Klein Constantia - Vin de Constance 2021 (liquoreux, 50cl)

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

This wine has been made in the same way since 1737. Klein Constantia 2021 Vin de Constance reflects a great vintage in Cape Town. The three-week period in March when the fruit is harvested is winemaker Matthew Day's favorite time of year. He loves the way the sun lights up this beautiful part of the vineyard. [...] The magic happens, he says, during maceration, when the aromas of candied fruit and honey invade the cellar. It's a beautifully balanced wine that rests on three pillars, all carefully aligned: sugar, acidity and alcohol. [The result is a sweet wine that seems almost dry thanks to its inner complexity and generous composition. Background notes of teak, fragrant sandalwood, nougat and Turkish tea will emerge more strongly as the wine continues to evolve in bottle. According to Matthew Day, Vin de Constance generally reaches its peak after five years in bottle, then begins a second cycle and opens up again. "It's absolutely stunning," he says. [...] The bouquet is discreet, so delicate, so fine. 2025-2060

Vinous

About the wine:

Vin de Constance 2021 comes from 27 different batches macerated for two weeks on the skins. With 173.5 grams per liter of residual sugar (as in 2020), it has a very pure, effervescent bouquet, with notes of quince, orange zest and a touch of marmalade, wonderfully defined and concentrated. The palate is extremely well balanced, with a viscous attack and very good weight on the palate, but the acidity (6.3 grams per liter) keeps it lively. Quite spicy on the finish, it lingers on the palate for a long time, and I can still smell it 30 seconds after tasting it. There's a real freshness and electricity here. Exceptional. 2025-2045

Tim Atkin

About the wine:

Produced in a year that Matt Day describes as "perfect" for Vin de Constance, with long, cool harvests spread over three weeks, the 2021 vintage shows no botrytis, but astonishing concentration, freshness and intensity. Made from a blend of 25 grape lots, this wine confirms its place among the world's greatest sweet wines, with its complex aromas of orange blossom, jasmine, quince, marmalade and tarte tatin, its 168 grams of residual sugar and its remarkable freshness and length on the palate. Drink between 2025 and 2036.

Jane Anson - Inside Bordeaux

About the wine:

A long, relatively cool season, with harvest two weeks later than usual, resulting in exceptional tension and a contrasting texture, both opulent and acidic. Very balanced and well balanced, it offers notes of bitter marmalade, lemon peel, mango, pineapple, crème caramel and succulent dried apricot, with great intensity and a long finish, enhanced by a touch of nutmeg, flint and walnut. Matthew Day, winemaker. 18 months in 500-liter Hungarian and French oak casks, 50% new, then 16 months in large oak barrels, 173 g/l residual sugar. 2025-2045