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

This wine expresses the coolness of the 2018 vintage in Constantia: it’s perfumed and elegant, with notes of lime zest, subtle gooseberry and melon. On the palate, razor-sharp acidity is gently tempered by the presence of a touch of Sémillon (2%). Subtle flecks of fennel and nettle complete the picture. This would be the perfect accompaniment to Vietnamese food, sashimi or goats’ cheese dishes. Ready to drink now.
Daisy Gatt, Buying Assistant (spring 2019)

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.

This Rhône blend is a little reticent on the nose, but offers sweet black and red fruits and added intrigue from peppery spice. While we wait for the nose to come alive over time, the palate is nowhere near as shy. It offers a burst of intense fruit with delicate weight, spiced compôte, meat and frankincense. The tannins are already fine and the finish immense, making this far too approachable now. Over the next 10 years this wine will develop into one of the Cape’s great reds.
Richard Veal, Private Wine Events

“Follow the telephone line,” the lost Duncan Savage was told, not so politely, on his third phone call to the frustrated owner when seeking out this new source of old-vine Cinsault. Apparently difficult to find amongst the sheep and wheat farms, it is certainly worth it; along with Grenache and Syrah this new Rhône blend is exquisite and a leader of its style in the Cape. It’s already very expressive on the nose with biscuit crumb and sweet fruit aromas (Jammy Dodgers perhaps?). The palate weight is delicate with fine tannins and broad fruit on the finish: proof that whatever Duncan Savage turns his hands to is immaculate. Drink now-2022.
Richard Veal, Private Wine Events

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

In preparation for this offer, we held a huge tasting with the Fine Wine team to pinpoint the wines that we felt were worthy of praise. Of all the wines tasted, the 2012 Savage Red was consistently described as being the favourite. This is only Duncan Savage’s second vintage and it is absolutely superb. Made from 62% Syrah, 14% Grenache, 12% Mourvedre, 12% Cinsault, it is very Old World and pure in style with a nose of intense red fruit and a fresh, herbaceous edge that lifts the wine on the palate.

It has beautiful precision and focus. Very poised and balanced, there is a seam of minerality behind that finishes on the lovely gravelly length. In my notes, I wrote, “delicate but concentrated”, an oxymoron perhaps but it is true. Despite the fact that Duncan tries to do as little as possible to the wine, this is winemaking at its best. Volumes are, sadly, miniscule. Drink 2015 - 2025.
Catriona Felstead MW, Wine Buyer

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

The Five of the title refers to the five Bordeaux varietals which form the blend of Constantia Glen’s flagship wine. 36% Cabernet Franc, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Petti Verdot, 14% Malbec and 13% Merlot aged in 100% new French oak barriques for 16.5 months. The important month of February was rather cool, giving rise to some concern, but fortunately March proved hot and dry, imbuing the grapes with wonderful concentration as well as ripeness without over-maturity. The core flavour is blackberry with notes of cassis and red plum. The tannins are abundant but are fine-grained so do not come across as austere or aggressive. There is a textural richness on the mid-palate which is rewarding and although the wine will undoubtedly age very well for several years it is soft enough to drink now. Decant one hour before serving, and try with beef or lamb.
Stuart Rae - Private Account Manager

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

Grown on north-east facing slopes between the Constantiaberg and Table Mountain ranges, the vines here benefit from slow ripening in the afternoon sun, resulting in a rich yet classically proportioned blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The result is a wine that nods clearly to the region that has influenced it, while expressing a clear sense of place.
Katherine Dart MW, Wine Buyer (Spring 2019)

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.

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