2023 Kanonkop Kadette Cape Blend Stellenbosch 6pk 6x750ml

Kanonkop Wines has stood at the forefront of South African winemaking since patriarch Paul Sauer first cultivated the farm's lower Simonsberg slopes in the 1930s. The property dates to 1929, with estate-bottled wines first released under the Kanonkop label from the 1973 vintage.

Now in its fourth generation, the estate is owned by brothers Paul and Johann Krige and guided by winemaker Abrie Beeslaar, who has shaped Kanonkop's voice since 2002.

Widely considered the South African equivalent of a First Growth, Kanonkop has made Pinotage and Cabernet Sauvignon its specialties, with its classic Stellenbosch reds earning benchmark status across the globe. The estate's name — "cannon hillock" in Afrikaans — refers to the butte above the farm where a cannon was fired in the 18th and 19th centuries to alert local farmers of trading ships arriving at Table Bay.

2023 Kadette Cape Blend is Kanonkop's take on South Africa's signature red style: a blend built around Pinotage, the Cape's own grape. The 2023 is 38% Pinotage, 34% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot.

The fruit comes from Stellenbosch vineyards between 5 and 30 years old, planted on decomposed granite and Hutton soils and cropped at about 7 tons per hectare.

The 2023 season followed a late, fairly dry winter with good June rain. A cold, dry spring gave even budding with little disease pressure, and a very wet December produced larger berries and softer tannins. Harvest began as usual in early February.

Fermentation took place in open-top concrete fermenters at 28°C, with the skins punched down mechanically every two hours. After malolactic fermentation, the wine spent 12 months in second- and third-fill 225-liter French Nevers oak barrels.

The result is a juicy, savory Cape Blend with silky tannins, ready to drink now and built to hold for five to seven years.