Top image caption: Dr Rudolf Kühner and dr Petra Laibach-Kühner, former owners of Laibach Estate, with Johann Krige, co-owner of Kanonkop.

Kanonkop, internationally recognised as South Africa’s leading red wine estate, has purchased Laibach, an organic wine farm adjacent to Kanonkop’s position on the Simonsberg appellation of Stellenbosch. Since 1994 Laibach has been in the possession of the German Laibach family who built the estate into a leading Cape wine farm, especially known for organic wine production from its 40 ha of prime Simonsberg terroir.

The price Kanonkop paid for Laibach has not been disclosed.

According to Johann Krige, who together with his brother Paul owns Kanonkop, the purchasing of Laibach will allow Kanonkop to unlock future value in its wine endeavours. “As our neighbour, Laibach shares a similar terroir to Kanonkop with its decomposed granite soils and Mediterranean climate,” says Krige. “Simonsberg is prime real estate for viticulture and winemaking, and as a family wine business Kanonkop could not let an opportunity to acquire an adjacent property like Laibach slip past.”

Kanonkop, which has 100 ha of vineyards, is renowned for its Pinotage and Cabernet Sauvignon estate wines, as well as for the Paul Sauer red Bordeaux blend named after the farm’s founding father and the Kriges’ grandfather. Along with these estate wines, Kanonkop also produces the Kadette range made from grapes selected from select Stellenbosch vineyards.

Laibach includes a cellar and various other buildings including guest accommodation as well the organically farmed vineyards. The Laibach management team of Michael and Anél Malherbe, winemaker Francois van Zyl as well as all employees will remain on the estate. Owner Petra Laibach-Kühner, who is retiring, welcomes the purchase by Kanonkop, stating the Krige family was her preferred buyer.

“I am immensely proud of what my team has created at Laibach, both as a home in one of the world’s great wine regions as well as in a leading and pioneering organic wine brand,” says Laibach-Kühner. “I leave this farm with a heavy heart, but with the knowledge that it is now in the hands of the Krige family who have built Kanonkop into one of the truly great wine farms in the New World.”