Constantia Royale

Constantia Royale is both the newest and the oldest of the Constantia wine farms. The land it occupies, Nova Zonnestraal, dates back to the 1700s when it formed part of the historic Alphen Estate in the Constantia Valley. But it was not until 2002 that grapes were planted on the seventeen-hectare family-owned property, and the first vintage of Constantia Royale was not produced until 2015, made in the cellar facilities at Steenberg.

The estate is owned by Lynn Marais Rowand, and winemaker Roger Burton was appointed to oversee the vineyards and craft the wines. Burton's brief was singular: to produce a Sauvignon Blanc that captured the essence of the Constantia Valley -- the cool maritime breezes from False Bay, the ancient decomposed granite soils, and the unique cool-climate microclimate that has made this region famous for white wines since Simon van der Stel founded the original Constantia farm in 1685.

Constantia Royale specialises exclusively in Sauvignon Blanc. The flagship Constantia Royale Sauvignon Blanc is a limited production wine grown on the Nova Zonnestraal farm, priced at R160 per bottle. The Don's Reserve, a superior blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, adds another dimension to the portfolio, displaying the typical Constantia qualities of freshness, purity, tension, and minerality in a richer, more complex expression.

What sets Constantia Royale apart from every other farm on the Constantia wine route is its tasting venue. Visitors taste wines not in a conventional cellar door but in an underground tunnel beneath the M3 freeway -- a hidden gem that has become one of the most talked-about wine experiences in Cape Town. The tunnel setting is atmospheric, cool, and genuinely surprising, offering a contrast to the manicured estates elsewhere in the valley. Tastings of current and older vintages, including the Don's Reserve, are available for R100 per person, on Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11:00 to 16:00.

The Constantia Valley carries a weight of history that few wine regions in the New World can match. The sweet Constantia wines once delighted European royal courts, appeared in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility as a cure for heartbreak, and Napoleon Bonaparte famously had 365 bottles delivered annually to his exile on Saint Helena. Constantia Royale carries that heritage forward with a contemporary focus -- a single-varietal estate producing limited quantities of Sauvignon Blanc from one of the most storied vineyard addresses in the entire southern hemisphere.