The annual flood of new producers has long since decreed that it is impossible for any individual to keep up to date with every one.

The unfortunate downside of discovering what excitement the newcomers have to offer is that the old friends can easily be neglected.

Klein Constantia is a winery for which I have held a long affection, partly because I’ve been following its fortunes since Duggie Jooste bought the farm back in 1980.

My first visit was some five years later in December 1985, when Ross Gower, the winemaker who helped put the modern-day farm on the map, showed me around the property. A first taste of those breathtaking views from the Constantiaberg slopes and the south-easter whipping across them, coupled with a glimpse of the nearly finished cellar - as aesthetically pleasing then as it is now – are attractions that have never faded.

The first grapes to be crushed on the farm since 1930 came into the new cellar in February 1986, an iconic vintage as it turned out. Later that year (I think it was) along with several media colleagues, I was invited to taste the infant wines of that first harvest. I say first harvest, but I see we also tasted a 1985 sauvignon blanc from Klein Constantia, which must have been crushed off the property.

The Klein Constantia Sauvignon Blanc 1986 Superior was second in the line up. Here was the wine that announced Constantia and sauvignon would become synonymous and also hinted at the very bright future the variety would enjoy throughout the Cape’s cooler areas. It also went on to prove sauvignon’s ageing potential, drinking well at ten years and beyond. For the technically minded, it had 24 hours’ skin contact, weighed in at 12.97% alcohol; 6.8 grams per litre acid and a low 3.28 pH.

Perhaps even more than sauvignon blanc, the wine that has made Klein Constantia’s name throughout the world is Vin de Constance, a replication of the Cloete’s famous 18th and 19th century dessert wine. (For those who still have copies of the print edition of Grape, verticals of both the Sauvignon Blanc and Vin de Constance are written up in edition 14, April-June 2002.)

That was then; there were perhaps a few dips and troughs over the years, but since Adam Mason took over in the cellar in 2004, there’s been new energy.

At a long-overdue visit last week, I tasted with Adam some current releases as well as a few still waiting in the wings; from this small selection, it’s clear Klein Constantia is heading to new levels of sophistication and complexity.

As a Riesling fan, I’ve always enjoyed the Klein Constantia; in earlier vintages its few grams of sugar and whiffs of botrytis were most attractive and the wine aged well. Adam has now headed on a drier route and matured a small quantity in 500 litre barrels. Oak is an important feature in many of his wines, as an enriching component rather than a flavourant. This is its role in the 2008 riesling, where 25% went into these large containers. Delicate and dry with a lowish 11.5% alcohol, this Riesling is given an extra textural dimension and lifted spice from the oak. This is sold out but the 09, from an excellent vintage, will be available towards the end of March.

A year on the lees and an oaked component also enhances the 2009 Perdeblokke Sauvignon Blanc, to be released only in September and if you tasted it now you’d understand why. A big wine with deep, flinty almost smoky aromas and rich viscosity, it still maintains traditional varietal vibrancy. It will be much better appreciated with food and should mature brilliantly. As good as that maiden 1986 was, this is many levels higher.

But if the Perdeblokke is impressive, the pair that makes me most excited is the blended Madame Marlbrook 2008 and 2009; the former 70/30 sauvignon blanc, semillon, with the varieties reversed in the latter.

Both varieties are aged separately in those 500 litre barrels, around 50% new, and blended just prior to bottling. Muscat, which played a role in earlier vintages, has now been dropped; beneficially in my view, though Adam says his first 2004 is drinking beautifully now.

For someone like myself who is an ardent fan of white Graves, these two latest vintages (neither released as I write) ring very positive bells. Although the 2009 has the more powerful flavours, these wines are mainly about structure and texture, but also a wealth of complexity that will take many years to fully emerge. Neither variety dominates; the marriage in both is happy and equitable, the sum very definitely greater than the parts. These are wines of contemplation as there’s so much to them – preferably with a complementary dish.

Then what would a visit be without a sip of Vin de Constance. The current 2005 is all fragrant dried apricots, sumptuously textured but with an amazingly clean and fresh finish. To Adam’s mind it needs more structure, to which end he intends adding ripe stems to this year’s ferment. This will be just one more step in an already detailed process, starting with the vineyard (pictured is a new block, which for the first time is being grown as bush vines). Harvesting is completed in three phases; around 10% is picked early from vineyards tending to rot; a further 10% is picked as raisins (one person can pick a maximum of 10 kgs per day), while the bulk is harvested as bunches towards mid to end March. All these components are vinified separately; those raisins, with up to 700 grams of sugar, crawl to 1 to 2% alcohol, the first picking, barrel-fermented, finishes dryish with 12% alcohol.

The first of these multi-phase vintages, 2008, will not be available for a few years yet, but if it follows what I tasted last week, I must surely not wait so long before visiting this historic farm again.

Looking good - Klein Constantia’s 2010 cabernet