2011 Kanonkop

(70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc and 12% Merlot; aged in all-new French oak for two years): Bright red-ruby. Exhilarating high notes of minerals, cedar, fynbos and orange zest lift the Old World aromas of dark plum, black raspberry, currant, brambly blackberry, milk chocolate and shoe polish; shows a macerated fruit quality and building oakiness as it opens in the glass. Silky, ripe and generous; tastes sweeter than its two grams per liter r.s. would suggest, which gives lovely early accessibility to the dark berry, licorice and mineral flavors. Harmonious, ripe acidity contributes to the wine's penetrating quality and sneaky intensity. This very classy wine shows the balance for long-term aging but I find it remarkably approachable now owing to its opulence, suave tannins and energetic, slowly building finish--not to mention its lovely integration of oak. (Incidentally, the 2005 edition, tasted in South Africa, displayed high-toned raspberry, mint and leather aromas with a hint of meaty rusticity. This classically dry wine is evolving at a leisurely pace, with dusting tannins spreading out on the slowly building finish. It carries essentially the same technical numbers as the 2011, but the newer vintage is more refined. I rated the 2005 91 points.)

Dark crimson. So much better than the regular Cabernet! Fully ripe fruit well constituted. Spicy and minerally and exciting. Long and satisfying. (JR)