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Constantia Glen Five Bordeaux Blend 2020

R728.00

Region:  Constantia

Tasting notes

Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec

A dense, near opaque, ruby red wine showing incredible intensity in the colour of its core, given edge by a lively, yet firm, magenta rim. As the wine is opened and allowed to breathe, the wine presents many different layers. The first impression is that of a rich, dark, fruit driven bouquet with upfront aromas of black plums, black currant and reduced black cherries. For a fleeting moment, these characteristics completely consume the senses, but quickly give way to underlying aromas of cedarwood and graphite. The dense dark fruit flavours are fluently translated from the nose to the palate, where silky, polymerized tannins intersect a fresh mineralty, creating an outstanding mouthfeel with a well-rounded, textural finish that lingers well onto your next sip. This is a focused and elegant blend with fine-grain tannins showing the coolness of the 2013 vintage in Constantia.

Food pairing

This rich red wine would be a delicious partner to a traditional oxtail stew.

2 in stock.
As our stock is sold through our two retail outlets and online, stock levels are provided as a guide only and are liable to change.

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After Simon van der Stel’s death in 1712, his Constantia farm was split. The 60 hectares of land (today known as Constantia Glen) would originally – because of its position on the steep slopes of the Constantiaberg overlooking the Constantia Valley – have been too difficult to farm and was probably used for grazing of livestock for the first hundred years of its history. Johannes Gregorius van Helsdingen was the first to plant vines there and by 1832, when his nephew Johannes Frederick inherited the property, it was a productive farm under 15 000 vines.

A fairly rapid succession of owners followed in the next 11 years until 1843 when when Sebastiaan Valentyn van Reenen bought the farm and renamed it Glen Alpine. Under the van Reenens Glen Alpine prospered and became a renowned wine estate visited by many callers to the Cape including Queen Victoria’s son, Prince Alfred.

In 1851 the land was sold once more and the property changed hands several times over the next 100 years during which time the land was used primarily for small scale farming with fruit trees, a small vineyard and dairy, but it became largely overgrown with forest vegetation.

The Waibel family from Austria bought Glen Alpine farm in 1960 but the land was not commercially farmed until 1995 when it became an elite stud farm for champion Red Angus breeding stock. Around 1998, Dieter Waibel, together with his son and son-in-law, started planning to bring the land back to its original function as a wine farm.

In January 2000, following a devastating wild fire on the Cape Peninsula that destroyed most of the farm vegetation and required that the Red Angus cattle be evacuated, extensive soil tests took place around the property. The first vineyards were planted in September 2000 and 29 hectares are planted with wine grapes today. The Waibel’s determination to produce high quality wines has proven a success .

The Five Bordeaux Blend is the estate’s signature blend consisting of the five archetypal Bordeaux varieties – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. A cool maritime climate and strict crop control results in perfectly ripened grapes that are hand harvested, meticulously sorted and batch vinified.