Cape Valley

This Sauvignon Blanc is elegant and refined, with subtle flavours of blackberry leaf and passion fruit complementing a mineral core. Old World in style, it has rested on its fine lees for seven months, which has given the palate additional weight and texture. The wine is expressive with a tension that adds complexity. The property is one of the oldest surviving Sandveld farms, where leopards abound, and which is ideal for growing aromatic whites due to the higher altitude. Although not certified organic, the farm adopts an organic approach to be able to produce high-quality wines that express terroir.
Daisy Gatt, Buying Assistant

Thanks to Constantia Glen’s unique position – lying between a gap in the mountains, its vines benefit from an extra 1.5 hours of sunshine every day, meaning red grapes can mature to perfection. This Bordeaux-inspired blend contains 62% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 13% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep ruby in colour, the nose is layered with dried herbs, blackberry and pepper spice. The palate is elegant and fresh, with plenty of ripe fruit to support the smooth tannins and bright acidity. Drink now to 2023.

The 2014 Constantia Glen Five, named after the five Bordeaux varieties but mostly Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, was matured for 18 months in 225-liter French oak barrels, of which 75% were new oak and the remainder second-fill. Although the new oak is quite high, the light toasting means that it is nicely integrated with the pure blackberry and bilberry fruit; later, a touch of mint develops. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, well-judged acidity, gentle grip and pure blackberry and boysenberry fruit toward the long finish. This is how to make a Bordeaux blend. A great success.
Neal Martin, Antonio Galloni (summer 2018)

The nose is enticing with orange, marmalade and apricot aromas, freshly harvested honey. If this isn’t enough of an assault on the olfactory senses, then the palate is in for just as big a treat. The mouth feel has a lovely viscosity that layers the mid palate with tropical fruit, dried pineapple, spiced honey and yet the finely balanced acidity lifts this to a finely honed length and finish. Always a great sweet wine for the hedonists this is another great offering that is very drinkable in its youth or over the next 10 + years.
Stuart Rae, Private Account Manager

The Klein Constantia Vin De Constance is a legendary natural sweet wine, widely regarded as one of the world’s finest. During the 18th and 19th centuries Vin de Constance was the most famous wine from the Southern Hemisphere. This seductive and iconic sweet offering, made only 20km from Cape Town, seduced the Kings and Queens of Europe, featured in the novels of Charles Dickens and Jane Austen and continues to impress its loyal followers. In 1980 Klein Constantia was bought by Duggie Jooste who redeveloped the Estate.

Early records were studied and careful selection was made from vines which, in all likelihood, came from the original stock used in Constantia 300 years ago. In 1986 the first vintage of the renaissance was reintroduced to the public and packaged in a similar style 500ml bottle to its forebears. Made from Muscat de Frontignan, the 2009 was aged in a combination of French oak, French Acacia oak and Hungarian oak barrels for 4 years, of which 60% were new barrels. The harvest began in late January and was completed only in late April.

The extended picking period allowed the estate to harvest up to 25 different batches that make up the many components in the final blend. Each bunch is hand selected and only the ripest and best bunches are chosen. There is no racking or movement of the wine during the 4 years of ageing until the final

The 2008 Vin de Constance is a worthy successor to the extraordinarily rich 2007. The wine is a result of meticulous care in the vineyard, with pickers passing through more than a dozen times to collect fruit at differing levels of ripeness and raisinification to build the layers of this complex wine. The deep gold colour hints at the richness within, the lifted, intense nose of ripe apricots and tropical fruits beguiles, whilst the weighty palate carries through the ripe fruit notes of the nose, mingled with sweet clove spice and an unexpected savoury twist on the lingering finish that makes one want to take another sip. Powerful, yet not cloying, rich but elegant, this is one of the world’s truly great sweet wines.
Martin Hudson MW - Wine Buyer

2014 is being described by Matthew Day as the vintage of the decade and it is easy to see why. Vivid gold in colour, the nose is open and expressive even at this early stage. Candid orange peel, backed peaches and apricots with a hint of honey dominate the nose, but there is nuance and spice here in the guise of fresh ginger, nutmeg and kerosene. The palate is rich, opulent and fruit forward, coating one’s mouth with sweet marmalade and apricot frangipane, but there is freshness on the midpalate with hints of tangerine and honeysuckle. Well balanced with plenty of concentration on the long, sticky finish. Exceedingly pleasurable and drinkable from the get go.
Simon Herriot, Private Account Manager

A blend of Semillon Blanc and Semillon Gris, the 2015 Tin Soldier Semillon has a subtle nutty/oxidative note that blossoms in the glass, with hints of aniseed developing. The palate is medium-bodied with orange pith and again, nutty notes, well balanced with a gentle but quite persistence finish. Always an individual wine, this will be intriguing to watch age over the next decade. Just 140 cases produced.
Neal Martin, 28th April 2017. 

It certainly lives up to the billing: exhilaratingly, almost sherbet-scented with fresh nectarine-stone, orange & pink grapefruit notes; the palate's very clean, crisp & vibrant with shreds of tangy seville orange peel marmalade resonating on the finish; this Muscat de Frontignan/Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains wine is balanced by 140 grams of residual sugar. Still a legend in its own right & worth the detour.
 

Widely regarded as one of the world’s finest sweet wines, this famously seductive and iconic Vin de Constance is a gloriously sweet offering from the Klein Constantia winery in South Africa located 20km from Cape Town.
The 2007 vintage was one of the best of the decade, with a long, cool season ensuring concentrated flavours and aromatic intensity. A warm, dry late summer created perfect conditions for the raisining of the Muscat de Frontignan grapes whilst still on the vine.

Even better than the 2014 release - and that was a spectacular sweet wine - the 2015 Vin de Constance is one of the greatest ever vintages of this iconic sticky. More Barsac than Sauternes in terms of weight, it’s fresh and refined, a bit like the 2012, with citrus and orange zest balancing the 172 grams of sugar. The oak is perfectly judged, the length and freshness things of wonder.
Tim Atkin - Decanter.com