Vin de Constance

Foie gras on brioche with vendage tardive wine jelly.

This harvest marked the first year of the long 3 year drought in the Cape, resulting in the earliest harvest of Muscat de Frontignan we have had since 1986. It was also the year of the terrible fires that raged through the Cape Peninsula. The drought prompted a shorter harvest, which resulted in faster ripening fruit yielding berries with concentrated flavours and well balanced acidity.

The wine was aged in a combination of 50 % new French oak, Hungarian oak and French Acacia. It was left for a period of 3 years in barrel on the gross lees before racking out and blending. It spent a further 6 months in tank before bottling.

With the renovated cellar, we could make use of dedicated tanks intended for perfect maceration and fermentation of the Muscat. Throughout the season we harvested in batches - from the riper berries that have great acidity to the raisins for sugar concentration. Each batch is kept separate and treated differently. These batches make up the perfect ratio between sugar, alcohol and acidity which allows the wine to stop fermentation naturally and without intervention.

Dating back to 1685 and described as one of the world’s most beautiful wine estates Klein Constantia is set amidst ancient trees on the upper foothills of the Constantiaberg with views across False Bay. The perfect location for cool climate wines Klein Constantia produces some of South Africa’s top wines including one of the world’s best natural sweet wines Vin de Constance.