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    Klein Constantia

    About Klein Constantia

    Dating back to 1685, Klein Constantia is a profoundly special estate of breath-taking beauty. Arguably the single most beautiful winery in the world, in fact, it has been one of the mightiest names in South African wine for generations.

    The crowning glory of the estate, which also crafts some impeccable dry wines, is without question the legendary Vin de Constance – preserve of Kings and artists from Napoléon Bonaparte to Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. Seared into the collective consciousness of wine lovers for hundreds of years, we came perilously close to losing this immense wine altogether due to the bane of almost every vineyard, Phylloxera.

    Nestled amongst ancient trees on the foothills of the Constantiaberg, this imperious producer was not spared the onslaught of the root-devouring lice. With its stunning views of False Bay, the cooling sea breezes simply set an idyllic location for what would be so disastrous an infestation that the varietal from which Vin de Constance is made, Muscat, disappeared from their vineyards entirely.

    Hope was kindled in 1982 when the Jooste family, current owners, planted the first Muscat vines on this site since their destruction. 1986 saw the first “new” vintage of South Africa’s greatest sweet wine, and the cuvée has reaffirmed itself as one of the greatest fine wines in the world over the past decades since its resurrection.

    Collectors will be intimately familiar with both fortified sweet wines, and the great botrytis-laden wines of Sauternes and Tokaji. Vin de Constance is a late harvest wine. The grapes from which it is made are left on the vine for as long as possible to raisin and achieve very high levels of sugar on their own. A precarious balancing act is performed each and every vintage by the incredibly talented and diligent team at Klein Constantia, led by Matthew Day, to pick at just the right time.



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    7 Products

    Name
    Price Low
    Price High
    Year (Old)
    Year (New)
    Prices: In Bond Inc. TAX
    Product Name Region Qty Score Price
    Coastal Region 1 96 (WA)
    Inc. TAX
    €491.33
    View

    Wine Advocate (96)

    The 2013 Vin de Constance Natural Sweet Wine was matured in 500-liter barrels for around 36 months. It has a beautiful bouquet with honey, quince, pressed yellow flowers and Mirabelle. It has wonderful definition and purity. The palate is very well balanced with a mellifluous texture and beautifully judged acidity as it just sashays along. It fans out on the finish with honey, quince, a touch of rhubarb and ginger, extraordinarily persistent in the mouth. Matthew Day, current winemaker, opined that he thought the 2012 would be the best ever, but the freshness might see it overtaken. This is awesome.
    More Info
    Coastal Region 2 96 (TA)
    Inc. TAX
    €498.53
    View

    Tim Atkin MW (96)

    South Africa's Sweet Wine of the Year 2017.
    More Info
    Coastal Region 1 98 (DC)
    Inc. TAX
    €434.93
    View

    Decanter (98)

    An historical wine, Vin de Constance has been re-established in the last few years as one of the world’s finest sweet wines. Dried Muscat grapes are aged for three years before bottling, in French and Hungarian casks with a touch of acacia wood. Citrus, orange zest, rosewater and spice notes leap out of the glass. The palate has a laser-like focus with massive sweetness perfectly balanced by acidity and a mineral finish. As impressive as Château d’Yquem (and considerably better value).
    More Info
    Coastal Region 1 98 (TA)
    Inc. TAX
    €452.93
    View

    Tim Atkin MW (98)

    Increasingly celebrated as one of the great sweet wines of the world, not just the Cape, Vin de Constance is a delight to taste and review. Slightly drier than the 205 release at 165 grams of sugar, it has more in common with the Loire or Tokaji than it does with Sauternes in terms of freshness and structure.
    More Info
    Coastal Region 1 98 (TA)
    Inc. TAX
    €464.93
    View

    Tim Atkin MW (98)

    "Lighter and lighter" is the motto at Klein Constantia these days, according to Matt Day. The latest, world-class release of Vin de Constance certainly doesn’t lack sweetness at 165 grams or even concentration, but it has a freshness that's reminiscent of Vouvray or Barsac. Subtly wooded in 50% new barrels, it unfurls layers of citrus, toast and tarte tatin, with a drizzle of honey and vivid acidity and palate length. Bravo!
    More Info
    Coastal Region 4 19.5++ (MJ)
    Inc. TAX
    €384.53
    View

    Matthew Jukes (19.5++)

    I am informed by the top man at Klein Constantia that the price will be the same as last year’s superb 2017 and all of the likely candidates in the UK are likely to hold stock. It will require a little effort on Google and you will see that a large number of wine merchants will list 2018 Vin de Constance and while the prices swing around like no other wine I know, at £60 or so, for a half litre, it certainly makes sense to me and when you consider the sheer quality of this vintage, it is a bargain for this celestial experience. Stock is likely to arrive in September 2021, but do feel free to register your interest with your preferred wine merchant now. Vintage reports suggest that the build-up to the 2018 harvest brought the highest summer rainfall of the last six years and, combined with some of the coldest night-time temperatures on record, the vines were granted a very long and very slow growing season. These conditions have imbued extreme delicacy of perfume and flavour and also staggering concentration and length in this wine. It also means that the 2018 vintage has otherworldly characteristics and I cannot remember a young vintage tasting so refined and demure. Light bunches and tiny Muscat de Frontignan berries underline just how unusual this vintage was and with a harvest that was a fortnight later than average and crops down by about 15% all of these facts make sense when you taste this ethereal wine. Aged for three years in a combination of 50% new French oak barrels, a small number of acacia barrels, as well as large format foudres, this is both a sensual and also sensitive wine. For a start, the colour is incredibly pale – think a young Sancerre! But the viscosity is amazing when you pour a glass because the liquid moves ever so slightly slower and more deliberately into the glass. The lights come on and the brain fires up immediately and it takes you by surprise just how quickly your olfactory system senses that you are in the presence of greatness. I was in a state of heightened anticipation, long before I raised the glass to my lips and the reward is exquisite. The perfume and palate combine in an astral haze of delight with orange blossom, fig, lemon verbena, wild honey and acacia notes caressing your senses. The texture is super-smooth, incredibly long and unnervingly gentle. It certainly possesses the longest finish I can remember on a Vin de Constance and I have, very fortunately, a tasted huge number of vintages of this wine. If you have never tasted this wine before, please start with this vintage – it will blow your mind. If you have and you are a fan, this is a critical purchase for your collection. I cannot wait to add this wine to my cellar later in the year.
    More Info
    Coastal Region 1 98 (DC)
    Inc. TAX
    €374.93
    View

    Decanter (98)

    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!
    More Info
    Product Name Region Qty Score Price
    Coastal Region 1 96 (WA)
    In Bond
    €397.00
    View

    Wine Advocate (96)

    The 2013 Vin de Constance Natural Sweet Wine was matured in 500-liter barrels for around 36 months. It has a beautiful bouquet with honey, quince, pressed yellow flowers and Mirabelle. It has wonderful definition and purity. The palate is very well balanced with a mellifluous texture and beautifully judged acidity as it just sashays along. It fans out on the finish with honey, quince, a touch of rhubarb and ginger, extraordinarily persistent in the mouth. Matthew Day, current winemaker, opined that he thought the 2012 would be the best ever, but the freshness might see it overtaken. This is awesome.
    More Info
    Coastal Region 2 96 (TA)
    In Bond
    €403.00
    View

    Tim Atkin MW (96)

    South Africa's Sweet Wine of the Year 2017.
    More Info
    Coastal Region 1 98 (DC)
    In Bond
    €350.00
    View

    Decanter (98)

    An historical wine, Vin de Constance has been re-established in the last few years as one of the world’s finest sweet wines. Dried Muscat grapes are aged for three years before bottling, in French and Hungarian casks with a touch of acacia wood. Citrus, orange zest, rosewater and spice notes leap out of the glass. The palate has a laser-like focus with massive sweetness perfectly balanced by acidity and a mineral finish. As impressive as Château d’Yquem (and considerably better value).
    More Info
    Coastal Region 1 98 (TA)
    In Bond
    €365.00
    View

    Tim Atkin MW (98)

    Increasingly celebrated as one of the great sweet wines of the world, not just the Cape, Vin de Constance is a delight to taste and review. Slightly drier than the 205 release at 165 grams of sugar, it has more in common with the Loire or Tokaji than it does with Sauternes in terms of freshness and structure.
    More Info
    Coastal Region 1 98 (TA)
    In Bond
    €375.00
    View

    Tim Atkin MW (98)

    "Lighter and lighter" is the motto at Klein Constantia these days, according to Matt Day. The latest, world-class release of Vin de Constance certainly doesn’t lack sweetness at 165 grams or even concentration, but it has a freshness that's reminiscent of Vouvray or Barsac. Subtly wooded in 50% new barrels, it unfurls layers of citrus, toast and tarte tatin, with a drizzle of honey and vivid acidity and palate length. Bravo!
    More Info
    Coastal Region 4 19.5++ (MJ)
    In Bond
    €308.00
    View

    Matthew Jukes (19.5++)

    I am informed by the top man at Klein Constantia that the price will be the same as last year’s superb 2017 and all of the likely candidates in the UK are likely to hold stock. It will require a little effort on Google and you will see that a large number of wine merchants will list 2018 Vin de Constance and while the prices swing around like no other wine I know, at £60 or so, for a half litre, it certainly makes sense to me and when you consider the sheer quality of this vintage, it is a bargain for this celestial experience. Stock is likely to arrive in September 2021, but do feel free to register your interest with your preferred wine merchant now. Vintage reports suggest that the build-up to the 2018 harvest brought the highest summer rainfall of the last six years and, combined with some of the coldest night-time temperatures on record, the vines were granted a very long and very slow growing season. These conditions have imbued extreme delicacy of perfume and flavour and also staggering concentration and length in this wine. It also means that the 2018 vintage has otherworldly characteristics and I cannot remember a young vintage tasting so refined and demure. Light bunches and tiny Muscat de Frontignan berries underline just how unusual this vintage was and with a harvest that was a fortnight later than average and crops down by about 15% all of these facts make sense when you taste this ethereal wine. Aged for three years in a combination of 50% new French oak barrels, a small number of acacia barrels, as well as large format foudres, this is both a sensual and also sensitive wine. For a start, the colour is incredibly pale – think a young Sancerre! But the viscosity is amazing when you pour a glass because the liquid moves ever so slightly slower and more deliberately into the glass. The lights come on and the brain fires up immediately and it takes you by surprise just how quickly your olfactory system senses that you are in the presence of greatness. I was in a state of heightened anticipation, long before I raised the glass to my lips and the reward is exquisite. The perfume and palate combine in an astral haze of delight with orange blossom, fig, lemon verbena, wild honey and acacia notes caressing your senses. The texture is super-smooth, incredibly long and unnervingly gentle. It certainly possesses the longest finish I can remember on a Vin de Constance and I have, very fortunately, a tasted huge number of vintages of this wine. If you have never tasted this wine before, please start with this vintage – it will blow your mind. If you have and you are a fan, this is a critical purchase for your collection. I cannot wait to add this wine to my cellar later in the year.
    More Info
    Coastal Region 1 98 (DC)
    In Bond
    €300.00
    View

    Decanter (98)

    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!
    More Info
    In Bond
    Inc. TAX

    Products

    (7)

    List Grid

    7 Products

    Name
    Price Low
    Price High
    Year (Old)
    Year (New)

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