrates that vintages have personalities of their own’.
While the lack of rain favoured the 2015 vintages, the Bouchard Finlayson 2013 Missionvale Chardonnay profited from high rainfall with a cool, temperate European weather profile, offering low yields of the finest quality. The wine takes its name from the mission hospital established on the domain property in the early 19th century, when German missionary Peter Leitner would walk his patients over the Raed-na-Gael Mountains to the nearby ocean to cleanse their bodies.
As much as the volume of rain in 2013 proved to be an excellent opportunity for white wines, the wet conditions threatened to spoil Bouchard Finlayson’s famed Pinot Noir. Says Finlayson: ‘We were faced with an uncomfortable and unpredictable weather game –imagine our surprise when presented with startling success. It is exciting to thank our special little wine gods for insisting on producing a great Pinot vintage.’ Pinot Noir remains Bouchard Finlayson’s distinctive calling card, with the 2013 vintage representing the 21st edition of Galpin Peak Pinot Noir from the property.
2012 meanwhile turned out to be a fine vintage year for the Tête de Cuvée Galpin Peak Pinot Noir. Bouchard Finlayson’s Icon wine presents a cameo selection of the top 12 Pinot Noir barrels from any particular vintage. This is the winemaker’s opportunity to showcase the very best from certain vintages, and means that not every vintage proves to be suitable quality for this selection. Comments Finlayson: ‘What makes Pinot Noir so special is that it displays both a delicacy and richness. It is often quoted as depicting little varietal character of its own, but rather expressing the terroir upon which it is grown – it hence carries the crown of being the most terroir expressive of all the grape varieties.’