Global markets have taken a serious beating and 2009 has been a challenging year. However, with your support and confidence in our brand, Bouchard Finlayson has remained successful. With a glass of our award winning Galpin Peak Pinot Noir 08 in hand we wish you every happiness, success and good health over the festive season and into 2010.

Toronto based Norman Hardie, who trained as assistant winemaker at Bouchard Finlayson, from 1997 through to and including vintage 1999 recently sent us this quote. “The match of the night was Clochette, a raw goats milk cheese from France, and with the smoky Bouchard Finlayson Galpin Peak 2006 Pinot from Walker Bay, South Africa. Interestingly enough, the chalky tangy chevre bullied all the other Pinots, including the Burgundy.”

Although the words were penned by Eric Vellend, "Inside Toronto Article: Menumental: Hart House tasting series Pinot 101 with Prof. Hardie." Norman has his own fair share of colourful Pinot descriptions, including “Once you are bitten by the Pinot bug it’s all over. It’s more expensive than crack, because you’ve got to go through ten bad ones to get to one good one, but what makes Pinot so special is that it has both delicacy and richness!”

What other grape inspires such purple prose? Richard Paul Hinkle comments that “As much as the great Pinots stand apart from all other red table wines in their sweeping grandeur so too is Pinot Noir as quarrelsome as the devil.”  He also remarks that “The Burgundians in their own conservatively witty way refer to red burgundy as ‘The good Lord Jesus in velvet trousers sliding down your throat.’”

Personally I liken it to opera. When it’s great, it raises goose bumps...but when it’s mediocre it’s unbearable. Truly it is the “heartbreak grape”, and many Pinot growers eventually give up in exasperation.

The latest edition of the Platter guide (2010) gives us 4.5 stars for both our current Pinots as well as both our wooded Chardonnays, this is a superb achievement and a big, big compliment to Teresa’s de Villiers, assistant winemaker's personal demanding standards. (In between wine making, Teresa gave birth to Daniella, a beautiful baby girl in August!)

The early 2010 growing season has been challenging as we’ve been tormented by strong winds and determined gales in the early 2010 growing season, which point towards reduced crops -but perhaps the up side will be stunning wines?!

Since the last newsletter I have enjoyed several trips abroad. The October visit to the South African MEGA tasting in London was a treat, and was extremely busy for us - this reflects the fact that BF is proving popular in the UK.

I enjoyed an excellent reception to a “full house” wine dinner at CAUTON BECK – Newark in Nottinghamshire. The following day I was off to Manchester to a trade tasting operated by GERRARD SEEL followed by a Dinner presentation at Mere Golf and Country Club.

Then I was off to Germany! In MUNICH I hosted a promotional media dinner under the guidance of our PR agency Schaffelhuber Communications at restaurant Schmock which was warmly supported by our agent Anton Roessner, and the start of a greater media presence for BF.

My travels then took me for the first time to DUBAI and created the opportunity and pleasure to meet our agents Maritime and Mercantile, and through wine presentations we have successfully achieved a greater awareness of our brand in the market.

After returning home for a few days I then left for a weeks holiday in Kenya in September on a wine safari in the Masai Mara with celebrated wildlife photographers Daryl and Sharna Balfour. The event is perhaps unique in that it is possibly the only safari trip in the world with a nightly professional wine entertainment program with some of the worlds best wines including Bouchard Finlayson! I maintain that the Mara is another place that is "heaven on earth"!

Vintage 09 performed well in a relatively dry growing season with almost zero grape spoilage - it has shown great promise and willingness to exceed expectations. With this in mind we hope you share our excitement as we offer the release of the first few bottles. To add a further frisson to the occasion we have released the maiden vintage of our Sauvignon Blanc ‘Reserve’ 09 and are delighted to report it has created quite a sensation amongst our Sauvignon Blanc followers.
 
Blanc de Mer 09 - It has been a tough challenge to follow on from the success of the 2008 vintage. Fortunately weather conditions cast a magic spell to produce near perfect grapes in all departments. The result is an action packed composition which exhibits all the magic evident in the 2008 vintage (which was Stephen Spurrier’s choice of Best New World White in Decanter Wine Magazine May 2009).
 
The blend varies from year to year but 09 is similar to 2007 with Riesling comprising 39%. Next is Viognier at 28%, Chardonnay 13%, Chenin Blanc 9%, Sauvignon Blanc 8% and Semillon at 3%.
 
It’s a rich offering with a medley of flavours – including quince, gooseberry, peach and orange blossom. You’ll find it inviting and ideal for relaxed occasions, especially during warm summer days!
 
Sauvignon Blanc 09 - Sauvignon Blanc is arguably South Africa’s most popular and best performing white variety. In a country so long dominated by Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc has raised its hand and is now regarded as a constant aromatic refresher, particularly popular during the warm summer months.
 
Stylistically Sauvignon Blanc varies according to location and micro-climate, with best examples coming from cooler coastal districts. Our vineyards are close to the cold Walker Bay Atlantic Ocean and so enjoy consistent moderate summer temperatures which provide fine floral flavours. These are enhanced by heavy clay soils where the flavour tends to be more tropical than herbaceous.
 
2009 presented perfect fruit, thanks to a long dry season with ideal ripening conditions which followed a late winter and a spring with above-average rainfall. The result is a really fresh, generously bodied, wine with full zesty aromatic flavours, a long mineral finish and a promise to develop with a full palate!
 
Sauvignon Blanc 09 ‘Reserve’ – This “Reserve” is a single bottling characterized by excellent fruit that’s the result of a rain-free quality summer which encouraged every expression to fulfill its potential.
 
The Sauvignon Blanc grape takes its name from the French word for “savage” or “wild”. Fortunately this cuvee is more sophisticated – it is aptly described as strikingly elegant, with a flinty nose where the palate is crisp and clean, plus a finish that lingers brightly.
 
The wine is enhanced with the addition of 12 % Semillon and also enjoys a very small contribution of French Oak. We anticipate it will take at least four years to mature.
  
Hannibal 07 - Some years ago Peter Finlayson, winemaker,  described creating the Hannibal blend as something of an indulgence; it’s a challenging exercise that relies upon combining a number of different grapes to paint diverse taste colours. It is this vivid palette which make Hannibal so uniquely characterful and eclectically rich.
 
Creating a wine based on three principle grapes, namely Pinot Noir, Sangiovese and Nebbiolo, began twenty years ago – the two latter varieties were introduced in 1989. It then took twelve years to master the essential nature of this composition.
 
With Vintage 2007 we have reverted to using much less Shiraz than in 2006 – this time Shiraz only accounts for 13%. Sangiovese dominates with 52%, with Pinot Noir at 14%, Nebbiolo 9%, Mourvedre 9% and Barbera 3%.
 
This wine has a concentrated dark fruit nose with an austere, gentle palate weight. Tannins are velvety and offer a slow-pronounced aromatic finish!

From harvesting, to de-stalking, crushing, pressing, fermenting, filtering…to new born baby clothes, nappies and gurgles… baby Daniella de Villiers was born to Danie and Teresa de Villiers. Teresa has been assistant winemaker at Bouchard Finlayson for over 3 years and complements the cellar team with Peter Finlayson at the helm.
 
Peter extends the analogy by commenting that “Each new wine is like a new child - displaying uniqueness, offering promise, and evoking a range of emotions without any guarantees. The winemaker can exercise some influence in the initial development, giving their all, but once the wine is bottled and released into the world, one has to stand back and let go. It then takes on a life of its own and you have to accept the credit or the criticism with a degree of detachment.”
 
Perhaps wine making has been good training for motherhood? We wish Teresa the very best and have already welcomed her return after 3 months maternity leave.

Another show of kindness and generosity has been shared within our community. Bouchard Finlayson is proud to be associated with the Christopher Duigen Charity concert held annually in the most perfect venue possible – our barrel cellar. What better way to mature wines than to the sound of music!
 
These concerts raise money and awareness for the local Cansa Association. Many thanks to Charles Lloys Ellis for his sponsorship of the Musicians and a heartfelt thanks to Helen Gardner and her team via the Rainbow Trust who give of their time so selflessly to promote tickets for the 2 concerts on the 17th and 18th December.  

It’s tempting to stand on the lawn in front of our cellars (glass in hand, of course!), look across the sweeping vista of the aptly named Hemel-en-Aarde (Heaven and Earth) valley and imagine how it may have looked a mere 300 years ago.

Before the arrival of white settlers it would have been an unbroken panorama of "fynbos", the indigenous vegetation type known officially as the Cape Floral Kingdom. This palatable vegetation, produced by the fertile soils, would have teemed with wildlife - bontebok, eland, mountain zebra, Cape buffalo, black rhinoceros and predators such as lion, leopard and hyena. Sadly, little of this rich diversity remains, but a few mammals have managed to survive the impact of development and can occasionally be seen on the estate.
 
The grysbok, a delicate and shy antelope that lives in dense thickets, has habits described as crepuscular, (which might send a few of us scurrying for our dictionaries!). It likes eating young vines, but rather than hunting this beautiful creature we’ve chosen to fence off the vineyards.
 
The klipspringer, superbly adapted to scaling rocky heights, occasionally descends from the adjacent Fernkloof Nature Reserve. The males leave a faint trail from their scent glands as they mark their territory.
 
Nocturnal porcupine are seldom seen, but leave holes where they dig to feed on bulbs, roots and tubers. You also pick up their discarded fallen quills. It is thought they help the survival of the vegetation by spreading the small bulblets.
 
Small but fearless, the honey badger is the scourge of beekeepers everywhere. Seemingly impervious to bee-stings, it attacks the hive, principally to gorge on bee larvae.
 
The Cape clawless otter is very reclusive, but it wanders up the rivers from the Onrust estuary, where it breeds. Small whitish scats, from the fresh water crabs they like to eat, betray its presence. It is hoped that when the alien trees in the Galpin stream are eventually eliminated the increased water flow will encourage them to visit more often.
 
The diurnal, sly, slinking Cape grey mongoose, is much more visible. It is omnivorous and has a plentiful food supply in the form of rodents, bird eggs and nestlings. Its nocturnal counterpart, the handsome cat-like small-spotted genet, has a similar diet.
 
Very rarely you may spot the footprints of the mountain leopard as it wanders from its home in the adjacent Babylonstoring Mountains in a wide-ranging search for food. Never common, due to the scarcity of prey, it is now virtually extinct. That indefatigable traveler, Lady Anne Barnard, passing through the valley on an ox-wagon in the late 1790's, noted they were followed by leopard for some distance. What privilege it would have been to have seen the valley through her eyes!
 
Although the mammal population is much reduced, we see ourselves as custodians of what is left and aim to manage the estate to ensure its continuing survival.