HANtv Episode CHAPTER INDEX:
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00:00 – Did you know…
00:33 – An intro to the wine of the day
00:56 – The Trouble with the Long Shadow of a Dead Emperor
03:19 – Chapter head? Why are they not insane?
04:12 – The Jekyll and Hyde Terroir of Constantia Valley
07:04 – Interview with Constantia Glen cellar master Justin van Wyk
09:09 – Why is Cabernet Franc making a comeback in Constantia
10:21 – Wine making details for the Constantia Glen III
10:41 – Tasting notes for the Constantia Glen III 2022
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The wine world long ago decided what Constantia is for: sweet wine with a dead emperor’s endorsement, and Sauvignon Blanc with its own marketing campaign. Napoleon demanded Vin de Constance on his deathbed. Jane Austen’s heroines drank it for heartbreak. Case closed, said the textbooks. Nobody told Constantia Glen. On the valley’s northern slopes — higher, sunnier, catching an extra hour of golden light after the rest of the ward drops into shade — this estate planted 75% of its land to Bordeaux red grapes. Not as a hedge. As a conviction. And when the valley funded a study to prove how good its sites were for Sauvignon Blanc, the data came back with an inconvenient message for the marketing department: plant more red. The THREE 2022 is that conviction in a glass — and its sibling, the FIVE, just took Platter’s Bordeaux-style blend of the year. Again. This video is about why the best red address in South Africa might be the one nobody had on the map.
But of course, if you have yet to sign up for your Monthly HanDrinksSolo Wine Subscription then you’ll have to hunt this wine down in your own time. But until then, here are my tasting notes and some technical specs:
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TASTING NOTES
Aromas: A beautifully classic nose that plays it a little reserved — brooding roasted blackcurrant hunkered down in the corner like Uncle Jerry waiting to yell “surprise”, with touches of fennel, dried rosemary and a savoury whiff of roast-lamb trimmings. Give it a little air and the prettier side steps forward: purple flowers and aromatic cedar — no accident after 18 months in French oak.
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Palate: Despite the Merlot lead, a powerful black-fruit entry — maraschino cherry, blackcurrant, a hint of sugar plum — all buttoned down rather than jammy, even at 14.5% alcohol. Towards the tail the cassis brightens into sour cherry, lifting the whole back end and hinting at a wine that will keep unfurling for the next ten years.
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TECHNICAL SPECS
Grown on Constantia Glen’s dryland northern slopes (135–275 m up, northeast-facing, no heatwaves allowed), the cool 2022 vintage was picked late — the reds between 21 March and 19 April — for long, slow, even ripening. A blend of 54% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Cabernet Franc, matured 18 months in French oak (20% new, 50% second fill, 30% third fill) and lightly filtered before bottling. Around 8–12 years of ageing potential from harvest.
Alc. 14.5% | Sugar 2.8 g/L | Acid 5.4 g/L | pH 3.54 |
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