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In celebration this Mother’s day, spoil your mother with some of SA’s finest white wines.

Our Mother’s day gift includes a bottle of Blanc de Mer, Walker Bay Sauvignon blanc and our Sans barrique Chardonnay, which has just been ranked in the nineties alongside some of the top wines of the world on erobertparker.com.

This three bottle box, comes with a branded apron and a beautiful “Life in food” Beatrice Tollman cookbook. A perfect gift to express one’s gratitude on this precious day of Motherhood! Gifts are best when one knows that they will be enjoyed.

Click here to view our full range and order now. We can deliver, or visit us at the vineyard to purchase this gift for R 655,- or select your favourite wines and experience this exceptional time of the year when the vineyards prepare proudly in golden hues for our winter.

Harvest 2012   Hemel-en Aarde Valley,   Walker Bay  South Africa

Some years ago I enjoyed a conversation with Ms Henriot, owner of Henriot Champagne and Bouchard Pere et Fils where he made the defining comment on Pinot Noir … “The problem with Pinot noir is the enormous variation between vintages.”     Even in our consistent climate where we never fail to reach good natural grape sugar levels I have over the years, noted confirmed variation in the expression of our Pinot noir wines from the different vintages.

Well, 2012 is one of those extraordinary harvests where the crop has been substantial while the quality is correspondingly, enviously good in its early reflections!   In my experience this is quite unusual!

Never have we enjoyed such low VA levels or seen such clean and unblemished fruit.    The weather was perfectly dry throughout the six weeks of harvest.  Looking back at vintage 2010, where the wines are  proving to be simply super, the difference with 2012 is that 2010 presented a small crop ..some 25 % below average, while 2012 is at least 30 % above the norm!

Another contrast was 2011, which was a wet year with different challenges. The bottom line is that we do not operate in a region where there are no vintage differences!
Our Chardonnay wines look very promising and in fact all the whites should be right on the button.  My sentiments are echoed by all Walker Bay and Elgin producers.
I hear from my peers on the Stellenbosch, Paarl and the Swartland areas that they were challenged by the dry conditions this year and generally complain of a 25% below average crop.

I have offered the heading of “Hemel-en-Aarde Valley”, this being the official ward for our domain vineyard which is part of the Walker Bay wine region.  Looking ahead we are aware of the need to develop recognition behind our ward.

Being close to the ocean we are much more susceptible to light rain resulting from localized coastal low pressure occurrences and consequently need to capitalize on the fact that we have a meso-climate different to the obvious Stellenbosch and Paarl situation.

May you soon pay us a visit to sample some of these fine wines!

Experience our Galpin Peak Pinot noir at the Vineyard Hotel and Spa Pinot noir festival on the 15th of April 2012!

We hope to see you there!

Bouchard Finlayson has released its new Hannibal vintage!

Be sure to get a taste of this outstanding 2009 vintage or better even let the wine rest in your cellar for a few more years!

The concept of Hannibal stands by its original design of mixing French and Italian cultivars together.  Vintage 2009 was predicted to offer stunning results and two years later there is no disappointment.  The essence and soul of this Italian, French blend is captured in the pitching of six grape cultivars into one wine.  The foundation is based on Italian Sangiovese which at 38% is its principle component!

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… we are delighted  to share our tasting results of the 2011 Pinot noirs.

About a week back, Peter and Chris tasted through an array of beautifully clear and bright blends (of different vineyard blocks) of the new.  Soon the barrels were to be racked off into the stainless steal tanks and thereafter the delicate wine is prepared for bottling in tank. Although the 2011 vintage posed its many challenges due to the wet conditions during the ripening phase, the wines are proving to be delicious, delicate with hints of pomegranate, red cherries, plum and mulberry, this vintage promises a distinctly different dazzling wine!  The difficult weather conditions during ripening did provoke concern, but after this tasting, the Peter Finlayson is pleasantly surprised by this year’s Pinot noir.  This confirms Peter’s Status that great wines can be made in not such good vintage years!

Click here to see the tasting notes on our current vintage of Galpin Peak Pinot noir.

As we taste the 2011 vintage, we welcome the harvest 2012 with great hope for an unforgettable vintage! Everything seems in our favour! The pH’s are very low and the phenolics ripe enough for the pick! Harvest started on Friday, the 3rd of February officially and at this point we are busy filling our second Pinot noir fermenting tank!

Come join us at the vineyard to catch a glimpse of the harvest activity!

Peter and Geta Finlayson visited Mauritius last year and BF’s wines were well received…

Below an article in Cote du Nord, a Magazine which is about the tourism Industry mentioning hotels/restaurants/pubs, airlines, food and wine and new developments in Mauritius in which Bouchard Finlayson features with its Chardonnay and Pinot noir. Read the rest of this entry »

Never a dull moment…

When arriving at the vineyard on a Monday morning to yet another gorgeous day in the valley with that gentle cool ocean breeze blowing, it is easy to be content that it is Monday!

Peter assists a new barn owl

Not only were we greeted by a new barn owl, which has started to fledge and needed assistance to find back into its owl box at the cellar from sitting on a chair on the patio in the past week, but when the Stormers Rugby team strutted into our tasting room after a quick phone call from Bryan Habana, announcing their arrival, the day became a whole lot more exciting than usual!

What a sight! Six members of the team greeting Peter Finlayson and tasting a few of the wines. No surprise that the glasses looked tiny in the hands of our Western Province players. A graceful gulp and the tasting was done, with brief comments on the pleasure evoked by the wine’s pleasing aromas.

Bryan Habana and Peter Finlayson

In the swing of things Bryan Habana, who was crowned International Rugby Player of the year in 2007, appeared a lightening bolt, charming Melanie Bothma, our tasting room assistant, with his charismatic smile. There he was, a national hero, asking to purchase “a bottle of Bouchard Finlayson’s most affordable wine please”.  Not long thereafter the bottle was signed by Peter, who towered above most of the players with his calm and yet excited demeanor!

A group of tasters asked whether it would be possible to have a picture taken with Bryan Habana. Bryan, who was being a real sport, had no objections and happily played along with what was for our guests a once-in-a-lifetime moment!

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Join us for the first of the interactive tutored tastings for 2012 at Bouchard Finlayson!

The subject of the first tasting will be ‘older Chardonnays‘ – an opportunity not to be missed,  as knowledge is shared and this cultivar explored as it comes to its own with time in the bottle!  This first tasting will be offered by the winemaker himself, Peter Finlayson.

When: Saturday the 11th February at 11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Where: In the barrel cellar at Bouchard Finlayson winery, Hemel-en-Aarde Rd/ R320, Hermanus

Wines: There will be a variety of about eight wines of which some will be Bouchard Finlayson as well as one or two international examples.

There is space for only 20 guests, thus please r.s.v.p. soonest in order to secure your seat in this interactive tasting, which will be free of charge.

Join us this year to taste your favourite cultivar – tastings will be conducted by either Peter Finlayson himself, by our Assistant Winemaker, Chris Albrecht, or by myself.

The ideal Christmas gifts…

Try our vertical selection of our Hannibal (Hannibal 2008, Hannibal 2009, Hannibal 2010 at R 571,-).  An interesting and versatile wine, suitable for summer lunches and dinners this festive season. Do not however hesitate in case you are looking for a wine to age. Currently the 2004 Hannibal vintage is still drinking beautifully!

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Bouchard Finlayson becomes 22nd BWI Champion and is recognised as a leading player in biodiversity conservation!

The first wine farm to become BWI Champion in the whole Hemel-en-Aarde Area is Bouchard Finlayson after considerable efforts towards this Status and a six year membership with the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative.

The award-winning Hemel-en-Aarde Valley wine producer has been part of the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative (BWI) for the past six years, and has become the 22^nd environmental leading wine farm in South Africa to be awarded Championship Status.

The BWI is a partnership between the South African wine industry and the conservation sector, aimed at protecting the Cape’s rich floral kingdom.

“BWI Champions are exemplary wine producers who have made a commitment to conserving our unique Cape winelands, with at least 10% of their farm committed to conservation, while implementing environmentally responsible management practices both within their cellars and on the farm,” says Martin Albertus, BWI project co-ordinator.

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