At first glance it is hard to imagine two (more or less) concurrent conversations with two more different wine producers: on the first occasion I sat with Lukas van Loggerenberg and tasted my way through his current releases. This was followed by a similar session with Peter-Allan Finlayson. Best known for his Crystallum range from largely Hemel-en-Aarde fruit, Finlayson fils, Peter, has also been in charge of winemaking at Gabrielskloof in Bot River for several years.
Differences abound: Van Loggerenberg, who grew up in Rawsonville, came to winemaking almost by default. It was certainly not a career path he imagined for himself despite being surrounded by vineyards in his youth. Finlayson on the other hand is the third generation of his family to work in wine. His grandparents owned Hartenberg, both his father and his uncle have been “winemakers of the year” (at Blaauwklippen and Hamilton Russell) and his cousins own and run some of the Cape’s most successful mid-size brands.
However, focusing on the obvious differences tends to conceal the important similarities. Both are passionate about what they do; neither owns vast tracks of vineyard — which frees them up to focus on their fruit sources rather than to make do with what inheritance has provided. Both are obsessed about fruit quality — though Finlayson’s special (but not exclusive) interest is chardonnay and pinot noir and Van Loggerenberg’s is the older vineyards of more traditional Cape varieties.
Of course, differences abound. Van Loggerenberg names his wines with catchphrases rather than varieties, even when they are single cultivar wines. He’s interested in the expression, not the characteristics of the cultivar. For example, “Trust your Gut” is a blend of Polkadraai and Paardeberg chenin, low in alcohol yet still quite ripe, with an almost apple cider fruit note and a dry stony finish.
Kameraderie — which celebrates the support he had when setting out — is from two old vine chenin sites, one planted in 1966 at Lammershoek, the other in 1980 in the Paardeberg. It has lovely detail, savoury, fresh fennel-like perfume, and great length. It’s a tiny production and retails for a little over R500 (if you can get it).
I also liked both his cinsauts — the Geronimo and the Lotter. The former, made from Firgrove fruit, is readily accessible and shows lovely perfume. The latter, from a Franschhoek vineyard planted 90 years ago, has surprisingly plush notes and lovely chalky tannins.
His other wines include a cabernet franc (Breton), restrained and quite classical, and two shiraz (or shiraz based) wines, High Hopes, made succulent through the judicious additions of grenache and cinsaut and Graft, from Polkadraai fruit, spicy, linear with whiffs of fynbos and ground pepper.
Finlayson is just as picky about his sites — though working mainly with chardonnay and pinot the prospect of any old vine fruit is out of the question. Still, there are vineyards he has been working with since the launch of his brand over 15 years ago. There are three chardonnays, the entry level Agnes, the Ferrum from the iron-rich soils of Shaw’s Mountain (destined to be a new appellation adjacent to Hemel-en-Aarde) and the Clay Shales — to me his consistently standout white wine. The 2022 is luminous and pure, textured rather than weighty, the oak so well integrated it’s almost invisible, and very persistent.
Of his four pinots the Cuvée Cinema remains my favourite, though I can see the Bona Fidé — the 2021 vintage of which garnered a Platter 5 star — is attracting its own following. Wine enthusiasts who like the way he handles pinot should consider the wines he is making at Gabrielskloof — especially the two syrahs, but also the cabernet franc.
The Landscape Series Cabernet Franc 2021 shows beautifully managed intensity, with faintly savoury crushed green peppercorn notes. The Syrah on Shale seems equally youthful, still quite restrained, with elegance rather than muscle its hallmark feature. For me the standout wine was the Syrah on Sandstone 2021 — pure, aromatic, with whiffs of violets. Frankly, it’s simply delicious.
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