KANONKOP | Kadette | Pinotage | 2017
pinotage

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Today we are going to review a single-varietal pinotage wine from South Africa‘s famous Stellenbosch region – Kadette Pinotage 2017 by Kanonkop Wine Estate. Pinotage is South Africa’s controversial grape variety, created in 1925 by Abraham Perold – a crossing between Pinot Noir and Cinsaut (that is called Hermitage in South Africa). Abraham Perold observed how Pinot Noir struggled in South Africa’s climate, so he crossed it with the much more productive Cinsaut. His goal was to create a grape variety that was as delicious as Pinot Noir but as productive as Cinsaut. Oddly enough, Pinotage is bolder than both of its progenitors and the resulting wines are vibrantly fruity and more like a new-world Shiraz. Unfortunately, Pinotage has struggled with a very bad reputation for the last 20 years, since Pinotage a very productive grape variety, producers often made very low-quality, commercial wine with it, but things are changing to the good these days, as producers are now focusing on reducing the crop yields and use winemaking techniques that enables them to extract all those unique characteristics of the Pinotage grape. The name Kanonkop is derived from a hillock (kop) on the Simonsberg Mountain above the wine estate from where, during the 17th and 18th centuries, a cannon (kanon) was fired to announce the arrival of sailing ships entering the Table Bay. This particular wine is made of grapes that were sourced from the Cannon Hill vineyards, planted on decomposed granite soils and aged for 12 months in second and third fill, french oak barrels from Nevers. That said and without further ado, let’s take a look at the wine tasting results.
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
colour: medium-deep ruby color
clarity: hazy garnet shades on the rim

//Olfactory
intensity: powerful & savory
fruit profile: black fruits
__black fruits: black cherry | black plum | blackberry | bramble | black raspberry | dried black fruits
fruit character: overripe & dried

//Flavor
non fruit: floral | spice | oak | earthy
__floral: violets
__spice: black pepper | cloves | tonka seeds
__oak: roasted oakwood | charred wood | tobacco | dark chocolate
__earthy: black soil | gravel | granite | quartz
primary layer: fruit & oak

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: high
alcohol: high
tannin: high
__grip: ripe
balance: good
__dominant: acidity
body: round | medium+

//Taste
fruit profile: black fruits
fruit character: overripe & dried
non fruit: spice & oak
finish: medium+
aftertaste: crisp & seedy

//Scoring
KANONKOP | Kadette | Pinotage | 2017
variety: pinotage
country: South Africa
region: Stellenbosch
rating: 93.9

//Conclusion
maturity: developing | age for 3 to 5 more years
verdict: great | a must try wine
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This is definitely a great wine of South Africa and, with a total of 93.9 points scored, this wine is right there, among the best wines we’ve rated so far. Check our complete database on the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines that we have tasted and reviewed or go to the about us page and find out more about our exquisite rating system.

Verdict: this is a ripe, round and crisp pinotage wine, with seedy notes on the palate and a quite extracted nose. The wine is still developing, definitely ready to be enjoyed today or aged another 3 to 5 more years, in order to allow it to reach its full potential. On the nose the wine brings a mixture of overripe and dried black fruits in the foreground, followed by a spicy-oaky background and a savory-earthy layer in between the two. On the palate the wine delivers exuberant acidity, ripe tannins and a firm touch of alcoholic warmth on the mouthfeel. The aftertaste is long and persistent, with a seedy-crisp accent and a very appealing, pleasantly-drying finish. All in all, this is an expressive and extracted pinotage wine that will pair amazingly well with any barbequed or spicy meats, as it definitely can handle a bit of spiciness in there. Great wine indeed. Enjoy!

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