Wine Advocate (98)

The amazing, pedal to the metal/full throttle/balls to the wall, sweet 1910 Pedro Ximenez Solera is a dark amber-colored, full-bodied, unctuously-textured beauty that should be sipped and savored slowly and carefully at the end of a meal with a plate of cashews. It is remarkable stuff. The price is not high for what it represents.

Wine Advocate (98)

The NV Pedro Ximenez Solera 1927 is non-vintage, but does have some 1927 material in it. This is totally dark brown/amber with notes of figs, toffee, caramel syrup, molasses and coffee. It is dense, super sweet, intense, rich and an amazingly, unctuously textured, thick beverage to consume slowly and introspectively after a meal. Drink now through 2050, or even longer.

Wine Advocate (100)

Following a very long harvest stretching nearly two months, the 2015 Château d'Yquem came in at 13.9% alcohol and 144 grams per liter of residual sugar, sporting a pH of 3.65 and six grams per liter of tartaric acid. None of these numbers, however, even remotely begin to tell you how profound this wine is. The nose opens with electric notes of ripe pineapples, green mango, orange blossoms and lemon tart with hints of fungi, lime zest, crushed rocks and jasmine. The freshness on the palate is just astonishing, permeating and lifting layer upon layer of tropical fruits and earthy notions, all encased in a sumptuous texture and culminating in a very, very long, mineral-tinged finish. Truly, this is a legendary vintage for d'Yquem. I've been conservative with my drinking window here, and I would not be at all surprised if our descendants are drinking this vintage well into the next century.

Vinous - Neal Martin (98)

Owners LVMH took the decision to delay the release of the 2019 Yquem until spring 2022. It was tasted with winemaker Sandrine Garbay in London. After the summer drought when Sauternes received just 2.5mm of rain until 26 July, that day saw a 112mm deluge that replenished underground reserves and gave ripening the push it needed. Dry and warm conditions prevailed throughout September when there was no sign of botrytis infection. That was finally provoked by 38mm of rain between 21 and 25 of September, followed by warm clement weather. After minor picking of Sauvignon Blanc on 7 of October, the main harvest began in earnest on 10 October. Pickers worked over the following five days, including Sunday. Time was of the essence because, as forecasts predicted, the weather suddenly changed on 14 of October with 40mm or rain. After that, the picking teams skirted between showers between 17 and 22 of October, though by now the fruit had begun to deteriorate. Therefore, the key aspect of this Yquem is the extremely tight picking window. The final blend contains 138g/L residual sugar, which is slightly less than the previous vintage, with 5.5g/L total acidity and 14.4% alcohol. Tasting the 2019, I noticed that it has a slightly paler hue compared to recent vintages (though I never read too much into the colour of young Sauternes.) For certain, it has a highly-aromatic bouquet that is beguiling in purity, enticing aromas of honeysuckle and saffron, soon joined by camomile, white flowers and orange blossom. It has wonderful delineation and gains intensity with aeration. The palate is supremely well-balanced with fine bead of acidity. Very harmonious and armed with just the right amount of viscosity, this Yquem is surprisingly understated at first but gains presence, offering irresistible flavours of layers of honey, lemongrass, lemon thyme and orange pith. Yquem is so tempting in its youth, but I feel that this vintage will repay those with the nous to cellar for at least a decade.

Platter’s Wine Guide (96)

5* First in SA; 21st vintage in 2017. Sumptuous and sensual dessert wine from shade-dried chenin, 30 months in 50% new barrels. A taste sensation of exotic tropical fruit, sundried apricot, toast hazelnut and a hint of vanilla; terrifc acid ballance.

James Suckling (99)

What a nose! This smells like essence of peach with a delicate, floral-honey overtone. Seems to vibrate on the palate, thanks to the staggering minerality and totally vibrant acidity. Extremely complex and energetic finish that goes on and on. Very limited production. From organically grown grapes with Fair'n Green certification. Drink or hold.

Wine Advocate (98)

Picked a few days before the GG, the 2021 Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese is based on highly ripe Riesling berries and opens with a clear, lemony, pure, fresh and finely concentrated bouquet with grapefruit, lime and slate aromas. Basket pressed, this is a lush and generous, pure, saline and piquant Auslese with a long, intense and highly stimulating finish with very fine bitters. The Hermannshöhle was picked with the highest must weight and acidity level and represents the most complex and generous yet also precise Auslese of the vintage. 8% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine in July 2022.

Vinous (96)

The 2022 Riesling Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Auslese takes a while to open up. Finally, it does with a serene sense of ripe apricot, followed by a lovely citrus spectrum, ranging from lime and lemon, the merest overtone of candied lemon to tangerine with some crushed chamomile thrown in. Again, the palate is defined by Riesling rather than botrytis, bringing a rich but toned sweetness, intense, stealing your heart with its stealthy charm. It's fluid, smooth, serene, bright and laden with citrus and grapefruit spice on the long finish. (Sweet)

Vinous (93+)

Pale golden yellow. Peach pit, guava and lemon oil on the nose, with hardly a hint of botrytis. Luscious citrus fruits are refreshed by a cool minerality and bracing acidity. An ethereal weightlessness and elegant spiciness dominate the finish. In a pure, classical style, with undeniable class.

Vinous (97)

The 2019 Fleurfontein comprises pure Sauvignon Blanc and was matured in Hungarian and French oak for 18 months. It has a fabulous bouquet of irresistible scents of honey, apricot jam, mango and passion fruit, all beautifully defined. The palate is balanced with a fine bead of acidity that slices effortlessly though the marmalade and quince notes. This sweet wine exudes heavenly poise; it’s almost Sauternes-like on the finish. Another fabulous Fleurfontein.

Tim Atkin MW (96)

South Africa's Sweet Wine of the Year 2017.

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).

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.

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.

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!

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (97)

The 2020 Doisy-Daëne L'Extravagant is gracious and light on its feet. Scents of tangerine peel, mint, lemon confit, marzipan, jasmine and passionfruit are all beautifully lifted. Weightless and elegant, L'Extravagant is wonderfully subdued in 2020.

Wine Advocate (96)

In vintages with ample botrytis, an Encore Riesling is produced. I'd put the 2016 Encore Riesling up against many German beerenauslesen. It's wonderfully sweet and rich (210 grams per liter residual sugar), with pristine apricot and marmalade notes balanced by bright acids. If you want to quibble, it might be too clean and precise, but the balance is superb and the finish lasts into next week. Wow!

James Suckling (98)

Very lush and exotic. This lives from the almost erotic interplay of enormous ripeness, creamy richness and the fresh acidity that makes this massive wine so bright and enticing. This could live a century!

Wine Advocate (98)

Picked on January 7, the 2016 Rheingau Riesling Kiedrich Gräfenberg Eiswein is super precise and spicy on the concentrated and aromatic nose where pineapple and some ethereal, spicy aromas are displayed. The wine is rich, round and elegant on the palate, very sweet but also piquant and pure, with very fine tannins and a long, vibrant finish. This is a truly great Eiswein with mind-blowing precision and sensual intensity. Total production: 900 liters. Tasted in October 2017.

James Suckling (100)

A gently spicy thread here with all manner of fresh fruit that’s just so ripe. This offers very intense mangoes and apricots with peach essence and gentle candied kumquat. The palate is like a perfect sphere of flavor, completely seamless. This is melded together by an extraordinary vintage and delivered to the greatest heights of sweetness and balance. Really a perfect wine. Drink over decades.

Wine Advocate (99)

The 2004 Passito Rosso Vino Dolce Vigna Seré (500-mililiter) is a masterpiece that is impossible to repeat. In fact, the wine has not been produced since 2004. Even if a vintage as good as this did come along, we'd need to wait another 13 years before we could enjoy this level of maturity and evolution. Formally a Recioto della Valpolicella, this sweet red wine is made with air-dried fruit as local tradition dictates. Luckily no botrytis set in that year, because that would have eroded the wine's deep and luscious color saturation. The bouquet delivers a generous flow of dark spice, bitter chocolate, espresso, raisin, plum, barbecue spice and teriyaki smoke. The concentration and layering of the wine are both rare and distinctive. The mouthfeel sees sweet flavors with a syrupy mouthfeel. The finish offers hints of caramelized brown sugar and savory hickory. The aging window is impossible to predict, but the wine is surely built to last. I can think of no other wine that comes close to matching this unique style.

Wine Enthusiast (96)

Gold reflections glimmer in this amber-colored sweet wine that has aromas of apricot, yellow peach and Bartlett pear. The palate shows flavors of acacia honey, canned apricot and Anjou pear. The finish has enough acidity to stand up to the sweetness.

Decanter World Wine Awards (96)

Inviting youthful nose peach, mango marmalade, quince and honeyed undertones. The palate is fresh and focused, quite layered with a lovely balance and length.

James Suckling (96)

Intense nose of candied fig, dried pineapple, ginger, spice, candied lemon, honeysuckle and acacia honey. Sweet and luscious with zesty acidity. Lingering honey and lemon notes. Dense and tight center-palate. Blend of single vineyards. 100% furmint. Give it time to open, but already so impressive.

Each case contains 1 bottle each of:

1. Mezes Maly Great First Growth 6 Puttonyos 2008 | 18.5/20 points Jancis Robinson MW
2. Szt Tamas First Growth 6 Puttonyos 2008 | 19/20 points Jancis Robinson MW
3. Nyulaszo First Growth 6 Puttonyos 2008 | 18.5/20 points Jancis Robinson MW
4. Betsek First Growth 6 Puttonyos 2008 | 18/20 points Jancis Robinson MW
5. Birsalmas Second Growth Aszu 6 Puttonyos 2008 | 18.5/20 points Jancis Robinson MW
6. Gold Label 6 Puttonyos 2008 | 17/20 points Jancis Robinson MW

1 x 50cl each of the following selection:
Royal Tokaji Blue Label 5 Puttonyos 2016 | 17.5+/20 Jancis Robinson
Royal Tokaji Aszu Tokaji Gold Label 6 Puttonyos 2016 | 17+/20 Jancis Robinson
Royal Tokaji Szt Tamas First Growth 6 Puttonyos 2016 | 18++/20 Jancis Robinson
Royal Tokaji Mezes Maly Great First Growth 6 Puttonyos 2016 | 18.5++/20 Jancis Robinosn
Royal Tokaji Betsek First Growth 6 Puttonyos 2016 | 18+/20 Jancis Robinson
Royal Tokaji Nyulaszo First Growth 6 Puttonyos 2016 | 17+/20 Jancis Robinson

Wine Enthusiast (99)

#19 ENTHUSIAST 100 2022 This wine comes from one of Tokaji's most famous vineyards. It is light amber in color with heady aromas of honeysuckle, freesia, beeswax and honey. It has pleasant heft on the palate and there are intense flavors of tinned peach, clover honey and apricot conserves. It is a well-made and well-balanced wine that ends on a sweet note and makes you want to go in for another and another, sip. Drink now–2050.