Crystallum, Elandskloof (South Africa) Pinot Noir 2016

I encountered this during the vinous equivalent of a speed dating session with four very nice people, some of whom were showing wines they had made, some showing wines as producer representative, and all of them trying to explain a few wines from other producers in the broader region around Bot River, a sub-appellation of Walker Bay.  This wine falls into the latter category, and I don’t believe any of my companions in this endeavor actually have a commercial relationship with Crystallum.  Consequently, this is a bit of an orphan, and I don’t know much about it.  I do know that Crystallum is a project of Peter-Allan Finlayson along with his brother Andrew, sons of Peter Finlayson, who is widely regarded as South Africa’s premier pioneer with fine Pinot Noir.  The fruit is all purchased (rather than sourced from vineyards owned by Crystallum), and I was told that 30% of this was aged in new oak.  I can’t even find mention of this wine on the Crystallum website, but I can find evidence of its existence on the importer’s site, so this is not a mere unicorn.  Why the long preamble for this review?  Because the wine is wonderfully delicate, almost ethereal and weightless, though it shows lovely red cherry and cranberry aromas and flavors, along with stylish scents of spices and tomato leaf.  The tannins are ultra fine-grained and perfectly tuned to the wine’s lean frame.  This was shown alongside Crystallum’s Hemel en Aarde Ridge 2016 Pinot, which was significantly meatier, and preferred by most of my fellow tasters.  Fine people though they were, I sharply disagreed, as it is easy to find relatively meaty Pinots around the world, whereas finding gorgeous, gossamer wines like this outside of Burgundy is damned near impossible.