When I visited Peter-Allan Finlayson last March at his cellar we tasted through all his delicious 2016 whites and reds before finishing off with something very special… his first 100% whole bunch Pinot Noir 2016 made from a tiny portion of the grapes from his famed Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge Cuvee Cinema vineyard.

Only 629 bottles of this impressive wine were produced.

Crystallum Whole Bunch Pinot Noir 2016, Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, Walker Bay, 14% Abv.

Quite a broody, almost opaque black cherry colour, this wine is certainly stand apart from Peter-Allan’s other Pinot Noirs. The aromatics are piercing, intensely lifted, and positively fill the room with notes of sappy black cherry, leafy black current, cigar ash, dusty minerality and a resinous, lapsang black tea pungency. The smokey fruit opulence is embellished by attractively fragrant notes of musk, pink stick candy and sugar dusted strawberry bon bons. The palate is beautifully relaxed and at ease, showing wonderful sappy, spicy, brambly red fruits, cherry herbal tea infusions, waxy ruby grapefruit skins, a hint of pleasantly piquant vermouth bitterness and a long, fleshy, creamy finish. There is more tension, sappy stalk spice and peppery textural notes than the other cuvees, but it is pulled off so expertly that one wonders why Peter-Allan does not make all his wines in this style. This is a slightly more sophisticated expression of Pinot Noir that will hold massive appeal for Burghounds and Pinotphiles. Enjoy this deliciously complex wine now with food, or age for another 10 to 12+ years. This is going to be a future unicorn wine for sure! Bury a few bottles away.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)