Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 2019

Bright light gold in colour. A delicately perfumed yet elevated nose with flavours of white peach, citrus blossom and orange zest. There is an intriguing creaminess on the nose followed by nutmeg and lemon curd. The palate abounds with complex flavours of oak spice, ginger and bright fruit. A delicate balance between sugar and acidity creating a seemingly dryer style of Vin de Constance. The wine concludes with a long and evolving finish with texture and a delicate spice.

Spring was cold, wet and windier than usual which impacted flowering and resulted in small berries, which subsequently reduced our crop. Ripening was slower than normal and stretched the harvest period to much later in the season. There was a level of unpredictability due to the late harvest and autumn weather conditions. We had to be disciplined with our assessment of perfect ripeness to ensure we brought the grapes in at optimal times.

2019 saw some relief from the 5 year drought with a cooler, windier and wetter build up to harvest giving us smaller concentrated berries, ideal pH levels, fresh acidity and complex wines. The 2019 Muscat de Frontignan harvest was very short, taking place from late February until late March. In this amount of time we were able to make 26 different passes raging from high acidity to the later portion of very ripe raisins. Each pass was vinified separately initially and then blended together during the latter part of fermentation in order to balance out the sugar, alcohol and acidity. This allows the fermentation to stop naturally and without any intervention. The wine is aged for 18 months in 50% new oak 500L barrels & then a further 18 months in large format fourdres before blending and bottling.

The combination of residual sugar and alcohol levels has a well known preservative effect on bottled wine. This wine is capable of ageing for many decades if not generations from release.

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