The sensationally beautiful and green Constantia valley is the cradle of the South African Wine Industry – the oldest vineyard region in the Cape where wine was first produced during the time of Dutch Governor Simon van der Stel in 1689.

Klein Constantia Estate is part of the land first planted by van der Stel and produced from its vineyards Constantia Wine, prized in Europe by political leaders and heads of state.  William Pitt the Younger had stocks of it in No 10 Downing Street when he was the British Prime Minister, King Frederick 1V of Prussia had bottles in his cellar, as did The Duke of Northumberland where a bottle of 1791 Constantia was discovered in 1981.  Napoleon is said to have been fond of the wine and ordered it during his exile on the island of St Helena.

Lowell Jooste

Constantia wine moved the likes of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and French writer Baudelaire to write about it.

A taste from a bottle of early 19th Century Constantia Wine given me by the Jooste family who own Klein Constantia remains one of the wine highlights of my life.

As the 19th century drew to a close, the fungal disease oïdium was discovered in the Constantia vineyards and indeed in the rest of the vineyards of the Cape.  This was shortly followed by phylloxera, a destructive vineyard louse, which caused devastation throughout Europe and the Cape. Bankruptcy and ruin ensued for many old winemaking families, including the Cloetes who by then were the owners of Constantia.

Duggie Jooste

The famous Constantia wines, which had brought delight and pleasure the world over, disappeared. However, the legend lived on, immortalized in poetry and prose, and still vibrantly alive in many old bottles, which lay forgotten in the cellars of Europe’s great wine collectors.

Klein Constantia lies in one of the world’s most beautiful vineyard locations on the lush and well-treed east facing slopes of the Constantia Mountain on the narrow Cape Peninsula that runs into the chill Atlantic Ocean – whose cool sea breezes are ideal for the production of quality wines.  The terroir of the Estate has a high influence on the character of wine produced at Klein Constantia.

Owned and run by the Jooste family, Klein Constantia’s philosophy is founded on quality rather than quantity, reflected in the wines regularly inviting accolades, both locally and internationally.

Its buildings have received a merit award from the South African Institute of Architects, who rated it “a sensitive adornment to an important historical estate.”

In the modern era a high tech cellar below ground, using also artisanal wine making methods under the guiding hand of Adam Mason the winemaker, produces two wines for all tastes and pockets. Under the label of KC for early easy everyday drinking you’ll find a Cab Merlot blend which is all berries and lovely gentle drying tannins, and a sensational Sauvignon Blanc made from a blend of fruit from Faure and Elgin.

Some of the Cape’s finest examples of Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Rhine Riesling [a particular favourite of mine], Shiraz, Chardonnay, Semillon, a noble late harvest made from Rhine Riesling, an MCC and the fabulous Vin de Constance make up the Klein Constantia Estate wines.

The über premium Marlbrook, with its magnificent restraint of black berries and plums and excellent use of oak, and Mme Marlbrook made up mostly of Semillon with the balance being Sauvignon Blanc complete the range.

Klein Constantia is well worth a visit if only to see the enchanting Charolais cows lying peacefully chewing their cud at the edge of the vineyards.

This is the ultimate coup. Vin de Constance with Michel Roux Jr. The first – I think – ever South African book with food written by a major international chef and all revolving around one – great – wine.

Owners Jooste Family
Winemaker Adam Mason
Farm Manager Floricius Beukes
Viticulturist Stiaan Cloete

Klein Constantia Road off the M42 Constantia.
P.O. Box 375 Constantia 7848.
Western Cape, South Africa.

Telephone +27 21 794 5188, fax +27 21 794 2464
Email: info@kleinconstantia.com web: www.kleinconstantia.com