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 & 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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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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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
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.