To
drink or not to drink? – the Bouchard Finlayson Galpin Peak Tête de Cuvée
2001
By
So much
has been written about all the classic Cape estates in recent years, covering
the
As the
multimedia ground has been trodden and re-trodden, the poor South African
“journalistic vineyard” is now in danger of suffering high levels of soil
compaction, which any viticulturalist worth their salt will tell you is
detrimental to a vineyard and its soil health. Perhaps it is time for an
alternative, more specific point of evaluation?
Studying
for my MW, the mentors and lecturers continuously encourage the students to
taste and write assessments about what is in the actual glass and not about what
they know of a specific wine or wine style, for just as seeing a label can
change ones objective outlook on a wines true quality or stature, so too can
information overload obscure what one is actually tasting and how good or poor
the wine really is.
So
carrying on from my last column on the Boekenhoutskloof
Syrah 1997 in May 2004, I decided to continue the theme of reviewing some of
From
Syrah, a hugely successful varietal in South African conditions, we move to
Pinot Noir, one of the most demanding and testing varieties to grow and make
quality wine with outside of its home
His
standard cuvée
But what
about Bouchard Finlayson’s famed, almost legendary, Tête de Cuvée Pinot
Noir? Most Pinotfiles have only heard or read about this wine as it is usually
so sort after and in such short supply that the 12 barrels Peter usually makes
disappear into dark cellars of avid collectors straight after release. A few
lucky wineanoraks I have spoken to have apparently stumbled across bottles of
older vintages like 1997 on top restaurant lists in
And it’s
not just the tiny quantity produced that makes this wine so famous and sought
after. Reputation, backed up by exceptional quality is the key. The fact that
Pinot Noir can be created in such an attractive expression outside of
I managed
to track down a bottle of the prestigious 2001 vintage and took this £48.00
2001
Vintage Report
Vintage 2001 was characterised by a great summer with soft, dry conditions
and excellent high quality fruit. Harvesting at Bouchard Finlayson started the
last week in January, 3 weeks after the completion of vendage vert, and
continued for 10 days. Only domain fruit was utilised in the Tête de Cuvée,
from vineyards ranging in age from 4 –10 years old. It is the particular soil
and microclimate of the
After
opening the wine and tasting it at several points of development over a few
hours, what revealed itself was a big, dense, dark red black plum coloured wine.
Slightly opaque. The nose was bursting with black cherry, vanilla, wood spice
and forest berries, raspberry nuances and hints of sweet and sour yellow plums.
Certainly easily identifiable as top flight Pinot Noir.
For a wine
that Peter assures me can age well for up to 20 years, the palate was soft and
silky. But underneath the soft fruit were very fine grained tannins with ample
structure and grip. The palate had plenty of concentration, medium high acid and
good balance - all important if this wine is to stand any chance of aging for 20
years.
There was
a slightly over-ripe feel to elements of the fruit and the long, earthy,
“raisoned black cherries in liqueur” finish supported this as did the 14
degrees of alcohol, which revealed itself on the back of the palate with a warm
finish. But then again, achieving this level of phenolic ripeness often goes
hand in hand with higher sugar levels. Inevitably, there will be a few trade
offs.
And the
price? Unfortunately, not £48 pounds worth for me. Comparable £45+ pound Pinot
Noir products from the New World like the Block 3 and Block 5 from