Description
The Kanonkop Paul Sauer 2022 is the flagship Bordeaux-style blend from one of South Africa's most celebrated estates. Cabernet Sauvignon leads the blend, joined by an unusually high proportion of Cabernet Franc and Merlot to create a vintage defined by elegance, perfume, and finely structured power. The 2022 contains the largest Cabernet Franc component in Paul Sauer's history, giving this release a particularly aromatic and refined character.
Deep ruby in color, the wine opens with a beautifully perfumed nose of cherries, cassis, cedar, tea leaves, and savory tomato notes. The palate builds in layers, with concentrated dark berries, plum, and rose petal complemented by finely integrated toasted oak. Fine-grained tannins and bright acidity bring precision to the generous fruit, carrying everything through a long, composed finish. Powerful without being heavy, this is a particularly elegant expression of Paul Sauer with decades of life ahead.
The 2022 growing season played an important role in shaping that style. A cold, wet winter was followed by cooler spring conditions and later ripening, allowing the fruit to develop slowly. Kanonkop describes the resulting wines as structured, elegant, and age-worthy, qualities clearly expressed in this vintage of Paul Sauer.
A serious cellar wine that pairs beautifully with prime steak, roast leg of lamb, slow-cooked beef, meat casseroles, venison, and mature cheeses.
Ratings/Accolades:
95 Points: Tim Atkin MW
95 Points: Winemag South Africa
4.5 Stars: Platter's Wine Guide
Paul Sauer has long been regarded as one of South Africa's benchmark Bordeaux-style blends, and the combination of critical acclaim, proven longevity, and the distinctive Cabernet Franc-heavy composition makes the 2022 an especially interesting vintage for collectors.
Deep ruby in color, the wine opens with a beautifully perfumed nose of cherries, cassis, cedar, tea leaves, and savory tomato notes. The palate builds in layers, with concentrated dark berries, plum, and rose petal complemented by finely integrated toasted oak. Fine-grained tannins and bright acidity bring precision to the generous fruit, carrying everything through a long, composed finish. Powerful without being heavy, this is a particularly elegant expression of Paul Sauer with decades of life ahead.
The 2022 growing season played an important role in shaping that style. A cold, wet winter was followed by cooler spring conditions and later ripening, allowing the fruit to develop slowly. Kanonkop describes the resulting wines as structured, elegant, and age-worthy, qualities clearly expressed in this vintage of Paul Sauer.
A serious cellar wine that pairs beautifully with prime steak, roast leg of lamb, slow-cooked beef, meat casseroles, venison, and mature cheeses.
Ratings/Accolades:
95 Points: Tim Atkin MW
95 Points: Winemag South Africa
4.5 Stars: Platter's Wine Guide
Paul Sauer has long been regarded as one of South Africa's benchmark Bordeaux-style blends, and the combination of critical acclaim, proven longevity, and the distinctive Cabernet Franc-heavy composition makes the 2022 an especially interesting vintage for collectors.
The three varieties were vinified with Kanonkop's traditional approach, fermenting in open-top concrete fermenters at approximately 29°C. The floating skins were punched down by hand every two hours during fermentation, and the juice was drawn off the skins after five days.
Following malolactic fermentation, the Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot components were blended and the finished wine was matured for 24 months in 100% new 225-liter French Nevers oak barrels. This extended maturation gives Paul Sauer its hallmark structure and longevity while allowing the dark fruit and savory complexity of the Simonsberg vineyards to develop over time.
Winemaker: Abrie Beeslaar
Following malolactic fermentation, the Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot components were blended and the finished wine was matured for 24 months in 100% new 225-liter French Nevers oak barrels. This extended maturation gives Paul Sauer its hallmark structure and longevity while allowing the dark fruit and savory complexity of the Simonsberg vineyards to develop over time.
Winemaker: Abrie Beeslaar
Kanonkop is one of South Africa's most celebrated wine estates, situated on the lower slopes of the Simonsberg Mountain in Stellenbosch. Family-owned for generations, the estate has built its reputation around age-worthy red wines, particularly Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon, and its iconic Paul Sauer blend.
First released from the 1981 vintage, Paul Sauer has become one of the country's defining fine wines. The blend is shaped each year by the character of the vintage rather than a rigid formula, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot brought together to express the distinctive terroir of Kanonkop's Stellenbosch vineyards.
First released from the 1981 vintage, Paul Sauer has become one of the country's defining fine wines. The blend is shaped each year by the character of the vintage rather than a rigid formula, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot brought together to express the distinctive terroir of Kanonkop's Stellenbosch vineyards.
