Kanonkop Pinotage 2018

Pinotage
2018

WINEMAKER Abrie Beeslaar

COMPOSITION 100% Pinotage

ORIGIN Simonsberg, Stellenbosch

AGE OF VINES 31 to 65 years old bush vines

IRRIGATION None - dry land vineyards

SOIL TYPE Decomposed Granite and Hutton

YIELD 5 tons per hectare

AGEING POTENTIAL 10 to 15 years from vintage

PRODUCTION VOLUME 12 000 cases (6x 750ml)

FOOD PAIRING Spicy Asian-style dishes | Aromatic curries | Peppered squid with wasabi | All types of venison meat | Seared game fish | Duck

VINTAGECONDITIONS

Extremely warm and dry, with below average rainfall and cold units during the preceding winter. During ripening the night time temperatures were cooler than normal, resulting in good acid and flavour development. A challenging vintage that produced sound, concentrated wines.

WINEMAKING / MATURATION

Fermented in open top concrete fermenters at 28⁰C. The floating skins were punched down by hand, every 2 hours during fermentation. The juice was drawn off the skins after 3 days. After malolactic fermentation the wine was matured for 16 months in 80% new and 20% second fill 225L French Nevers oak barrels.

TASTING NOTES

Intense purple hues. The nose is beautifully aromatic, with scented aromas of red currants, macerated cherries and cinnamon spice. The palate displays a silky tannin structure, backed by a fine seam of acidity. Subtle vanilla undertones from the integrated oak profile are juxtaposed against a fruit explosion of wild bramble, plums and black berries. An elegant wine with lingering flavours of juicy, dark plums on the finish.

ALC 14.84% | RS 2.2 g/l | TA 5.4 g/l | pH 3.73 | FREE SO2 50 mg/l | TOTAL SO2 132 mg/l | VA 0.68 g/l

REVIEWS

94 points, Tim Atkin

Hot, long and tiring” is how Johann Krige describes the 2018 vintage, but Kanonkop more than coped with the challenge. The tannins are quite serious here, lending the wine structure and ageing potential. The palate is sweet and layered, with notes of sweet spices and patisserie and a long, tapering finish. 2022-30

93 points, Vinous

The 2018 Pinotage comes from vines up to 65 years old, cropped at 5 tons/ha, and raised for 16 months in 80% new oak and 20% second fill. There is a little reduction on the nose, though this is brushed away with aeration to reveal black plum mixed with Christmas cake and a hint of licorice; fine delineation here. The palate is medium-bodied with impressive harmony and focus, the oak seamlessly integrated. There is fine backbone to this Pinotage, and a sustained white pepper finish that lingers. Outstanding.

92 points, Wine Enthusiast

There's a slight warmth to the nose of this wine, which opens with aromas of licorice root, char, baked plum and roasted blackberry alongside a touch of balsamic herbs and minty rooibos. It's plush in feel and full in weight, with gripping tannins that support all of that ripe black fruit flavor. Ample acidity assists with balance, while the long finish shows beautiful evolution.

AWARDS

RECIPES

• Char-Grilled Venison with a Plum & Balsamic Reduction

PINOTAGE

In 1924, while heading up Oenology and Viticulture at the University of Stellenbosch, Professor Abraham Perold made a crossing of two grape varieties that today forms the South African wine industry’s unique selling point. Pinot Noir and Cinsaut (once known as Hermitage in South Africa) became Pinotage, a red-blooded South African grape variety.

One of the world’s finest examples of Pinotage, a variety first planted on Kanonkop in 1941. Deep garnet with a purple hue, this wine offers plush plum and cherry flavours with an evocative hint of spice. As the wine ages in the bottle, it gains an earthy, forest-floor character and a delectable cassis-like, sweet-fruited core.

First vintage: 1973

Production volume: 12 000 x 6