Vinous - Stephen Tanzer (87-88)

(from 45-year-old vines in Concoeur, in the hills behind Vosne-Romanée; there was no frost here in 2016 but vines in a small valley just 500 meters away were decimated, according to Tardy; 12.1% natural alcohol chaptalized to 12.8%): Healthy dark red. Ripe, sappy aromas of black cherry, black raspberry and licorice. A medium-bodied wine with sweet berry and cherry fruit flavors framed by a firm edge of acidity and complicated by a leathery nuance. Lovely vinosity here, with an acidulated red fruit character and fine, dusty tannins that suggest this wine will evolve slowly. Tardy told me that Domaine Berthaut-Gerbet and Domaine Arlaud own vines in the same windy, rocky, essentially flat site.

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!

Wine Advocate (88)

The 2014 Bourgogne Blanc has developed nicely during the remainder of its élevage since I tasted it from stainless steel tank, offering apple blossom, flint and smoky scents that possess much more character. The palate is fresh on the entry with citrus peel and fresh Granny Smith, well judged acidity and a bright and lively finish. This is precisely what you want from a Bourgogne Blanc. Tasted December 2016.

Wine Advocate (88)

Aromas of cherries, spices and rich soil tones introduce the 2019 Bourgogne Côte d'Or Pinot Noir, a medium-bodied, supple and charming wine that's lively and expressive, with succulent acids and a pretty core of fragrant fruit. This lovely wine was produced from domaine-grown grapes.

Burghound (86-89)

(mostly from Pr meaux vines). Ripe aromas of various dark berries, warm earth and a whiff of the sauvage lead to attractively textured and rich flavors that possess fine mid-palate density, all wrapped in a rustic and robust finish that offers better than average complexity for a wine at this level. (86-89)/2024+

Burghound (86-89)

A notably ripe yet attractively fresh nose speaks of both red and dark berries along with soft earth nuances. There is fine volume to the relatively full-bodied flavors that possess a lovely mid-plate texture before concluding in a mildly rustic and warm finish. Still, this is really quite good and worth considering as a quality option for an all-around house red.

Vinous (88)

Good medium red. Spicy red fruits complicated by soil nuances on the nose. Showed a captivating red cherry perfume with air, along with harmonious acidity and considerable finesse. Finishes juicy and firmly tannic, with noteworthy floral persistence for its appellation. Groffier told me he did no extraction at all for half of this cuvée. As in many past vintages, this should make a serious Bourgogne and yet it also conveys a relaxed quality. (Incidentally, the estate's Passetoutgrains, which includes one-third Gamay, is also a winner in 2016, offering juicy, savory red fruit aromas and flavors and a firm finish.)