2015 Constantia Glen FIVE
Technical data
A blend of 33% Cabernet Franc, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Petit Verdot, 17% Merlot
and 13% Malbec, matured for 18 months in 75% new and 25% second-fill French oak barrels.
The wine was bottled on 1 December 2016 without any fining, but only a light filtration in
order to clarify the wine. The unique youthfulness of the 2015 FIVE, along with its powerful structure and precision finish, will continue to evolve during bottle ageing under the correct cellaring conditions for the next 15 - 25 years.
It is worth noting the predominance of Cabernet
Franc in the spectacular 2015 vintage, being an important contributor to the style and precise
focus of this wine.
Alcohol: 14,5%
Residual sugar: 2,3 g/l
pH: 3,54
Titratable Acidity: 5,5 g/l
Volatile acidity: 0,69 g/l
Harvest summary by winemaker, Justin van Wyk
2015 was a remarkable vintage for red varieties at Constantia Glen, despite the harvest being
almost 2 weeks earlier than what we have been used to for the past few years. Good winter
rains in 2014 provided a good foundation for our dryland vineyards before they embarked on
a notably dry growth season. The summer ripening period leading up to the early 2015 harvest was cool, but very dry, which in combination with early bud-break in the atypically warm spring of 2014 led to our vines going through véraison a little earlier in this vintage. Although the harvest was 10 days earlier than we normally experience, our grapes still enjoyed similar extended hang-time on the vines due to the warm spring kicking off the season earlier than usual.
The vines were shaped in slightly smaller canopies, allowing good sunlight penetration
and air movement in the bunch zone. This resulted in healthy bunches that enjoyed textbook ripening conditions. The combination of all these factors resulted in red wines with very good ripeness, freshness and flavour concentration. This vintage also allowed for good structure and acidity, which will allow for superlative bottle-ageing.
The 2015 harvest commenced with the first block of Merlot on 6 March 2015 and we picked for over 5 weeks until the last batches of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon were processed into the winery on 10 April 2015.
Colour
Youthful in colour with a very dark magenta core unwinding into a bright and lively garnet rim.
Nose
Der 2015er FIVE entfaltet in der Nase eine dramatische Spannung, die einen quasi ins Glas zieht und Aufmerksamkeit einfordert. Zedern und Graphit kombinieren sich mit schwarzen Kirschen, Cassis und Veilchen. Mit etwas Luft öffnet sich der Wein auch floralen und kräuterigen Noten.
Palate
Den FIVE zeichnet eine perfekte Ausgewogenheit zwischen Raffinesse und Kraft aus. Die brillanten Voraussetzungen des Jahrgangs 2015 haben wir im Keller in einen Wein übersetzt, der Struktur mit Frische und Tiefe verbindet. Der FIVE ist gehaltvoll, hat eine samtige Textur, griffige, feinkörnige Tannine und ein lebhaft-einladendes Säureprofil.