If you could bottle time, what would 50 years look, smell or even taste, like? Distinctive Stellenbosch estate, Kanonkop marks the 50th year since its first bottled wine was released — a rare achievement in South Africa, placing it in the company of only a handful of estates in the country.
Back in 1973, when Kanonkop’s cellar released its first single-variety Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinotage labels, the large co-ops Stellenbosch Farmers’ Winery, KWV and Distillers lorded over the wine industry.
Kanonkop’s Simonsberg cellar had been making wine since the 1940s, under its patriarch, Paul Sauer, who was joined in 1968 by a young new winemaker, Jan “Boland” Coetzee.
Coetzee planted new vineyards on the farm and started producing exceptional quality wine which were sold to Stellenbosch Farmers Winery for blending into … Chateau Libertas.
It was Sauer’s son-in-law, Jannie Krige (the father of current owners, Johann and Paul) who spied the perfect synergy between a Kanonkop own-label – produced by Coetzee, who was not only a talented winemaker but also a national rugby hero. Sauer agreed and in 1973, bottled Kanonkop wines hit the market just ahead of Coetzee’s Springbok debut against the Lions in 1974.
Kanonkop has had just three winemakers over the years: Coetzee, Beyers Truter and Abrie Beeslaar, who has been with the estate since 2002.
“This, of course, has brought incredible consistency of style to the brand,” explained Deidre Taylor, brand manager for Kanonkop, before a recent masterclass presented by Beeslaar, followed by a traditional snoek braai with plaasbrood, soet patat and salad.
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