Kanonkop

Made from 20-25-year-old vines, and in a drought vintage, the cool nights in 2017 made all the difference to this wine. Lovely, juicy cassis has flashes of liquorice and smoke, promising brooding, dark fruit. The palate delivers but also comes with lovely definition, provided by the fine freshness. The tannins are firm and fine but it is the freshness that lends real juiciness and makes the cassis fruit shine. The medium body makes for elegance, the finish has a touch of cocoa powder and vivid length.

A sweet-oak overlay graces the nose of this decadent red, expressed in notes of baking spice and raw cocoa atop black cherry and currant fruit. Hints of tilled earth and foot-crushed violets add attractive depth and complexity, though they also suggest promise of more to come as the wood mellows. The palate is tight and firmly structured, with gripping, astringent tannins that need more time to resolve and better coalesce with the fruit. Drink 2026–2031.