Black Label Pinotage

Each year’s Kanonkop Black Label is made to a tried-and-tested method based on simplicity and minimum intervention, says Beeslaar. 'The fermenting juice was removed from the skins after four days, with malolactic fermentation commencing in stainless steel tanks before being completed in new French oak barrels.

Black Label is made from one of the oldest Pinotage vineyards in South Africa, one planted in 1953 on a site that has over the years proved to produce fruit of specific excellence and deemed special enough to be bottled under an own label. According to Kanonkop cellarmaster Abrie Beeslaar, the 2017 vintage was truly excellent for the Black Label. 'It did not initially look as if this was going to be the case, as 2017 was the third very dry year in a row on the farm,' he says. 'We only had 500mm of rain, 250mm less than the long-term average.'

Maturation in new wood was done over 18 months to sculpt tannins and give the inherent fruit flavours structure and palate-weight.