2019 Kanonkop Cabernet Sauvignon
Decanter's Wine of the Year awards work on a nomination system: members of the Decanter team nominate their favourites from the wines they have tasted in the past 12 months for consideration in an epic blind tasting of over 180 wines. South Africa performed particularly well this year, with 10 top-scorers including the winner in the Classic Red Wine category, the 2019 Kanonkop Cabernet Sauvignon. It beat some superb contenders, such as 2016 Brane-Cantenac, 2019 Les Carmes Haut-Brion and one of its Stellenbosch neighbours, 2020 Raats Cabernet Franc, to take the top spot. Special mention also to another Uncorked favourite, the 2021 Hamilton-Russell Chardonnay, which scored highly in the Classic White category.
Kanonkop is situated on the northwest slopes of the Simonsberg mountain range in Stellenbosch. It has been a wine farm since the 1940s, with the first vintage released under the Kanonkop name in 1972. While it is widely known as a pioneer of Pinotage, arguably the best wines from the estate are made from Bordeaux varieties, with just over a third of the 95-hectare vineyard planted to Cabernet Sauvignon. The cellar is in the very capable hands of Abrie Beeslaar, one of South Africa's most celebrated winemakers.
The 2019 vintage heralded the end of an intense four-year drought which had caused a major water-crisis in Cape Town; cool weather brought restraint to the wines and relief to Capetonians. The vines, however, still affected by years of water-stress, yielded compact bunches of very small grapes - damaging to yields, but a potent recipe for excellent, elegant wines, especially for late-ripening varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon. Kanonkop performed particularly well in 2019; their Cabernet has been a mainstay of our South African range for many years, and we are very pleased to be able to offer this exceptional, award-winning vintage. /JH
Offered subject to remaining unsold; available Spring 2024
