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It's over 20 years since I first tasted the incredible nectar that is Vin de Constance but I still look forward to each new release as if it was my first taste. Things have come a long way since that 1990 vintage. There's been significant investment in vineyard and winery, resulting in the wines becoming ever fresher and more refined. Remarkably, the price remains incredibly fair, making this the perfect substitute for those days when opening a bottle of Yquem would be a bit too much of a stretch!
ETA December 2022
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2019 Vin de Constance, Klein Constantia
£270.00 per 6x500ml Case, in bond
£414.00 per 3x1.5ltr Case, in bond
Butterscotch, lemon patisserie and peach aromas. Pristine quality to the texture, lively and thrilling, this is a serious, opulent and powerful wine, more on the spiced, nuanced side with aspects of dried herbs, wood scents and bitter lemon and orange with a touch of honeyed lychee. It feels supremely complex and characterful. Sophisticated, layered and balanced with some minerality, a slight graphite edge all of which adds to the whole. It's still extremely youthful but there is real sculpting here, a sense of precision, style and freshness. Well crafted with an extremely long life ahead. A wonder, and one of the best from the estate! 2024-2056
98 points Georgina Hindle, Decanter
Vin de Constance takes the category of sweet wines to a new level, and this is another stunning success from them. Expect succulent pear, quince, apple, peach pit, tarte tatin, wonderfully seductive and opulent but never taking a single step over the line. Second year on the Place for this iconic wine. Winemaker Matthew Day.
98 points Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux
The 2019 Vin de Constance is matured for 18 months in 500-liter Hungarian and French oak barrels, 50% new, followed by another 18 months in oak foudres. The growing season saw more sunlight hours than previous vintages (2,998 compared to 2,588 in 2018 for example). It has an understated nose, almost Sauternes-like even if it does not contain an ounce of botrytis. Subtle nutty aromas percolate through the wild honey and quince scents, wax resin and lanolin. The palate is medium-bodied and very pure. Disarmingly fine acidity, it is slightly Germanic towards the finish. with a hint of lemongrass lingering on the aftertaste. This is a superb Vin de Constance under the tenure of Matt Day that is a step closer to what you might confusingly call a non-sweet dessert wine. 2027-2050
97 points Neal Martin, Vinous
Bright, medium to deep gold hue, showing focused and pure aromas of honeysuckle, fresh vanilla, lemon tart, dried mango, ginger and a hint of saffron. Certainly quite sweet, but not unctuous, with the natural, effortless acidity managing to balance the lushness. Intense, yet scented and naturally expressive. Persistent finish. You crave for a second glass if you drink it now, but you can also hold it for a decade in your cellar.
97 points James Suckling
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First produced over 300 years ago as ‘Constantia’, Kings vied for possession of this wine; Louis Philippe sent emissaries from France to fetch it; Napoleon drank it on the island of St Helena to find solace in his lonely exile; Frederick the Great and Bismarck ordered it; Charles Dickens’ character Edwin Drood found support in it and Jane Austen recommended Constantia for its “healing powers on a disappointed heart”.
Following its resurrection in the 1980s (phylloxera having devasted the vineyards a century ago) this estate has rejoined the ranks of the world’s elite wines. Not ones to rest on their laurels, though, they continue to invest heavily in infrastructure, vineyards and equipment.
The new management team is aiming to replicate the Bush Vine conditions of the original 1700s vineyard. This has been found to encourage maximum sun exposure for early raisining on the vine, leading to an improved sugar acid balance.
The Muscat de Frontignan is harvested in batches, from the riper berries that have great acidity to the raisins for sugar concentration. These batches form the perfect ratio between sugar, alcohol and acidity, which allows the wine to stop fermentation naturally. Each lot is harvested and sorted by hand, then macerated and vinified separately. After a long fermentation, the batches are then blended together and aged in a combination of 60% new French oak, Hungarian oak and French acacia barrels.
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