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#437 Kanonkop Kadette Cape Blend 2016

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Today’s curiosity comes with a twist. Why spotlight a supermarket-friendly little brother when Kanonkop’s famous Reserve range is right there? This isn’t Paul Sauer. Not the estate Pinotage. Not the Cab. It’s the Kadette Cape Blend — two and a half million bottles a year, mainstream, mass-produced… and still worth a closer look. Because sometimes the most interesting stories hide in plain sight.

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If you have yet to sign up for your Monthly HanDrinksSolo Wine Subscription then you’ll have to hunt this wine down in your own time. But until then, here are my tasting notes and some technical specs:

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TASTING NOTES

AROMAS: Savory tobacco leaf, cedar, and oak spice wrap around deep black plum, prune, and flashes of black cherry. Hints of cinnamon and mulberry lift the nose, with just enough tertiary intrigue to keep you guessing.

PALATE: Silky tannins and a seamless line of fruit — blackcurrant preserve, spiced plum, and a whisper of dried Mediterranean herbs. Nine years on, the wine remains intact and harmonious, with structure, colour, and fruit all holding steady. Elegant, layered, and proof that not all Wednesday wines die young.

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TECHNICAL SPECS

Wine of Origin: Stellenbosch. Cape Blend. Made by winemaker Abrie Beeslaar. Sourced from estate vineyards, this is the so-called ‘entry-level’ Kanonkop — though it hardly behaves that way. A blend dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinotage, it spent roughly 14 months in French oak (some new). Nine years on, the fruit is still intact, the tannins have melted, and the wine hums with balance — proof that supermarket-priced bottles can quietly moonlight as cellar legends.

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