Kanonkop Kadette Cape Blend 2021
By Christian Eedes, 27 June 2024
7
Can two seemingly contradictory propositions be simultaneously valid? Can Kanonkop Kadette Cape Blend 2021 which sells for R140 a bottle rate the same as the Stellenbosch property’s Cape Bordeaux red blend that is Paul Sauer of the same vintage and is priced at R995?
Paul Sauer 2021 has a polished elegance about it, and I rated it 93 on release. Kadette Cape Blend 2021 is a more modest wine but arguably less pretentious. A blend of 39% Pinotage, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, it was matured for 12 months in second- and third-fill barrels (as opposed to Paul Sauer’s 24 months in 100% new oak).
On the nose, Kadette shows plum, cherry and cassis plus hints of vanilla, cigar box, spice and earth. The palate is medium bodied with excellent fruit expression and plenty of verve (alcohol is 14.26%). Pure and fresh with crunchy tannins, the finish slightly salty. Remarkably youthful and yet the relationship of parts already so aesthetically consistent, it offers enormous pleasure.
CE’s rating: 93/100.
Check out our South African wine ratings database.
Donald Griffiths | 1 July 2024
Another review busting the myth that more expensive wine always tastes better. It might cause you to be scratched off the snoek braai guest list though….more kudos to you. I recall a similar case with Alto Rouge scoring almost as much as their premium labels (think with TA though). This is where the true value as a wine consumer can be found and why these reviews and the Prescient reports are so valuable. They cut through all the BS.
Jos | 27 June 2024
Is it fair to say that with Cape/Bordeaux blends, you personally consider more elegant wines a negative compared to fuller ones?
Christian Eedes | 28 June 2024
Hi Jos, I’m not sure that elegance vs power is the crucial dichotomy. What I’m looking for in Cape Bordeaux is depth of fruit and structure, which is more difficult (but certainly not impossible to deliver at an alcohol below 14%.
Kwispedoor | 29 June 2024
Do you find very little to like then, when you consider classic Bordeaux, Christian? Or SA’s versions of it from before the mid-90s? Before then, worldwide, precious few wines in this category even got to 14% ABV. To me, power and structure are not the same. These older, classically styled wines were fantastic, even though they required some patience from wine lovers. And they had incredible maturation potential.
Christian Eedes | 29 June 2024
Hi Kwispedoor, What is “classic” Bordeaux? What determines maturation potential? It’s a bit of an over-simplification that there was this magical pre-Parker era where all of Bordeaux came in at 12.5% and was the better for it – the legendary Cheval Blanc 1947 famously has an alcohol of 14.4% (not that I’ve tasted it). I agree that Cape Bordeaux was often over-ripe, over-extracted and over-oaked in the 2000s but my sense is that while the correction has started, it is ongoing and arguably has longer to run than is the case with Syrah.
Kwispedoor | 1 July 2024
I think most wine lovers would agree that classic Bordeaux roughly refers to the dry, less extracted, less ripe & opulent wines of yesteryear that were generally less polished than modern versions.
“.. – the legendary Cheval Blanc 1947 famously has an alcohol of 14.4%…” Famously so, because it’s an exception that proves the rule! As is the GS ’66, which is purported to be around 14%. That doesn’t change the fact that – by an absolute country mile – most Bordeaux and Bordeaux-style reds released before the mid-’90s had significantly lower alcohol levels than modern ones.
As to what determines maturation potential, much is shrouded in mystery, as I’m sure you’d agree. However, it also transpires that many of these old wines matured beautifully over many decades. Many, including some modest wines, are still drinking exceptionally well, despite sometimes not even having been stored very well. As far as the modern versions of these wines go, there are already many signs that they will not mature as beneficially as the ones from yesteryear. Many lose structure and fruit (or become unstable) after a decade or less – one could also refer to your suggested drinking windows, even taking into consideration that you say you’d rather err on the conservative side with those. I guess what I’m suggesting is that you seem to prefer wines in the more weighty Bordeaux idiom? Nothing wrong with that, of course.
Greg Sherwood | 27 June 2024
Oh no… here comes trouble. 😉