Groot Constantia Grand Constance 2019

2019 Vintage — Constantia, Cape Town, South Africa

Groot Constantia is the oldest wine farm in South Africa, founded in 1685 by Cape Governor Simon van der Stel. Its Grand Constance is the modern revival of the legendary 18th-century Vin de Constance — Europe’s most coveted dessert wine in its day, drunk by royalty across the courts of Europe and celebrated in print by Napoleon, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and Frederick the Great. After two centuries of disappearance, the wine was painstakingly recreated from estate Muscat plantings on the original Groot Constantia vineyards in the late 1980s.

Made from late-harvested Muscat de Frontignan, with a small share of red Muscat that gives the wine its signature deep amber colour. Grapes are picked at very high sugar concentrations, partially raisined on the vine, fermented on the skins for around a week before pressing, then aged in 300L French oak barrels for 24 months before bottling. Unctuous but never cloying.

The 2019 release shows orange marmalade, candied apricot and dried fig on the nose, with honeyed peach, raisin and toffee on a layered, slow-unfolding palate, framed by an unexpectedly bright streak of natural acidity that lifts the finish. Excellent on its own at the end of a meal, with foie gras, blue cheese, or rich crème brûlée.