Wine tasting at Bouchard Finlayson

Since moving to the Western Cape one of my favourite things has been experiencing the abundance of gorgeous wine farms on our door step. We truly live in a magnificent part of the country! Late last year I stopped for a wine tasting at Bouchard Finlayson during a Hermanus trip, and their wines have been a firm favourite ever since.

Bouchard Finlayson, a slice of Heaven and Earth

Bouchard Finlayson is located in the beautiful Hemel-en-Aarde (meaning Heaven and Earth-very appropriate!) Valley outside Hermanus. It’s not too far from Cape Town that you can’t take a scenic day drive and visit a few of the gems in the area. They are a boutique wine estate and have made quite a name for themselves by winning quite a few prestigious awards! At Bouchard Finlayson they focus on smaller production, higher quality wine.

From the moment I arrived at their vineyard I knew this place was a notch above many other winefarms I’d visited up until then. The grounds were breathtaking – set up a bit higher than average so affording a bit of a view. There was a lot of greenery and everything was meticulously manicured and the building had a pretty Cape Dutch influence.

As we had already eaten lunch, we chose a tasting of 3 wines (costing a very reasonable R30 per person). Even though it was a week day, the cellar was full of tourists sipping of the various wines and snacking on cheese platters.

The 2017 Sans Barrique Chardonnay

Bouchard Finlayson are well regarded for their exceptional Chardonnays and Sauvignon blanc.This was pretty easy for me to see as I must say, the 2017 Sans Barrique Chardonnay was the star of the show for me.  It has notes of apple, gooseberry, guava and sweet melon and was delightfully refreshing on the warm summer day. In that moment I was imaging how well it would pair with seafood!

Galpin Peak Pinot Noir

Award winning Winemaker, Peter Finlayson, is regarded as the ‘Pioneer of Pinot noir’ in South Africa. So naturally we couldn’t leave without trying the Galpin Peak Pinot Noir. Did you know that the Galpin Peak Pinot Noir has once again been ranked as the top Pinot Noir in South Africa, scoring a full 100 marks in the 2018 South African Wine Index Fine Wine Awards (SAWi)?  Furthermore, I was totally shocked to find out that the Galpin Peak has now held the No. 1 spot for 10 years in a row!

With all it’s amazing accolades, the Galpin Peak Pinot Noir did not disappoint. It had a very rich, full taste and is the type of wine that would complement quite a few dishes.

Make a day of it!

Being only 120km from Cape Town, I can highly recommend jotting this down for an exciting day trip. Take some friends, enjoy a slow breakfast at Peregrine Farm stall and then migrate to Hermanus. If you’re lucky, perhaps you can spot some of the famous whales in the bay before returning back to Cape Town. Personally, I’ll definitely be making another trip soon!