Posts Tagged ‘Pinot noir’

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!

For the first time Bouchard Finlayson held an independent trade show for its loyal supporters at The Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa, Campsbay, on Monday night.

An imaculate sunny day followed by a warm wind free night and views providing the perfect backdrop for tasting the delight of older vintages produced by Peter Finlayson.

It was the 1991 Blanc de Mer that ‘stole the show’ -  a raging hit – a wine which carries itself beautifully at the juvenile age of 21 years!

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Harvest Interns from the Overberg at Bouchard Finlayson's "boerewors braai"

A pre-harvest gathering was held for interns from neighbouring wine farms and other farms in the Walker Bay wine district.

Young, inspired winemakers from all over the world came together over a glass of Blanc de Mer 2011 and a “boerewors braai” (sausage barbecue) at Bouchard Finlayson on Monday, the 6th February, to celebrate their paths and experiences in the wine industry and to share their experiences with one another.

As stories of faraway home towns such as France, Argentina, Germany, Chile and US were shared over a glass of Sauvignon blanc on the lawn beneath the cellar, the thunder could be heard in the distance and finally, as the last guests were about to leave,  there was a show of lightening bolts all around the cellar. A magical evening where thoughts about terroir, viticulture and oenology were exchanged and the interns once more inspired for the hard work which lies ahead in the next month or so!

Winemakers and Assitant winemakers, who attended the barbecue at BF

Yesterday, we hosted a group of four US guests for a tasting at the Homestead. Below are their details. We enjoyed their positive reactions to our wines and specifically to the following wines:

The most liked were the Tete de Cuvee 2010 (the next vintage to be released), which was tasted alongside the 2009 vintage and the Galpin Peak 2010 was equally embraced. The Blanc de Mer 2011 and the Kaaimansgat Chardonnay, which was Editor’s Choice and receieved 91/100 points in the Wine Enthusiast last year for the Kaaimansgat Limited Edition Chardonnay 2009, was equaled with the 2010 current vintage of Kaaimansgat/ Crocodile\’s lair as the tasters revealed their contented grimaces after a few sips of this wine.

Below is some information on the guests.

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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 »

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.

It has been a relatively cool in the month of December with only two very warm days and low rainfall (28 mm).

The vines are healthy and vegetative growth has halted on time this year, as the energy within the plant is now produced and used to start the ripening process.   Pinot noir is usually our first cultivar to ripen. With this in mind, Peter Finlayson and Chris Albrecht are making progress with harvest preparation and the new vintage year holds great promise so far!

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The opportunity to join a Wines of South Africa tutored visit to the Far East in June was grasped with enthusiasm!

This trip took the form of three wine seminars; these were presented in, Seoul, Hong Kong and in Guangzhou in the Chinese province of Guangdong.  The theme of my presentation surrounded Chardonnay in South Africa!  All three seminars enjoyed strong support and were well attended. Perhaps a particular feature at the first seminar in Seoul was the extraordinary skill of the interpreter who managed to juggle long sentences in English and convert them without missing a beat.   Our time in South Korea was short but I came away with a refreshing respect for this remarkable country. It is an interesting place, extremely neat and tidy, high quality of living and potentially an excellent market. South Korea also enjoys the highest per capita consumption of alcohol in Asia.  They have a brand of local alcoholic beverage where nine million bottles are consumed every day!
The market is very French wine orientated and as with Asia generally, red wines eclipse white wine by a factor of four!

Hong Kong is a magic place; it is an architectural Disneyland with an awesome bold mosaic of building skyline, enough too boggle the mind in its splendor!
This is the gateway to Chinese money; it is where the flash and wealthy spend on collector’s names in the wine world!   All the major wine auction houses from Sotheby’s to Zach’s hold weekly auctions of icon French wine labels.  The recent removal of all taxation of wine into Hong Kong has also brought a migration of marketers to this city. Our BF label should hopefully be available in the HK market before the end of the year. As soon as we ship our first wines to Hong Kong we will provide contact details to supporters as to how to find our wines in this market!

I spent more than half my travelling time in the province of Guangdong in southern China.    Comment received everywhere in China is that there is currently a cultural swing towards natural wine with a departure from traditional Cognac and rice wine.  There are 160 million people in Guangdong province with 17 million people in the city of Guangzhou. Guangzhou enjoys a skyline similar to NY but this city is only 30 years old.  The Chinese market centers around gifts and celebration, such as weddings and Chinese New Year. Weddings are never short of 1000 people and face is important. Even the poor folk need to splash out on occasion which means there is a very wide field of sales opportunity. Currently the market is besieged by cheap red wine converted into high price by importers.   Tax on wine is 48%, which makes top wines expensive!    Fifty percent of all wine sold in China is sold in Guangdong province which makes it logical to focus primarily on this industrial hub close to HK.
The approach to celebrating with alcohol in China takes some understanding; it is different to western culture.  There is no shame in getting “smashed” and drunken people are not considered responsible for the actions, convenient, and sympathetically excused.  Toasting is a hazardous event where the action of “Gumby” requires the glass to be emptied in one swallow, failing to do so is considered an affront to your host.
There is a hunger for wine knowledge and growth in wine education is to become a vital part of market development in the East. At this point the consumers are being fleeced with inferior wines masquerading as honourable efforts.  Wine “taste” training and improvement of quality profiling is considered to be the awaiting evolution in wine appreciation.
I was treated royally by Ocean Bridge wine importers and after the three day wine exhibition in Guangzhou they produced two food pairing tasting events, one at the Ramada Hotel and the second at the Sheraton in Shunde. These were lavish displays of up market support for our label.   The Sheraton event took place shortly before my departure on Thursday evening and key members of staff attended it from the hotel, including the general manager.  On departure I was honoured with an invitation to be a guest at the hotel when I returned to the area.
Essentially the Chinese people are very friendly, charming and eager to please. The hotels are impressive, wonderfully lavish and inexpensive. The food was first class and I never experienced any health problems. There was a high level of efficiency in all spheres of life.
On the down side the lack of animal life really struck me, particularly our avian friends?   Then the driving was almost amusing by its contrast. Perhaps as a result of a high proportion of first generation drivers!

The bottom line is that the Far East does have money and the people are aspiring to western lifestyle and culture. Wine is part of this but the rest of the worlds wine producers are savvy to this situation so it is going to require continued effort and support for these markets to make them succeed!

Once a harvest help at Bouchard Finlayson, today a winemaker in two of the most beautiful wine producing countries of the world – between France and the Cape…And then why decide, if one can have them both…? A Frenchman at the Cape

With the tourist season a stone’s throw away, the topic of the different nations visitors crops up and as we are at Bouchard Finlayson inevitably linked to the French by Peter Finalyson’s past with Paul Bouchard, it is always fascinating to read about the growing involvement of the French in any other country beside their own…

Local industry laps up foreign spill over!

Starting off at Bouchard Finlayson with the guidance of Peter Finlayson on cultivars such as Pinot noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc sets a high level of potential as a wine maker: ” The Sky is the limit at Bouchard Finlayson!”

The Sky is the Limit!

Biodiversity, Farming with Vines, Wining and Dining and Galpin Peak Pinot noir…!

Yesterday has been one of those typical, Western Cape winter days with lots of rain and gale force winds as well as an icy chill – so much so that the cold air is set in motion and penetrates through the wool of a pullover during the mere walking by of a person in the room.

Although we are very happy about the rain, according to research on global climate change, we will experience increasingly shorter periods of rainfall with higher rainfall intensities.   Read the rest of this entry »