Cape Valley

Originating from the rugged, mountainous ward of Piekenierskloof on the border with Cederberg, the wines at Tierhoek are made by Roger Burton, now helped by Carla Niewoudt, with fruit from the farm, which is the only fully restored Sandveld farm in South Africa. The wines continue to exude a sense of place, with the older vine components bringing depth and complexity.

This is a one-off blend from Shelley Sandell, with only 3,600 bottles produced. The Sauvignon Blend element (a third was aged in old oak) is more textural than aromatic, and the wine has a lovely touch of honeyed dryness. A lovely, understated limited-edition bottling.

An aromatic nose with notes of passion fruit, gooseberries and elderflower. The palate reveals complex layers of tropical fruit and notes of fennel and mandarin, complemented by a racy acidity. The 5% Semillon adds a richness to the mouth-feel. This in an elegant wine, with great energy and fruit concentration.

Although Constantia is more commonly known for its white varietals, Constantia Glen’s unique position, lying between a gap in the mountains, allows red grapes to mature perfectly here as they bask in an additional 1.5 hours’ sunlight every day. As such, Constantia Glen has made a name for its elegant, complex and beautifully-balanced Bordeaux blends which show exceptional value for money.

This Merlot-dominated blend is clear with a deep cherry colour. Cassis and smoky notes are evident on the nose. There is good freshness supporting ripe fruit and supple tannins on the palate. The finish of the wine is tight, focused and long.

Looking for a summer white to enjoy with grilled chicken or fish? Then Constantia Glen Two is a good contender to sit at the top of the list. At first sniff, this Sauvignon/Sémillon blend leaps out the glass with heaps of tropical fruit and white peach, with the Sauvignon leaving a subtle hint of its classic calling card of nettles and cut grass. The palate follows with ripe peach, nectarine and passion fruit all vying for attention in a crowd-pleasing medley. The Sémillon adds a surprising richness, which combined with the palate-cleansing freshness of the Sauvignon, allows this South African gem to complement a host of summer dishes.

Although Constantia is more commonly known for its white varietals, Constantia Glen’s unique position, lying between a gap in the mountains, allows red grapes to mature perfectly here as they bask in an additional 1.5 hours’ sunlight every day. As such, Constantia Glen has made a name for its elegant, complex and beautifully balanced Bordeaux blends which show exceptional value for money.

The 2011 Five blends together the five Bordeaux varieties with great aplomb, creating a wine of sufficient richness and power to bring enormous pleasure to the senses, but, at the same time, an uncommon level of refinement and elegance at this price bracket. This is perfectly ready to drink now but will be impressive through to 2018.

After 11 years producing Platter five-star wines at Cape Point Vineyards, Duncan Savage finally realised his dream of producing his own red and white wine before the age of 35 with his maiden (2011 red, 2012 white) vintage. The wines received high critical acclaim with Duncan once again in the spotlight as one of the most exciting young talents in South African winemaking.

Follow the Line is earlier drinking and lighter of touch than the Savage Red. New World fruit is allied to an Old World personality in Duncan’s outstanding wines. The nose is a delicately scented with layers of juicy redcurrant fruit. The medium-bodied palate has a gentle, almost Burgundian feel to it. There is enough tannin on the palate and depth of fruit to provide focus, but freshness is the key characteristic here, giving the wine a lovely length and spiciness that dances on and on. Drink 2018 to 2020.

After 11 years producing Platter five-star wines at Cape Point Vineyards, Duncan Savage finally realised his dream of producing his own red and white wine before the age of 35 with his maiden (2011 red, 2012 white) vintage. The wines received high critical acclaim with Duncan once again in the spotlight as one of the most exciting young talents in South African winemaking.

A new and exciting star in the South African wine scene, the wines of Savage are on top form. The density and richness at the core of this wine is a step up from Follow the Line. Aromas of dark cherry lead to a palate that balances savoury notes with ripe cherry, cassis fruit, pepper and spice. Richer than the Follow the Line, but still with that crunchy, cool acidity that gives it real lift and an amazing mouth-feel. Long on the finish. Drink 2019 to 2021.

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.
 

The 2013 Cartology Bush Vines is a blend of 88% Chenin Blanc and 12% Semillon. The bouquet is very well-defined with great clarity, very reminiscent of the 2011, opening up with aeration to reveal subtle scents of lemon curd, apricot, honeysuckle and Mirabelle. The palate is well-balanced, harmonious in the mouth, everything understated at first, but it builds nicely toward a taut, saline finish. This seems more aligned to the 2012 than the 2011 and it deserves at least one or two years in bottle. Succinct is the word that comes to mind - and that is not an easy attribute to instill into a wine.
Neal Martin - Wine Advocate - eRobertParker.com - Oct 2014

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 blend is decided.

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

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.

The ‘Five’ is a reference to the blend of grape varietals that make up this wine, namely Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Merlot. 2010 was as near to perfect as it’s possible to be for cultivating grapes in this part of the world, with the harvest taking place even later than in the peerless 2009 vintage. The subsequent wine has a nose rich in blackcurrant fruit, black cherry, spice box and tobacco.

The palate is both rich and concentrated; with the dark fruit notes complimented by silky tannins and balanced acidity which lends freshness. The finish is lengthy and smooth with a mineral edge. This could benefit from a year or two in the cellar; however it’s already showing beautifully.

The 2011 Five blends together the five Bordeaux varieties (Petit Verdot, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon) with great aplomb, creating a wine of sufficient richness and power to bring enormous pleasure to the senses, but, at the same time, an uncommon level of refinement and elegance at this price bracket. This is perfectly ready to drink now but will be impressive through to 2018.

Roussanne, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Sémillon don’t jump off the page as immediate bedfellows, but winemaker John Seccombe has crafted a beauty here. Lemon curd, buttered popcorn and praline are followed by a densely textured yet fresh palate. Touches of stone fruit complete the picture. Along with the Cartology, this is another fantastic addition to the Cape scene.
Fergus Stewart, Private Account Manager

My first impression of Matthew Day’s maiden Vin de Constance is very simply “wow, what a wine!” He seems to have created even more depth, even more layers of complexity and its more vinous, more winey…there’s just more! The nose has taut, yellow apple fruit in spades with a little peach and soft plum characters too.

There is an exciting touch of German Riesling Auslese too – all those petrol, acacia, honey notes and citric lift. The palate is hugely complex as you might imagine, the Auslese character is present too. Although the acidity is greater than in previous years, it is entirely dovetailed into the structure of the wine. The length is simply huge, lasting for minutes but leaves me just wanting another glass. Drink now to 2030+.
Gary Owen, Private Account Manager

Matt has been working at Klein Constantia since 2009 as assistant to the highly respected Adam Mason, but has brought his own ideas and philosophy to the wine. Matt has used the vintage conditions of 2012 and his own methodology to preserve the aromatics and improve the freshness of the wine – highly important in a wine as sweet as Vin de Constance.

Importantly Matt has been harvesting in batches, almost like Sauternes trie harvesting, only picking the grapes when they are at their peak ripeness. In 2012 that meant a colossal three month harvest! At the end of harvest he also used a proportion of Essencia juice, the free run juice from the sweetest berries – this culminates in a more intense, more balanced and more drinkable Vin de Constance!

Since being re-introduced in 1986, Vin de Constance has consistently appeared in lists of the world’s top wines. The 2007 vintage was awarded 97 points by Neal Martin of Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, making it the best rated South African sweet wine in history. The outstanding 2009 was in the Wine Spectator’s Top 10 Wines of 2015.