Kanonkop Paul Sauer Red Blend 2018
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James
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Wine
Spectator -
Wine &
Spirits - Decanter
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The Kanonkop Paul Sauer 2018 has a saturated ruby color and is complimented by an array of scents typically associated with Paul Sauer – fresh herbs, tilled earth, pencil shavings, spice, red- and black fruits. While being heady and perfumed, the wine remains classic and refined, with an utterly elegant structure. The tannins are precise, and together with the clever use of new oak, creates the perfect backdrop to host the complex fruit spectrum. The finish is sappy and spicy, with layered notes of red fruits and cured meats on the long, youthful finish.
Blend: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc, 15% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2018 Paul Sauer is backward, almost surly on the nose and needs a few minutes to really find its voice, offering blackberry, raspberry coulis, aniseed and light floral scents. The oak is very well integrated here. The harmonious palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, and one of the most sensual I can recall in recent years. Suave and sophisticated, this is Cape wine from the top drawer.
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James Suckling
A perfumed nose of plums, baked strawberries, vanilla, dried flowers and sweet licorice. Medium-bodied with velvety tannins and a creamy texture. Pretty and polished. A blend of 70% cabernet sauvignon, 15% cabernet franc and 15% merlot. Sustainable.
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Wine Spectator
A vibrant red, with tar and licorice notes enriching raspberry jam, baked black cherry, mocha and cured tobacco flavors. Tightly meshed and full-bodied, with fine tannins imparting good structure and tension. Firm, minerally finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.
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Wine & Spirits
A blend of cabernet sauvignon (70 percent) with merlot and cabernet franc, this is titanic wine, the bracing alcohol crashing into your mouth like a wave into a sea wall. But even immediately after opening, delicate aromatics peek through the blackberry flavors, with fruit-blossom florals that reminded one taster of viognier. Those pretty aromatics only get more prominent with air, and the alcohol settles into a supporting role, amping up the powerful tannin, juicy ripe fruit and black pepper, flowing into an oakstructured finish. It would benefit from some time in the cellar, or decant it now alongside braised game.
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Decanter
Blueberry ice cream with vanilla oak and spice with underlying aromatics of pencil shavings and herbs. Saline acidity and savoury finish. Blend : 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc
Other Vintages
2019-
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James
Suckling -
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Spectator - Decanter
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Spectator
With a reputation for producing some of the Cape’s finest red wines, the heralded Kanonkop Estate is often referred to as a South African "First Growth." The fourth generation family farm, presently run by brothers Johann and Paul Krige, has been owned and operated by the Sauer-Krige family since the early 1930s. The name Kanonkop is derived from a "kopje" (small hill) on the property, from which a cannon was fired in the 17th century to announce the arrival of the Dutch East India Company’s trading ships at Table Bay.
Kanonkop boasts some of the Cape’s first commercially planted Pinotage vines, with an average age of over 50 years. Respecting tradition while embracing the future, Kanonkop fuses age-old wine-making techniques with state-of-the art technology. All of the estate’s grapes are handpicked and sorted. The wines are vinified in open concrete fermenters, using manual punchdowns, and are subsequently aged in French Nevers oak barrels.
Kanonkop continues its long history of excellence under Abrie Beeslaar, winemaker at the estate since 2002. In addition to garnering regular 90+ ratings for his bottlings in such publications as Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast, Beeslaar was crowned the 2008 International Winemaker of the Year at the International Wine and Spirits Competition in London, where Kanonkop also received the Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande trophy for the best blended red wine with its Paul Sauer 2003 and the Dave Hughes Trophy for Best South African Producer. In addition, Kanonkop was named "Winery of the Year" and its Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 earned "Wine of the Year" in the 2009 edition of John Platter’s South African Wine Guide – widely recognized as the most authoritative and comprehensive guide on the world of South African wine. Kanonkop Wine Estate was also named the "Most Admired Wine Brand in South Africa" and listed at #32 on the “Most Admired Wine Brands in the World" by #DrinksInternational in 2020.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
South Africa’s most famous wine-producing district, Stellenbosch, surrounds the historic town with the same name; fine winemaking here dates back to the late 1600s. Its valleys of granite, sandstone and alluvial loam soils between the towering blue-grey mountains of Stellenbosch, Simonsberg and Helderberg have the capacity to produce beautiful wines from many varieties. The climate is warm Mediterranean, tempered by the cool Atlantic air of nearby False Bay.
Perhaps most well-known for its Pinotage and Bordeaux blends, Stellenbosch also produces noteworthy wines from Syrah, Chenin blanc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc. The district’s wards—Banghoek, Bottelary, Devon Valley, Jonkershoek Valley, Papegaaiberg, Polkadraai Hills and Simonsberg-Stellenbosch—all produce distinctive wines from vines with relatively low yields.