Two queries

Can anyone help with the following two questions from readers?

Armagnac availability

From Andries:
Any suggestions as to Armagnac stockists in SA? If there is an online retailer, it would be a bonus, otherwise recommendations on retailers in the Jhb/Vaal regions would be much appreciated.

From Johan Nel:
Good quality Armagnac can be readily obtained from the Winecellar (www.winecellar.co.za)- they offer a good  selection of their choice brand at various ages and prices.  [TIm James adds: I see the names Château Lacaze and Baron de Sigognac on the Wine Cellar website – which is, incidentally a place well worth exploring if you're interested in buying foreign wines: theirs is surely the most wide-ranging selection available in South Africa]

Rob Armstrong of Haut Espoir in Franschhoek reports that Ludwig Maske has some great Armagnac at his excellent shop jusyt down the road (from him, if not from Andries), La Cotte Inn Wine Sales. Tel: 021 876 3775; email: info@lacotte.co.za; website: www.lacotte.co.za
 

Value of Kanonkop Cab

From Engela Serfontein:
Can anybody help? I would like to know the approximate rand value of a bottle of 1989 Kanonkop Cabernet Sauvignon.

Response from Tim James: There is not much of an established secondary market for South African wines, and few retailers stock older bottles. There's an excellent online search-engine for finding wines available through retail (called Wine-searcher.com, at that address), but it found no Kanonkop Cab 1989. I did then go to Kanonkop's website, on the off-chance - and in fact they offer a few older vintages, including the 1989, at R300 per bottle. Obviously these bottles will have been well stored. If I were buying a older wine like this, I would be very careful to check that it had been kept in good, cool dark conditions; if not, the price should be much lower than this. 

A warning from Clive Sindelman:
1989 Kanonkops are plagued by bottle-neck problems that over time result in the wine seeping between the cork and the bottle. I would say that your chances of having a good 1989 17 years on even if perfectly stored are very low