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Tasting notes
Black and blue fruits from first nose, with touches of turmeric, cracked pepper, cloves and crushed mint leaf. This has aged slowly and steadily, with ripe, now silky, tannins still holding things in place. After an hour after opening, the tannins have softened even further, and grilled caramel and dark chocolate notes come out. 35hl/h yields, 3.78ph, with 75% new oak for ageing. Dry-farmed. Consultants (and part owners, along with Klein Constantia's Lowell Jooste) Hubert de Boüard and Bruno Prats.
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux
More reviews and scores
(63% cabernet sauvignon and 37% shiraz; a joint project of Bruno Prats, Hubert de Bouard and Klein Constantia's Lowell Jooste) Ruby-red. Aromas of raspberry, currant, licorice and spicy oak. Suave on entry, then broad and fine-grained in the middle, with a sneaky intensity to the flavors of raspberry and spice. A tad medicinal and dry on the back half, finishing with fine tatnnins and some chocolatey oak. (Another bottled sampled in New York was darker in color and blacker in its aromas and flavors, with a more pronounced mineral and violet character, but came off as a bit musclebound and hard-edged. This bottle, which I rated 89+?, was in need of time to harmonize.)
About the producer
Based in Constantia, a short drive from the suburbs of Cape Town, Klein Constantia produces some of South Africa’s finest wines, including its iconic sweet wine, Vin de Constance.
Product details
Syrah / Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Malbec/ Auxerrois / Cot
Red
Dry