Region | |
---|---|
Subregion | South Africa |
Colour | Sweet White |
Type | Still |
Even better than the 2014 release - and that was a spectacular sweet wine - the 2015 Vin de Constance is one of the greatest ever vintages of this iconic sticky. More Barsac than Sauternes in terms of weight, it’s fresh and refined, a bit like the 2012, with citrus and orange zest balancing the 172 grams of sugar. The oak is perfectly judged, the length and freshness things of wonder. 2019-30
Just 30,000 50cl bottles of Vin de Constance are made each year, made solely from the raisins of Muscat grapes which are matured in a mixture of French and Hungarian oak as well as a touch of Accacia for 3 years before bottling. The result is a bright lemon colour and explosive aromatic of ripe citrus, grapes, rosewater and tangerine peel. With air, notes of vanilla, cinnamon and dried flowers also come through. On the palate the sweetness of sugar is matched by notes of orange blossom, juicy poached pear and sultana. Layers of spice and bright acidity give an ethereal, lifted, mineral quality to the wine which prevents any sensation of cloying. Instead, this wine finishes with notes of orange and lemon blossom, sweet spices, and a tingling acidity. This is superb already, but will evolve and improve with time. From the 2014 vintage these wines are now bottled under NDtech corks, a natural cork that has been tested to ensure any cork taint is below the detection threshold.