Winemaker Notes
The nose is filled with fresh juicy blackcurrant, black plums, and black cherries. Underlying hints of bouquet garni and subtle oak spice add further complexity. The tannins are finely textured, which adds a sturdy framework to support the plush fruit core. Concentrated flavors of blackberries and black fruit, combined with a juicy savory plush tomato note, create a classic Stellenbosch Cabernet with a lengthy, dry finish.
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
Savory notes of grilled rosemary and olives waft from the glass, joined by currants and wild berries. Lovely texture here, with sleek tannins, medium to full body and a long, creamy finish.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Blackberry leaf, cassis and plum skin all dance on the nose of this wine, with supporting accents of singed herbs, tobacco leaf and cedar. The medium-weight palate is like crushed velvet in texture, with ripe black-fruit flavors framed by plush yet structuring tannins and ample acidity that lends some lift along with the grip of the close. It’s well balanced and attractive now, though it should hold well through 2026.
-
Wine Spectator
A dark, juicy, medium- to full-bodied red, with a streak of tarry smoke underscoring flavors of baked black cherry and black plum reduction, with notes of licorice and dried parsley and sage. Firm, chalky tannins emerge to trim the finish.
-
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2020 Kanonkop Kadette Cabernet Sauvignon is soft yet nicely structured. TASTING NOTES: This wine exhibits aromas and flavors of black fruit, licorice, and savory spices. Serve it with grilled lamb chops. (Tasted: May 15, 2022, San Francisco, CA)
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
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.