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KLEIN
CONSTANTIA
A pearl among wines
  
It
was 1685, Governor Simon van der Stel was granted an estate the size
of Amsterdam at the time, which he named Constantia.
Van der Stel was a visionary who saw the Cape not
merely as a halfway house to India but rather as a gateway to Europe.
After
much testing of the soil around the Cape Peninsula, he found exactly what he
wanted; a soil of decomposed granite
in a verdant valley facing False Bay. The estate was cooled by the moisture laden winds that wafted in
from two great oceans. In this heavenly place, he set out to
make the finest wines.
While
Van der Stel established Constantia's reputation for excellent wine, it
was in fact Hendrik Cloete who fulfilled the Governor's dream 50 years
after his death. Although there were no familial ties between them,
Hendrik shared Van der Stel's passionate love of the soil and determined
to make and market the finest wine in the country.
Klein Constantia Manor House dates back to 1800
Over
time the Governors original farm was divided, finally the smaller
portion was given the name Klein (small) Constantia. Like the rest of
the valley the fortunes fluctuated. The
farm was derelict when bought in 1980 by Duggie Jooste, whose family has
been involved with South African wine for three generations and whose
son Lowell is now running the estate. The challenge was irresistible as
Hendrik Cloete had written earlier, "the making of wine was a labour of
love: high-risk, low yield and labour-intensive."
In
the years since the Jooste family have been producing wine on this great
historical estate they have put Klein Constantia Wine Estate back where
it belongs, producing perfectly balanced, distinguished wines of world
repute. Reviving one of the world's icon wines became an irresistible challenge
  The
recreation of Vin de Constance was a quest inspired by the fact that in
the 18th - 19th centuries the only great wine from the Southern
Hemisphere had been made in the valley, the farm Klein Constantia was
part of these original vineyards.
It took
much historical research and educated guess work, as well as Hendrik
Cloete's invaluable journal, which provided step by step
instructions on the entire process, stipulating that the vines should
only be picked when shriveled and raisin like on the vine.
After many
vital stages, finally a maiden vintage was harvested in the old
Constantia style in 1986. With that sought after first bottling, Klein
Constantia's vinous quest had been fulfilled. With successive vintages
Vin de Constance has gone from strength to strength reviving the glowing
reputation and romance of the original Constantia wine. Today Vin de
Constance 2001 is renowned in its own right, gracing many of the great tables
worldwide.
 
Vines,
framed by fynbos and abutting the
Table Mountain National Park (a World Heritage site),
climb the slopes in well tended rows.
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An
estate frequently described as
one of the world's most beautiful.
Klein
Constantia Perdeblokke Sauvignon Blanc 2005 is shepherded into the bottle with
minimal interference resulting in a very special wine; an
explosion of sweet and sour aromas mingle with the heady flavours
of mint and brown sugar. These are followed on the palate by a
concentration of piercing, tangy acidity; fresh passionfruit and
pepperdew, the finish goes on forever.
"Full bodied
with a steely acidity, 13.8% alcohol," Adam Mason explains,
"due to the
concentration of fruit flavour there is an almost sweet fruit
palate. An experience much like the sweet and sour interplay of
pickled gherkins."
The mineraly aspects are picked up on the nose, once again
providing a dimension of severity, which casts the wine in a much
more serious note.
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 The
Klein
Constantia Chardonnay 2005 is a pale gold with delicate aromas of
orange blossom and custard apples, laced with wood spice and a scent of cloves.
Temptingly
soft to the palate the chardonnay nevertheless retains a firm
structure. The flavours of the underlying oak are subtle but
support the palate rather than dominating it. This well balanced
wine has a long tapered finish.
Well timed rains, which fell in January 2005 and the
relatively cool preceding summer, were factors which ensured the
ripeness levels and fruity quality of this vintage, as the vines
experienced optimal growing conditions leading up to the
harvest.
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The
KC Cab Merlot 2003 is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and just a
hint of Cabernet Franc from the Constantia and Helderberg areas.
  
The wines were matured in barrels for almost 18 months
before the blending and although the style is accessible and
smooth now, it will reward further aging for at least 5 - 8
years. The
exceptional 2003 vintage is characterised by very warm weather and
has resulted in ripe styled wines providing the perfect platform
on which to release their second tier red blend.
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Klein
Constantia Riesling 2006
A very late vintage similar in timing to 2004
but due to a very windy spring and dry but cool summer, the harvest
yielded riper fruit. The berry size tended to be smaller and more
concentrated than normal with resultant lower yields.
Fresh green
in appearance, the Riesling has a note of candied fruit, tangerine
zest and steely mineral character coursing in the background.
 
Adam Mason
explains, "The
vineyard selection was vigorous and resulted in 50% of our average yield making it into the cellar for vinification. Needless to say the
drop in quantity of this years bottled wine is more than compensated
for by the wine's quality."
"Whole bunch
pressing and very strict juice selection further ratified this years
production. Half the volume went to spontaneous fermentation in old 500
litre puncheons, while the other half was fermented in a stainless steel
tank with an inoculated yeast culture. After four months maturation on
fine yeast lees, the wine was bottled."
"I firmly
believe," says Adam, "that this wine is going to mature and
develop very well for the next 10 - 15 years due to the combination of
the screw cap closure and the fine acidic backbone, which is clearly a
feature of this years wine."
At Klein
Constantia vineyard management emphasises eco-friendly pest control. New
plantings of indigenous vegetation encourages predators while migratory
Steppe Buzzards deter local birds from eating the grapes by swooping
from the mountain ridges during the growing season, flying North only
after the last grapes have been harvested.
Working
alongside owners Duggie Jooste and his son Lowell, who manages Klein
Constantia, are winemaker Adam Mason who brings both old and new world
experience to the farm and oenophile Florcius Beukes who nurtures the
vineyards with his team of experienced staff.
KLEIN
CONSTANTIA ESTATE
Phone:
+27 21 794 5188 Fax:
+27 21 794 2464
www.kleinconstantia.com
VIN DE CONSTANCE
with
Michel Roux Jnr
Historical Background by Jos Baker
and Gill Baikoff for original historical research on Vin de Constance Published by Lannice Snyman Publishers
For
further information see Cook's
Corner
Back
to Franck Dangereux's The Foodbarn
A
SHOWCOOK.COM PRODUCTION
Photography by Franz Lauinger
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