2015 Kanonkop
Buying options
Tasting notes
On the nose, the 2015 Paul Sauer is full of dark fruit with a hearty core of oak. Full-bodied, the palate is focused and balanced with tannic grip, structured and chewy with a spiciness that could linger for days and with a long, complex finish. The fruit will absorb the oak and that tannic nature will soften over the coming years. If you can get hold of a bottle, put it in your cellar for further aging. I welcome the opportunity to revisit this bottle in another ten years.
Critic scores
Richard Hemming MW, jancisrobinson.com
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
The first 100-point score for a South African wine from wine writer Tim Atkin. Sumptuous, luxurious nose with superb clarity of blackcurrant and cherry fruit. Fine vanilla essence on the palate and expertly crafted tannins. Really great purity and density, without being forced at all. There’s no doubt it is an exemplary vintage of a great Bordeaux blend, and its track record suggests it should age for decades, bringing out plenty more complexity. (RH)
The 2015 Paul Sauer spent five days on the skins and matured for 24 months in new 225-liter French oak (medium toast.) I tasted this both sighted and then blind. It has a sophisticated bouquet of blackberry, raspberry coulis , cedar, sage and mint, perhaps demonstrating a little more precision than the 2014 Paul Sauer. The palate is medium-bodied with rounded tannin, touches of blackberry, raspberry, sage, white pepper and pencil lead. This is quite an intellectual Paul Sauer, and one of the most complex I have encountered, showing real refinement and depth toward the persistent finish. It will benefit from another year or two in bottle, but what an impressive wine!