Description
Bouchard Finlayson Tête de Cuvée 2023 is a Walker Bay Pinot Noir reserved for vintages that deliver the kind of ripening conditions this variety demands. As the cellar’s top Pinot Noir selection, it is built from a small set of carefully chosen barrels, drawing largely on the estate’s oldest vines. The result is a wine with greater concentration and structure than a more open, early-drinking style, while still holding onto the fragrance and finesse that define fine Pinot Noir from Hemel-en-Aarde.
The nose opens with black cherry, rose, and strawberry, followed by more delicate notes of cinnamon and essential oil that bring added lift and nuance. On the palate, the texture is savory and classically dense, with beautifully integrated oak spice underscoring the fruit rather than overtaking it. There is real weight here, but it remains regal and composed, building steadily toward a long, complex finish. It would pair especially well with duck, roast quail, mushroom dishes, or herb-roasted chicken, where its red fruit, spice, and savory depth can settle naturally into the food.
This is a Pinot Noir made with cellaring in mind. While already impressive, it should continue to gain further detail and harmony over the next decade.
The nose opens with black cherry, rose, and strawberry, followed by more delicate notes of cinnamon and essential oil that bring added lift and nuance. On the palate, the texture is savory and classically dense, with beautifully integrated oak spice underscoring the fruit rather than overtaking it. There is real weight here, but it remains regal and composed, building steadily toward a long, complex finish. It would pair especially well with duck, roast quail, mushroom dishes, or herb-roasted chicken, where its red fruit, spice, and savory depth can settle naturally into the food.
This is a Pinot Noir made with cellaring in mind. While already impressive, it should continue to gain further detail and harmony over the next decade.
A Tête de Cuvée wine is not presented at every vintage – only when the occasionally precarious Hemel-en-Aarde climate allows for perfect Pinot Noir ripening conditions.
This bottling is regarded as the most promising wine from the cellar and carries the Bouchard Finlayson flag. The majority of grapes supplied for this cuvee is from the oldest vines on the property, with the average vine age exceeding 22years.
The winemaker selects individual barrels to compile the chosen components – in this instance only eight, of which four were new oak. Bottled in July 2022.
Winemaker: Chris Albrecht
This bottling is regarded as the most promising wine from the cellar and carries the Bouchard Finlayson flag. The majority of grapes supplied for this cuvee is from the oldest vines on the property, with the average vine age exceeding 22years.
The winemaker selects individual barrels to compile the chosen components – in this instance only eight, of which four were new oak. Bottled in July 2022.
Winemaker: Chris Albrecht
Established in 1989, Bouchard Finlayson is a boutique winery dedicated to the making of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc wines of outstanding quality.
Located in the wine ward of Walker Bay, an hour and a half from Cape Town, the 125-hectare property currently has 22 hectares under vines; the rest is mountain land, covered by the spectacular indigenous ‘fynbos’ flora of the Western Cape.
Bouchard Finlayson’s flagship wine is the Galpin Peak Pinot Noir, which has won many an award and accolade. Growing on the slopes of Galpin Peak, repeated vintages of this path-blazing wine continue to reflect a true celebration of Pinot-crafting, consistently endorsing the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley as a jewel in the hunt for this illusive grape.
Bouchard Finlayson is renowned as one of South Africa’s top wineries and this can be attributed to their philosophy and focus to produce wines of the finest quality.
Located in the wine ward of Walker Bay, an hour and a half from Cape Town, the 125-hectare property currently has 22 hectares under vines; the rest is mountain land, covered by the spectacular indigenous ‘fynbos’ flora of the Western Cape.
Bouchard Finlayson’s flagship wine is the Galpin Peak Pinot Noir, which has won many an award and accolade. Growing on the slopes of Galpin Peak, repeated vintages of this path-blazing wine continue to reflect a true celebration of Pinot-crafting, consistently endorsing the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley as a jewel in the hunt for this illusive grape.
Bouchard Finlayson is renowned as one of South Africa’s top wineries and this can be attributed to their philosophy and focus to produce wines of the finest quality.
