WTN: 2006 Kanonkop Estate Pinotage

• 2006 Kanonkop Estate Pinotage - South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch (3/8/2007)
  Kanonkop Estate - Party & Tasting - Pinotage (Kanonkop Estate): Barrel sample - Sweet fruit, beautiful welcoming fruit mulberry/blackberry with spices and coffee tones. Superb and stunning. From the the old vineyard, 3 tons per hectare, 16 months in 100% new French oak barrels (97 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Hi Peter,
Great tasting note. Ever since we met, eons ago, I have looked out for Pinotage, but we only get one or two choices here.
I bought a bottle of the 2001 (only one, sniff) last year at $30. When do you suggest would be the best time to open it?
Simon

Thanks for the update Peter. Now, if only we end up getting some of it here in Ontari-ari-o!

Hi Peter,
Great tasting note. Ever since we met, eons ago, I have looked out for Pinotage, but we only get one or two choices here.
I bought a bottle of the 2001 (only one, sniff) last year at $30. When do you suggest would be the best time to open it?
Simon

Hi Simon - gosh that was a long time ago we met....

I think the 2001 is great drinking now. I think it is on a plateau. it will keep but I don't think it will get any better.

I tasted a decades worth of Kanonkops last year and the report is on my blog at http://www.pinotage.org/2007/04/decade- ... art-2.html

Hi Peter,

yes, lots of wine has flowed under the bridge. I was wondering if you could make some suggestions. My sister will be going to South Africa next week as her husband is working there. If she was to bring me something back, what would you suggest?

Thanks for any information you may have,

Simon

Hi Peter,

My sister will be going to South Africa next week as her husband is working there. If she was to bring me something back, what would you suggest?

Tremendously hard question to answer, Simon. You want something you can't get at home, but all depends on what wines are available where your sister is working. And distribution of the top SA wine in SA is patchy.

Platter 5 star wines and competition trophy winners tend to sell out almost as soon as announced.

Assuming she can only bring back a couple of bottles I'd suggest she looks in a decent wine shop for any wine with the Cape Winemakers Guild label*. By definition, these are one off lots, barrel selections, selected by their peers for sale at auction.


If you cannot get it where you are, then a must is Klein Constantia's Vin de Constance, the naturally sweet dessert wine that is a recreation of the famous 18thC Constantia. It comes well packed in a black thick cardboard box and thus is easy safe carrying in a suitcase. See http://www.kleinconstantia.com/vdc00.htm


Supermarket chain Pick'n'Pay has some interesting exclusive selections, e.g. special blends by Raka and a unique varietal bottling of Verdelho from Simonsig that you can get only from Pick'n'Pay, look for the exclusive tag, but unless you know much about SA wine its impossible to identify the gems.

Woolworths** has a wine you can't get elsewhere, its a Platter 5*, Woolworths Cape Point Vineyards Limited Release 2007 Sauvignon Blanc -- but its probably all sold by now

I'd suggest she also buys you a copy of the Platter South African Wine Guide 2008 available bookshops, airport, wineshops.

Note that the airport 'duty-free' shop has limited range and the prices were more expensive than the same wine on the store shelf back home in the UK

If she'll be in Cape Town let me know and I'll give some more suggestions.



*Its a plain cream label with the name Cape Winemakers Guild and a image of a key -- see http://www.capewinemakersguild.com

** Woolworths in SA is an upmarket clothes, food & houshold goods stores similar to the UK Marks & Spencer

Thanks for the info, Peter.
I just spoke to my sister who is leaving for Jo'burg tonight for a two month trip, so I passed on the info you sent me. She said that she will probably be taking a trip to Capetown while she is there. She does not drink, so she said it wouldn't be a problem to bring me back a couple of bottles.
Here, in Quebec, the choice of South African pinotage wines is practically non-existent. Oh, well.
Cheers,
Simon

Simon, the one shining light here in Ontario is that Pinotages do trickle through Vintages' distribution network a few times per year. I am very happy that they do, though I constantly lament Zonnebloem and Libertas being pulled from general distribution. Zonnebloem, which sold for just under $13 a bottle, and Libertas, which went for less than $8, were amazing values - all the more so since they were not Vintages items, but on general list.

If one manages to visit the Victoria & Alfred waterfront complex in Capetown (almost inevitable if visiting Robben Island or shopping/eating at the complex) then one could do worse than visiting Vaughan Johnson's wine shop there:

http://www.vaughanjohnson.com/

marvelous, everchanging selection and Vaughan is passionate, very knowledgeable and very personable. Have a good time!

Here, in Quebec, the choice of South African pinotage wines is practically non-existent.

Whenyour sister goes to Cape Town it is certain she will visit the V&A Waterfront shopping entertainment and restaurant complex. There are two good wine shops there, Vaughan Johnson and Caroline's Fine Wines.

If you're looking for Pinotage I'd suggest the following will not disappoint and are not widely distributed.

Diemersfontein 'Carpe Diem'
Hamilton Russell 'Ashbourne'*
Kaapzicht Estate 'Steytler'
L'Avenir 'Grand Vin'
La Cave
Pulpit Rock
Reyneke
Rijks Private Cellar
Raka
Spier 'Private Collection'
Stellenzicht 'Golden Triangle'

*expensive and very difficult to obtain
Names in quotes indicate recommended 'limited release labels from wineries that make more than one.

I used to see the Kanonkop occasionally in tastings here - I used to think it excellent (and coming from someone a little prejudiced towards the grape, that is praise!), but I don't think I've tasted it since the 2003 was released. I have grown less tolerant of oak since then, so I wonder if I will enjoy it anymore...

-O

I used to see the Kanonkop occasionally in tastings here - I used to think it excellent (and coming from someone a little prejudiced towards the grape, that is praise!), but I don't think I've tasted it since the 2003 was released. I have grown less tolerant of oak since then, so I wonder if I will enjoy it anymore...

The 2004 is the current vintage and it I think it is better than the 2003 and its tannins certainly are certainly much softer than 2003s. So, if you see a 2004 in the shops, give it a try.

[Jenise]

Peter, any idea where the 99 is heading? I have one bottle left. Last bottle I opened early last year--it had gotten intensely smokey, was really surprised it because I am certain that in youth it was otherwise. Does pinotage always do that?

(Robin, See.... I am changing the subject header)

Peter X 2: Thanks for all the suggestions. I shall pass them on to my sis. Just out of interest, what sort of prices are we talking here? (i.e. what is the definition of expensive?)

Paul, next time I am down Toronto way, I will give you a shout. I fell in love with the '99 Henry Of Pelham Baco Noir many years ago, but found they were never able to reproduce the same balance, leaving me disappointed each time I have tried it since.

Peter May, I have to thank you for having introduced me to Pinotage . Do you remember? It was the first (and last) time we met at an off-line in London, and you poured us what turned out to be a (rare) pinotage from California , blind. Do you remember what it was and is it still being produced?

Thanks again for the advice,

Simon

Simon, I was there in Feb '06, and without digging out receipts, the best I can recall is paying under $30 US equivalent (perhaps well under?) for the L'Avenir Grand Vin and right around $30 US for the Ashbourne from Hamilton Russell. By the way, the Ashbourne will have no reference to Hamilton Russell on the front label. Finally, the Pinotage from Spice Route (Charles Back of Goats do Roam fame's better/higher priced estate) was pretty tasty in the 03 (?) vintage, you might give it a go as well, but I suspect that that label is much more widely available...no need to carry back.

Thank you for the info on pricing. Now I know that I should be able to foot the bill once my sister returns.

Simon

Peter, any idea where the 99 is heading? ?

Hi Jenise

I don't have any left of it, wish I did. I remember that the 1999 was unusually approachable when young. Last time I tasted it was at the vertical I tasted at the winery last year (mentioned above), and it was the best drinking one.

1999 Kanonkop Estate Pinotage - South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch (8 March 2007)
Kanonkop Estate - Party & Tasting - Pinotage (Kanonkop Estate): Drak core, slightly paler rim. Blackberry fruits. Theres a depth of ripe fruits with sweetness and tannins intertwined and a good balance of acidity. There's a freshness and liveliness about this wine, best of the evening. Now, where can I buy some? (97 pts.)
copied & pasted from CellarTracker

Getting smoky? I didn't get it in this wine.

Peter (or others),
I know that these are not early-drinking Pinotage, but I have a lonely bottle of the 1993 I've been meaning for years to share with others whose experience might be Pinotage-deficient like my own. Have I missed the window of opportunity to show Pinotage in a good light?
Thanks,
Charles

Peter (or others),
I know that these are not early-drinking Pinotage, but I have a lonely bottle of the 1993 I've been meaning for years to share with others whose experience might be Pinotage-deficient like my own. Have I missed the window of opportunity to show Pinotage in a good light?
Thanks,
Charles

Hi Charles

I had my last 1993 in 2003; it was drinking very well then and I thought it would be good for another few years. But Pinotage can age a very long time. I had note from Pieter Malan at Simonsig saying he had a 1974 Simonsig Pinotage (unoaked) for Christmas dinner !!!
33 years old and with a Pinot Noir character that will confuse most Burgundy lovers ! Absolutely spectacular.

Thanks for that info, Peter.

I recall with great fondness the Zonnebloem Pinotages that would regularly be part of the regular list at the LCBO for a number of years ... before some marketing committee (most likely) callously yanked it off the list. That humble yet classic Pinotage sold for just under $13 and it was indicated on the back label that the wine could be laid down for 10-15 years. That is amazing for a non-pumped-up wine that, to the credit of the good folks over at Zonnebloem, didn't even bear the omnipresent moniker "reserve" anywhere on the label!

Now, as to the '97 Kanonkop Pinotage ... I devoured that amazing wine at a summer braai in 2000. It was superb - a true bit of vinous heaven as I recall.