Bouchard Finlayson Vertical tasting at Hildebrand

We were invited to taste some of these great Hemel and Aarde wines at Hildebrand in the Waterfront this week. We do go there a lot but don’t always have time to visit all the wine farms we like and respect. This is one of them and if you find yourselves in the area, do go and do a tasting of these wines. You will find a warm welcome and some superb Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs and elegant red blends, as well as their Blanc de Mer white blend of Riesling, Viognier and Chenin Blanc. The wines were all paired with small tastings prepared in the restaurant kitchens

Hildebrand restaurant

They have a reasonably priced set menu on offer at present

Three vintages of the Blanc de Mer: 2012, 2013 and 2014. The most popular, and we concur, was the 2012. Warm linen and limes on the nose with faint whiffs of smoke, it is full of sweet fruit with a lingering elegance and aftertaste, performing well above expectation. The other two will mature as well as this one. It is a good food wine and it was paired with two pieces of salmon sushi.

It was quite a small tasting

Most of the people attending know and buy the wines. Peter Finlayson, in the top right corner, took us through his wines

Next we tasted the Galpin Peak Pinot Noirs: 2009, 2010 & 2012 (there was no 2011 made). We tasted this before the Chardonnay because Peter believes, as do many experts, that chardonnay can have an effect on the taste of Pinot Noir if tasted before it. Here the 2012 was just preferred more than the 2009. They all have a lovely silky mouth, and the 2012 has lots of juicy red morello cherries with a smoky finish. It is very, very elegant and has years to go. Definitely a food wine

Duck and rice to match the Pinot Noirs

This was the line up of wines we tasted. Next came the Tète de Cuvée Galpin Peak Pinot Noir: 2009, 2010 & 2012. the top Pinot. The 2009 vintage shone. Lynne picked up smoke and forest floor on the nose and juicy sweet fruit with a silky mouthfeel, raspberries cherries and some umami notes. It has a long, long finish. The 2012 is very similar, just needs more time to reach the same heights. Buy now and salt away for a year or three.

Lamb on tsatsiki to go with the Missionvale Chardonnays. We tasted 2011, 2012 & 2013. Again the same pattern. We like the 2011 best. It’s nose of wood citrus and vanilla is followed by a mouth full of intense fruit and good clean crisp acidity, limes and butter. So complex and layered. The 2013 has such potential, full fruit, lovely depth and continuation

It was a really good tasting. We wish we could afford more of these excellent wines as they are so built to last and go so well with food. We were given a bottle of the Blanc de Mer and the Galpin Peak Pinot Noir to take home. Thank you Peter. You somehow manage to get such beautiful silk into your wines

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2015