HARVEST SUMMARY BY WINEMAKER, JUSTIN VAN WYK
2018 was really a fantastic vintage for the red varieties at Constantia Glen. The flavour of the grapes at the time of picking was concentrated and intense with bright aromatics. Good winter rains in June and July of 2017 provided the ideal foundation for our dryland vineyards before they embarked on a cool, yet dry growing season, stretching from September 2017 to March 2018, when the harvest commenced.
The slow and long ripening allowed for the slow accumulation of sugars, and grapes that retained phenomenal acidity right up until picking.
Our estate vineyards showed remarkable buffering capacity and the 2018 vintage has delivered extremely elegant and refined red wines with great richness, texture, aromatic purity, and persistent, mouth-coating tannins. The wines also have great structure and acidity, which will allow for superlative bottle-ageing. The 2018 harvest was quite late, commencing with the first blocks of Merlot on 26 March 2018, and we picked the red varieties over 4 weeks with the last block of the Cabernet Sauvignon coming into the winery on 18 April 2018.

COLOUR
Youthful in colour with a dark, deep red core unwinding into a bright and lively garnet rim.

NOSE
The nose of this wine has great expression with forthcoming red and black fruit aromas. Following these initial ripe fruit aromas, there is a complex collection of savoury notes woven with lingering flavours of tomato leaf, blackcurrant, and cedar.

PALATE
The palate shows great intensity and complexity of flavours with the dark fruit and distinct savoury notes on the nose following flawlessly onto that first sip. The fine-grain, elegant and velvety tannins really compliment the richness of the wine and promise great aging potential
if stored under correct cellar conditions. This full-bodied blend has an earthy minerality and an inherent freshness that brings about a lingering, well-defined finish.
TECHNICAL DATA
This delicious three-way blend was carefully crafted from grapes grown on the estate. It comprises 55% Merlot, 26% Cabernet Franc and 19% Cabernet Sauvignon and was matured for 17 months in 30% new-, 50% second fill- and 20% third fill French oak barrels. The wine was not fined, but only lightly filtered prior to bottling to subtly mellow the rich tannin structure. This vintage shows the phenomenal structure and freshness that has become synonymous to the Constantia Glen THREE, but also has excellent concentration. This means that it can be enjoyed in its youth, yet it will certainly age and develop admirably for another 10-12 years under correct cellaring conditions.