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Cabernet Sauvignon 70%, Merlot 17%, Cabernet Franc 13%
Deep ruby colour. A classic, perfumed nose packed with cherries, cassis, cedar, cigar box, tea leaves and tomato paste, followed by a palate of cassis, cranberries, savoury plum and sweet vanilla. A complex multi-layered, refined wine with a beautiful structure, balanced acidity, elegant, fine grained tannins and a long, persistent finish.
Ageing potential: 20-25 years
$69.99
99/100 Greg Sherwood MW March 2024
A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and 13% Cabernet Franc, the 2021 Paul Sauer is beautifully intense and utterly seductive, the aromatics pulling you in with their perfumed notes of incense, violets, black currant, saline oyster shell, black cherry, sweet cherry tobacco and graphite with subtle blueberry notes and a subtle kiss of sweet cedar and vanilla pod spice. The palate shows sprawling breadth and depth with a gentle picante spice together with a noticeably intense salinity and maritime, nori seaweed nuance before more bold flavours of black currant, mulberry, black cherry and blueberry coat the mouth. The fine silky tannins are deceptively taut and crisp with the fresh glassy acids adding to the wine’s obvious power, focus and superb intensity. So much wine in the glass, so much to assimilate! The 2021 Paul Sauer represents a true Cape Bordeaux blend masterclass once again from Abrie Beeslaar! Drink from 2025 to 2050+.
97 pts Tim Atkin MW 2024
This is the last release that will be presented to the market by departing winemaker Abrie Beeslaar and he’s going out on a high. Partnering Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 13% Cabernet Franc, with ageing in new French oak, it’s leafy, floral and refined, showing plenty of underlying structure, cassis and red berry fruit and sculpted tannins. Classy stuff. 2026-40
95 pts James Suckling Top 100 South African Wines 2024 #17
This is a polished and full-bodied red blend, showing notes of vanilla bean, blackcurrant, black plum, dill and mocha. Refined, silky yet firm tannins frame the dark fruit. Long and classy. 70% cabernet sauvignon, 17% merlot and 13% cabernet franc. Drink from 2025.
94+ pts Wine Advocate June 2025
A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc and 15% Merlot, the Kanonkop 2021 Simonsberg Stellenbosch Paul Sauer Estate Wine sees 24 months in 100% new oak. This is considered a very good vintage that produced concentrated fruit that surely needs more time to evolve in bottle. The wine has all of its elements fixed into place, but it needs to flesh out and soften. The Merlot and Cabernet Franc are fermented separately. and the blend is made after malolactic fermentation. A combination of oak is used, including 40% Seguin Moreau, for added richness. This elegant red blend exhibits an especially polished quality that I found across this portfolio. The bouquet starts with cassis and candied cherry, and the strong oak signature brings Christmas candle and spice. The alcohol content is measured at a moderate 13%. 2025-2040
4 ½ Stars 2025 John Platter’s South African Wine Guide
Acclaimed Cape Bordeaux from average 31 year old vines hits all the right notes in 21 (94 pts), from signature perfume (cassis, florals, cedar, tealeaf, to depth & length of savoury flavour. 100% new oak buffs cassis, cherry & piquant plum, imbuing muscularity to a velvet tannin structure.
This legendary wine is named after Kanonkop’s patriarch and is a Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The depth of flavour, structure and complexity offered by these three grape varieties is accentuated by 24 months’ ageing in new French oak. Blackcurrant notes combine with aromas of Cape wildflower and cigar box to offer a regal wine recognised as one of the best South Africa has to offer.
Warmer periods during the latter part of the winter resulted in some un-even budding, flowering and fruit set. The moisture levels in the soils were satisfactory throughout the growing and ripening phase, and very little moisture stress was noticeable on the vines. The late start to the 2021 harvest was one of the distinguishing hallmarks of this vintage. The cooler growing conditions of the 2021 vintage resulted in elegant wines.
5 days on skins in open fermenters @ 29 °C. The floating skins were punched down by hand every 2 hours during fermentation. The juice was drawn off the skins after 5 days. Aer malolactic fermentation the wine was matured for 24 months in 100% new 225L French Nevers oak barrels.
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