Crystallum’s pitch-perfect 2024s: Peter Max & The Agnes
Crystallum’s pitch-perfect 2024s: Peter Max & The Agnes
Crystallum 2024
Pitch-perfect Peter Max & The Agnes
Peter-Allan Finlayson continues to be a pacesetter for SA Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The 2024 Peter Max and Agnes are perfectly judged, multi-vineyard blends from ‘one of South Africa’s most accomplished labels’ (Christian Eedes). We’ve tasted these wines every year since inception, and this is the best release to date.
There are only a handful of great value Pinots in SA and Crystallum’s Peter Max is one of them. Wonderfully elegant, it’s a bestseller, and the 2024 is up in flavour, structure and potential longevity. Sourced from vineyards in the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, Shaw’s Mountain, and Kaaimansgat, it offers accessibility without compromising on complexity, finishing with a chalky texture and great length.
The Agnes Chardonnay 2024 is superb! It’s poised and bright with flinty reduction and pure, delineated fruit and florals – think white fleshy stone fruit, jasmine stem and lemon curd, all markers of a great Chardonnay. The wine hails from vineyards in the Overberg but includes a site in the Ceres Mountains at 700m elevation, which adds freshness and vibrancy to the blend. Reserved but cerebral, it deserves a spot on your table.
Peter-Allan Finlayson was the first Young Gun to take on Pinot Noir. Shortly after his maiden release in 2008, he added Chardonnay to the Crystallum portfolio (which he owns with his brother, Andrew) and has focused exclusively on Burgundian varieties. They source most of their fruit from the cool, maritime Hemel-en-Aarde region but venture further afield when they find exciting sites that bring complexity to their wines.
