Grand Constance 2019

Groot Constantia , located a few kilometers from Cape Town, is the oldest estate in South Africa. It commemorates its 336th anniversary in 2021! The “ Grand Constance ” wine is a piece of world wine history since it is recognized as the oldest wine in South Africa. During his exile on the island of Saint Helena in 1815 until his death in May 1821, Napoleon was allowed to drink wine and requested wines from the Groot Constantia estate. Rumor has it that this wine was his favorite wine...

This sweet wine is often recognized among the greatest sweet wines in the world. At the estate, vineyard operations such as pruning, leaf management and harvesting are carried out by hand. Pest control is done biologically , and soil health and weed control are managed by a selected mixture. A long ripening period allowed the sweet berries to fully ripen and dry out. After the late harvest , the grapes will ferment for 1 week and the wine will then be aged in barrels for 24 months . On the palate, the balance is perfect between sugar and acidity, there are notes of fresh fruit and candied fruit such as lychee , apricot , pear , quince , pineapple but also notes of honey , orange blossom , caramel , saffron and nutmeg . The fresh acidity balances the sweetness of the wine to leave a suave and infinitely long finish. A great sweet wine!

The first vines were planted in South Africa by Dutch settlers in the 1650s, although wine production did not really begin to take off until the arrival of French Protestants, in the 1680s, with their skills and their knowledge of viticulture. Stellenbosch is also a historic wine region, with the first vineyards being planted there in the 1690s. Today South Africa is one of the most important wine producing countries in the southern hemisphere. With over 300 years of winemaking history, it is often described as a bridge between the Old and New Worlds. The majority of wines are produced using New World winemaking techniques, but they often have more in common stylistically with their Old World counterparts. Since the end of apartheid, South African wine has received international attention and acclaim for its wide variety of styles. South Africa's wine industry is spread across the lush and rugged landscape of the Western Cape. Here, the abundance of mountains, valleys and plateaus allows winemakers to produce a wide variety of styles. Vineyards can also be found in the Orange River region of the Northern Cape, where the flat, arid landscape is dominated by the Kalahari Desert. Most of South Africa's wine regions have a Mediterranean climate, strongly influenced by the meeting of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The country's signature grape variety is Pinotage, an indigenous cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsaut that is rarely found in quantity in other wine-producing countries. Shiraz (Syrah) is also widely planted, as are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (often combined in a Bordeaux blend). South African Chardonnay, Chenin and Sauvignon Blanc have become popular internationally in recent years.