At some point in your wine buying life, you may have come across bottles from South Africa — most likely, they’d be cramped up in a back corner shelf near the wines from Australia and New Zealand. You may have found their origin intriguing, but feared buying a bottle, since no one’s ever talking about South African wine.
However, there are some very good wines coming out of South Africa, though the majority are still trying to find a receptive audience. Part of the problem is the flavor profile of their flagship grape — Pinotage — which has been described as being similar to Band-Aids (no kidding … and yes it IS a good thing). Despite its name, Pinotage is nothing like Pinot Noir, though might be closer to Meritage. In any case, it has a distinctive, earthy character, which some people love and others hate. As if that weren’t enough going against it, there are a number of subpar, inexpensive Pinotages littering the shelves — and unfortunately there are no ten-dollar bottles that can do the grape justice. The result is that people who might take a gamble on a cheap Pinotage, will likely come away believing that South African wine stinks.
Luckily, there is a veritable representative of South African wine that won’t break your budget: Kanonkop Kadette. Kanonkop is THE winery for Pinotage (as well as a great Bordeaux-style blend called “Paul Sauer”) and this is their ‘entry-level’ introduction to the raw beast of a red wine that South Africa is capable of producing. Kadette is typically 50% or more Pinotage with the balance a blend of equal amounts Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Adding these grapes softens the aggressive qualities of Pinotage, and the result is a red wine that most will find intriguing, as it offers a cross-section of what South Africa’s vineyards have to offer. You will get a touch of the distinctive “Band-Aid” quality on the nose, but not so much to be offensive. At the same time, you’ll also enjoy the other marks of typical South African wine: plummy cassis, black raspberry, black cherry, grape juice, and earthy flavors wrapped in appropriate levels of tart acidity, ripe tannins, and alcohol.
In some years this wine is earthy and rustic, but there have been vintages that were more ripe and jammy, with succulent plummy fruit upfront. Regardless of the vintage, Kadette is almost always a fantastic burger wine, and you can also match it with grilled sweetbreads, blackened / cajun dishes, cheeses and cheese-based dishes. At about twelve bucks, it’s a great value and an excellent introduction to the wines of South Africa.
Importer: Cape Classics
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