Kanonkop Paul Sauer 2015

Kanonkop Paul Sauer 2015 is the first South African wine to receive 100 points in the annual report on the South African wine industry by respected British wine judge, journalist and critic Tim Atkin MW. For his seventh South African report, which has just been released, Atkin tasted 1 985 wines from throughout the country, with Kanonkop’s iconic Bordeaux-style blend achieving the highest score.

First made from the 1981 vintage, Paul Sauer is traditionally a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes grown on the Kanonkop property on the Simonsberg in Stellenbosch, South Africa’s premier wine region. The wine is named after the legendary former owner of Kanonkop who was a statesmen and wine-lover as well as being the grand-father of Kanonkop’s current proprietors Johann and Paul Krige.

In a statement on his decision to award 100 points to a South African wine for the first time, Tim Atkin says: “A great wine, with a distinguished track record in one of the best-ever Cape vintages: if any South African wine deserves 100 points, and I strongly believe that it does, then it is the brilliant Kanonkop Paul Sauer 2015, one of the greatest young wines I have ever tasted. According to Johann Krige, receiving 100 points from a renowned international judge such as Tim Atkin is a highlight in Kanonkop’s illustrious history which goes back to the first estate wine produced in 1973.