Kanonkop
One of the most widely respected of South Africa's wine estates,
Stellenbosch revisited part 4
Kanonkop is one of South Africa’s
legendary wine estates, widely respected for its traditional
approach, and famous for its Pinotage and Paul Sauer wines. It has
120 hectares of vineyards, all of them red.
I visited with owner Johann Krige (above)
and winemaker Abrie Breslaar, who were both on good form. We were
also accompanied by Abrie’s ridgeback puppy Max (12 weeks old and
impossibly cute, below).
Vintage was underway, so I got to see
some punching down of the caps in action, as well as trying it for
myself. Winemaking is very simple here, in part because it is just a
red wine farm. All the wines are treated the same, and are fermented
in small-ish open top fermenters that remind me of the lagares
used for Port making in the Douro, except these are a bit taller. 12
of them take 10 tons each, and four of them take 5 tons of
fruit.
The fermentation takes place at 28 or 29 °C,
and winemaker Abrie Breslaar likes the grapes to come in at 25 to 30
°C.
There’s no messing around here: the fermenting must stays on the
skins for 4 or 5 days before being drained off and the skins
pressed. For Pinotage this may be even as short as 3 days; for
Cabernet it is often a bit longer and will usually be the full 5
days.
Old
bush vines
The portfolio is Pinotage, Cabernet
Sauvignon, Paul Sauer (a Bordeaux blend) plus the less expensive
Kadette (a blend ofPinotage, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet
Franc). A recent addition, since 2010 has been a Pinotage rosé:
Johann Krige explained that they needed a rosé in the
portfolio for cellar door and dinners, but it is made in a more
structured style to keep with the tradition.
The
old Pinotage vineyard that Black Label comes from
Kadette is a second label that comes from
younger vines, and some fruit from neighbours’ farms. It is aged
in older barrels and production is around 700 000 bottles. This is
the smart buy here: as the tasting showed, it can age really well,
and it is as cheap as chips (around 65 Rand on release; in the UK
it’s a little more at £10).
Since 2000, each year they have kept back
6-7000 bottles of Pinotage to be released at 10 years of age.
‘It’s an educational thing,’ says Johann, ‘and it is
interesting to see who buys it.’
‘When you try older Pinotage it is
easier to understand young Pinotage,’ maintains Abrie. ‘You need
to try the 10-15 year old stuff to understand the variety.’
Kanonkop’s Pinotage is grown as bush
vines, unirrigated, in 8 different plots. In 2006 they started to
keep one plot separate because of the age of the vines (59 years
old) and the structure and maturity. This has become the 1000 bottle
production Black Label Pinotage, which retails at 1100 Rand a
bottle. ‘The vineyard dictated this wine,’ says Abrie, as it is
made just the same way as the other wines.
Normally, each vintage 50 000 litres of
Pinotage will be produced, 3000 of which is from the old block, from
which 1000 bottles are taken each year for Black Label.
Since the Kanonkop brand was established
in 1973 there have been just three winemakers here. That’s
remarkable, and it could help to explain why Kanonkop has such a
strong identity as a wine farm.
THE
WINES
Pinotage Rosé Dry 2010 Stellenbosch, South Africa Lovely fruity wine with sweet herb, cherry and berry fruit nose.
The palate is rich and fruity with nice texture and some complexity.
Smooth sweet cherry fruit dominates. Nice wine. 89/100 (R45)
Kanonkop Kadette 2010 Stellenbosch,
South Africa Taut, minty and spicy edge to the vibrant sweet berry fruits
nose. Lovely taut fruity character. The palate is sweet, lush and
berryish with great definition and vibrant blackcurrant and
blackberry fruit. Sweet but structured, and drinking well, but with
future potential. 91/100
Kanonkop Kadette 2004 Stellenbosch,
South Africa Some meaty warmth here. Open, ripe blackberry and plum fruit
with some meatiness. Ripe, supple and spicy with some evolution and
lots of sweet fruit. Delicious. 90/100
Kanonkop Kadette 2003 Stellenbosch,
South Africa Vivid, fresh and vibrant with sweet spicy berry fruits on the
nose. The palate shows pure dark fruits with some cherry and
distinctive spiciness. Serious stuff with a savoury side. 92/100
Kanonkop Pinotage 2010 Stellenbosch,
South Africa Fine, pure blackcurrant and blackberry fruit. Sweet, lush and
pure with beautiful purity. The palate has lovely pure blackberry
fruit with some chocolate and spice notes. Really rich, pure and
sweet with great definition. 94/100
Kanonkop Pinotage 2001 Stellenbosch,
South Africa Sweet, meaty, spicy and vivid with a hint of earth on the nose.
The palate is vivid, spicy and tarry. Quite complex, but there’s a
touch of mustiness on this bottle.
Kanonkop Black Label Pinotage 2010
Stellenbosch, South Africa Sweet, pure, ripe, elegant blackberry and blackcurrant fruit
nose. The palate is fine, ripe, smooth and well defined with elegant
cherry and berry fruit. Supple and stylish with good structure; fine
but firm tannins. Great concentration and structure, but elegance
too. 96/100
Kanonkop Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
Stellenbosch, South Africa Tight, focused, fresh blackcurrant and blackberry fruit. Some
plum and earth notes. Structured, fresh, taut and linear. Tannic and
firm but not ungenerous. 94/100
Kanonkop Cabernet Sauvignon 1999
Stellenbosch, South Africa Very stylish and still quite fresh with a savoury, structured
personality. Taut, spicy, earthy notes as well as brooding plum and
blackcurrant fruit. Taut and still youthful with lovely black
fruits. 94/100
Kanonkop Paul Sauer 2009 Stellenbosch,
South Africa Taut and fresh with sweet berry fruits and some spiciness.
Lovely structure here: intense, vivid, spicy with lovely fresh sweet
berry fruits coupled with taut structure. Pure and linear with real
potential for development. A fabulous wine. 95/100
Kanonkop Paul Sauer 1997 Stellenbosch,
South Africa This is the Cape Winemakers’ Guild wine, which is a selection
of 3 barrels from Paul Sauer. Taut and fresh with nice definition,
some earth and spice notes and plum and cherry fruit. Grippy with
some earthy notes, subtle hints of soy sauce. Good structure and
attractive plum and blackberry fruit. Vivid and fresh still with
some grip. 94/100
Kanonkop Paul Sauer 1995 Stellenbosch,
South Africa This wine is usually a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15%
Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc. Savoury, spicy and earthy with nice
mature plum, chocolate and blackcurrant fruit. Some tar and spice
notes. Supple, dense and vigorous with some earthiness. Spicy
finish. 92/100
Part
1,