Crystallum Wines

Crystallum was founded in 2007 by brothers Peter-Allan and Andrew Finlayson, the third generation of one of South Africa's most prominent winemaking families. Their grandfather Walter Finlayson made wine at Boschendal and elsewhere; their father Peter Finlayson served as founding cellarmaster of Hamilton Russell from 1979 to 1990 and co-founded Bouchard Finlayson in 1989. Peter-Allan and Andrew launched Crystallum as a side project alongside their respective careers (Andrew is an architect, Peter-Allan studied philosophy), focused on the two varieties their father had championed: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The first Crystallum vintage in 2007 produced a small quantity of Sauvignon Blanc, but the brothers quickly pivoted to specialising in the Burgundian varieties they had grown up around. Today Peter-Allan also serves as winemaker at sister estate Gabrielskloof, where many Crystallum wines are vinified.

• Crystallum founded in 2007 by Peter-Allan and Andrew Finlayson, third-generation Finlayson winemakers
• Father Peter Finlayson is founding Hamilton Russell cellarmaster (1979 to 1990) and co-founder of Bouchard Finlayson (1989)
• Andrew is an architect by training; Peter-Allan studied philosophy before turning to winemaking
• First 2007 vintage was a small batch of Sauvignon Blanc; the brothers quickly pivoted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay

The Crystallum brothers have built one of the most respected boutique Pinot Noir and Chardonnay houses in the Cape over less than two decades. Peter-Allan is the winemaker and public face of the project, and also leads the cellar at sister estate Gabrielskloof in Bot River, where Crystallum's wines are vinified. Andrew, an architect by training, works alongside his brother and contributes to the design and presentation of the project, including its restrained, elegant packaging. The brothers favour an old-world ethos in the cellar: native yeast fermentation, minimal intervention, restrained new oak percentages, and a focus on letting their range of single vineyards speak rather than imposing a uniform house style. The result is a portfolio that reads almost like a Hemel-en-Aarde-meets-Cape-South-Coast tasting library.

• Peter-Allan Finlayson is winemaker, public face, and also runs the cellar at sister estate Gabrielskloof
• Andrew Finlayson contributes to the design and presentation of the project alongside his architectural career
• Old-world cellar ethos: native yeast fermentation, minimal intervention, restrained new oak
• Portfolio designed as a single-vineyard library rather than a uniform house blend

Crystallum does not own a substantial vineyard estate. Instead, the brothers source from a carefully chosen network of single vineyards across the Cape's coolest corners, primarily in the Hemel-en-Aarde and the wider Overberg. Key sites include the high-altitude Kaaimansgat vineyard in the Elandskloof (300 to 700 metres above sea level depending on the block), the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge cinema-named Cuvée Cinéma vineyard, the Clay Shales vineyard on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, Shaw's Mountain (source of the Ferrum Chardonnay) and other small parcels. The Kaaimansgat site, owned by the fourth-generation Roux family, is also the source of Bouchard Finlayson's Crocodile's Lair Chardonnay; it is one of South Africa's most respected white wine vineyards. By contrast, the Cuvée Cinéma vineyard was meticulously designed with high-density plantings of disease-free Dijon clones, making it one of the most purpose-built Pinot Noir sites in the Cape.

• Sources from a network of cool-climate single vineyards rather than owning a single estate
• Kaaimansgat (Elandskloof): high-altitude vineyard at 300 to 700 metres, also source of Bouchard Finlayson's Crocodile's Lair
• Cuvée Cinéma vineyard: high-density Dijon-clone Pinot Noir on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge
• Clay Shales vineyard: single Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge Chardonnay site at high altitude

Crystallum's Pinot Noir range is one of the most acclaimed in South Africa and a study in site-specific Pinot Noir. Bona Fide Pinot Noir is sourced from the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley and shows strawberry, cranberry and sour cherry with savoury herbal lift, light woodsmoke and earth. Mabalel Pinot Noir is named after a poem by South African writer Eugene Marais and is sourced from the high-altitude Kaaimansgat vineyard at around 700 metres; the cool mountain mesoclimate yields a powerful yet fresh Pinot Noir with mineral and floral aromatic lift. Cuvée Cinéma Pinot Noir is the most singular of the range: it comes from a single Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge site where scenes from a Napoleon-era film were once shot before the vines were planted, and is produced from a meticulously designed high-density block of Dijon clones. The Peter Max Pinot Noir is a name introduced for a small-batch single-vineyard expression in selected vintages.

• Bona Fide Pinot Noir: Hemel-en-Aarde Valley source; strawberry, cranberry, sour cherry, woodsmoke and earth
• Mabalel Pinot Noir: high-altitude Kaaimansgat fruit; named after a poem by Eugene Marais; powerful yet fresh
• Cuvée Cinéma Pinot Noir: high-density Dijon-clone Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge vineyard; named for a Napoleon-era film shoot
• Peter Max Pinot Noir: small-batch single-vineyard expression in selected vintages

Crystallum's Chardonnay portfolio runs in parallel to the Pinot Noir programme and shows the same commitment to site-specific bottlings. The Agnes Chardonnay is a barrel-fermented blend from multiple cool-climate vineyards inland of Hermanus; its first vintage was 2009 and it has become one of South Africa's most reliable Chardonnays at the mid-tier. The Clay Shales Chardonnay is a single-vineyard wine from a Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge site sheltered in a mountain shadow, with the elevation and cool sea breezes producing a tight, mineral-driven wine. The Ferrum Chardonnay is sourced from Shaw's Mountain and the Litigo Chardonnay is sourced from a coastal vineyard, both adding further site-specific expressions to the range. Across the Chardonnay range, the Finlayson style emphasises restrained new oak, native yeast fermentation, full malolactic conversion in some bottlings, and a transparent rendering of site rather than a uniform Crystallum signature.

• The Agnes Chardonnay: multi-vineyard, first vintage 2009; a flexible mid-tier wine
• Clay Shales Chardonnay: single-vineyard Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge site at high altitude
• Ferrum Chardonnay: sourced from Shaw's Mountain
• Litigo Chardonnay: sourced from a coastal vineyard, adding maritime character to the range