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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 93.8 pts. and median of 94 pts. in 146 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by acyso on 2/4/2024 & rated 88 points: Vinetasters: (mostly) 2010 Burgundy (Park Ridge, IL): More interesting than good to me -- a herbal, licorice, and almost chartreuse-like quality to the nose and palate here; it's a bit too medicinal for my tastes to be honest. Surprisingly light in texture despite the sweetness. (2037 views) | | | Tasted by AGELVIS on 11/24/2023 & rated 86 points: Coravined. Very very deep amber color. Rosé petals and honeycomb. There’s a hint of tartness on the palate. Unique, sweet white. Not at all my style. Even so, I appreciate Mark1NPT sharing it. ;) (1992 views) | | | Tasted by Mackmoo on 9/11/2023: Darkened a lot. Tastes more complex. (1624 views) | | | Tasted by psi on 9/9/2023 & rated 94 points: Great wine. More mature than I would have imagined, but with some years ahead of it. Loved it. (1124 views) | | | Tasted by AllRed on 7/22/2023 & rated 96 points: 4th Saturday Brown Bagger (J&L's): Light amber color. Peach and apricot qualities with a terrific floral overtone. Hints of honey and pear. Lingering finish. (1934 views) | | | Tasted by Theamateurwinesnob on 6/28/2023: Orange and apricot marmalade, floral honey, cedar, really good acidity, orange peel finish, salinity. I loved this wine! (1645 views) | | | Tasted by ChateauDutremble on 2/18/2023 & rated 95 points: Renversant ! Superbe nez de miel, de noix et d'orange confit, et succulent...onctueux...simplement exquis et parmi un des meilleurs que j'ai dégusté. Irrésistible ! (2119 views) | | | Tasted by Sneakaway on 1/7/2023 & rated 93 points: Admirable. Dynamique, tendu et d’une stature impressionnante. Un monument ! (1829 views) | | | Tasted by aquacongas on 10/30/2022 & rated 93 points: not blind
dark colour as always with aged VdC but fresh in the palate. In his young stage it was a beauty and still is. Perfect with cheese. 93 (2283 views) | | | Tasted by gediminasbielskus on 4/13/2022 & rated 94 points: I love this wine. The nose is ridiculously complex with everything from flowers, orange peel, various baking spices, coffee beans, and stone fruit.
Palate follows through with being very viscous and persistent and importantly in balance. (2844 views) | | | Tasted by RED AND BLACK on 4/3/2022 & rated 93 points: With AM. This is really good quality, it's light but it's heavy. Nose reminds me of Sauternes of high quality. But it's different. It has some Tokaji notes on palate. First one I tried and keen to experience more and get better understanding at this but this was really good (2686 views) | | | Tasted by JRockEsq on 2/27/2022 & rated 91 points: Opened to celebrate our dog, Sadie, who was born in 2007 and passed today
Method: around 50 degrees; pop and pour; white wine glass
Look: medium- rust orange; very viscous
Nose: orange, honey, nutmeg, apricot, graham cracker, dry earth, leather, flowers, fresh sage; super complex; and expressive
Palate: Honey, apricot, nutmeg, graham cracker, golden raisin; long finish of orange peel, nutmeg, cinnamon, dried herbs, white pepper; medium+ sweetness; full body; low- tannin; high- acidity; can sense higher alcohol on attack (but not quite hot)
Overall thoughts: Much more complex than I was expecting. Great full body and concentration with great balance. It's a bit more bitter than I prefer my dessert wines to be and I guess I'm spoiled by Riesling's very low alcohol. Still, this a great and distinct wine. (2531 views) | | | Tasted by MSheridan on 12/10/2021 & rated 96 points: just a small glass from the 50cl bottle shared at WIMPS xmas lunch.
Masses of depth and richness to this sweet amber nectar (not in the castlemaine XXXX context) with lashings of acidity keeping it vibrant and far from cloying. This will continue to reward for a good few decades yet. (2630 views) | | | Tasted by jmht on 11/28/2021 & rated 95 points: Delicious. (2527 views) | | | Tasted by PDX-S on 11/3/2021: First experience with this particular wine/producer-
Day 4 after simply re-corking/no gas.
What an unbelievably glorious color. A golden apricot caramel color in the glass, like a copper sunset.
Aromas of honeyed almonds and orange blossoms greet the nose effusively, while a little baked pear aroma lingers in the background.
Simply delicious. The aromatic components make a graceful appearances on the palate in one way or another. A delicate floral honey note, tangerine skin, blanched almonds, peaches in syrup and perhaps just a touch of pine resin.
It is rich and luxurious, while having enough complementary acid to carry a pleasantly persistent finish for minutes.
I have a few bottles from another vintage on order, but I am led to believe that this 2007 is an exceptional vintage and without a frame of reference for the producer, I can simply say this is an outstanding dessert wine. I hope the incoming bottles are somewhere in the ballpark. (2178 views) | | | Tasted by gtilley on 10/3/2021: My word this is really something. Bright, intense orange colour. Piercing acidity. Thick, unctuous peachy fruit on the palate. Tastes as if it will live forever. (2273 views) | | | Tasted by Mark1npt on 7/5/2021 & rated 96 points: The closer for the night.....rich, thick orange muscat with a honeyed apricot and a very viscous delivery. Smooth....just wonderfully balanced with the proper acidic backbone. This has many years left but this bottle was gone! (4936 views) | | | Tasted by Cailles on 6/23/2021 & rated 95 points: Vin de Constance 07 vs 17. While not my favorite style of sweet wines, I enjoy to taste these wines occasionally thanks to their freshness and usually quite complex aromatics. Both vintages showcased these traits with the 2007 winning for me thanks to more age, complexity and lots of saffron aromas I love.
TN: At first the nose was a bit off with some cardboard scents but with time the intense saffron notes and underlying tropical fruit took over. The palate was much more interesting and easily deserves 95/96 points as it is very layered with lots of saffron, quince, apricots, minerality and herbs, honey. The intensity is high but met by a strong but round acidity keeping it light and airy enough. The texture is beautifully creamy and the finish is long and full of saffron and apricot cake. I prefered this more mature and less tropical fruit profile and the added complexity by the age.
Decanting: Not decanted, it got better with a bit of air. A short stay in the decanter should do good things here. (3425 views) | | | Tasted by kevinpatrick on 6/10/2021: Wine Night in Charlotte -- Cork Vault Bottle Share Returns! (Charlotte, NC): Brilliant amber-brown color. Delightful notes of apricot, caramel, and honey. A fantastic dessert wine to end the evening. Did we really need more alcohol at this hour? No. Did I thoroughly enjoy my pour? Absolutely. (3034 views) | | | Tasted by Captain Haddock on 6/8/2021 & rated 95 points: A stunning wine, brassy orange colour, dill and passion fruit on the nose, great viscous mouthfeel, tropical fruit on the palate. Finishes dry with a lovely hint of sea breeze. (3051 views) | | | Tasted by jac-aranda on 5/31/2021 & rated 92 points: Startlingly vibrant deep gold-orange, fading to chrome yellow at the edges. Sluggish and syrupy in the glass. A nose of apricot and peach, with bitter orange marmalade and a hint of resinous cedarwood - and the saffron that another reviewer identified. Super-sweet and very complex: there's orange rind, orange-blossom-water, and more apricot; luscious ripe greengage and an underlying fugitive hint of some sweet, woody spice like mace. But despite the sweetness, the balancing acidity keeps this a grown-up wine. This bottle was still fresh and bright, with none of the tiredness or oxidation that I've noticed in some other older vintages. I suspect Klein Constantia began investing in better corks in the early 2000s, which probably helped the longevity of Vin de Constance. (2638 views) | | | Tasted by sirpat00 on 4/24/2021 & rated 94 points: Tasted alongside the 2017. Tangerine, saffron, candid apple, honey melon, fine layer of spice and forest honey. melon. fresh and electric acidity with the sweetness so well integrated and a very long finish that unleashes a layered aromatic complexity. From this bottle, at least, both the brownish, orange colour and the aged aromatics would lead you to an easily 20 years older wine. (2767 views) | | | Tasted by kevinpatrick on 4/10/2021 & rated 94 points: Aged Napa versus Aged Bordeaux at Cork Vault (Charlotte, NC): Opened to close the evening. Deeply rich amber-brown in appearance. Fantastic balance of sweet notes and acid, this sweet wine displayed tasty flavors of apricot, orange marmalade, caramel, and a hint of honey. A worthy capstone on the evening this rich, savory “sauterne” had a beautifully long finish. Universal praise for this closing selection. (2819 views) | | | Tasted by Mark1npt on 2/9/2021 & rated 95 points: Finished the last small bit from a bottle that had been coravined last year, opened for company a month ago, cork put back in and sat in the fridge since then. Man, oh man........nose is lovely orange fruit....once it comes to room temp, it is heaven...honey, orange marmalade, more citrus, glycerin.....only negative is a slight, duller muted ending with a slight off taste that I can't place my finger on. Acidity is still there for more time but this bottle was clearly open a long time and still shines so well! (4005 views) | | | Tasted by Chekib m. on 12/24/2020 & rated 97 points: Very deep amber.
Wonderful fresh and intense nose of everything you wish for; orange marmelade, mandarines, baked apricot.
It is full body, very high acidity and obviously sweet, but the sweetness is kept in check and balanced by the acidity. Orange marmelade, fresh mandarines, apricot. Mineral. Extremely long and savoury.
One of my favourite sweet wine especially this vintage with its high acidity. (2401 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Neal Martin
Vinous, Constance Craving: Vin de Constance 1992-2017 (Sep 2020) (9/1/2020)
(Klein Constantia Vin De Constance Sweet White) Subscribe to see review text. | By Andy Howard MW
Decanter, Vin de Constance (3/3/2020)
(Klein Constantia, Vin de Constance, Constantia, South Africa, White) Subscribe to see review text. | By Julia Harding, MW
JancisRobinson.com (3/27/2013)
(Klein Constantia, Vin de Constance Constantia White) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (10/4/2012)
(Klein Constantia, Vin de Constance Constantia White) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous and Decanter and JancisRobinson.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Klein Constantia Producer websiteKlein Constantia Vin de Constance Producer's website. Additional Producer page.
This wine is sold in 500 mL size, not 750 mL.Muscat de FrontignanFrom article 'Muscat' downloaded 3/17/2018 jht
Muscat blanc à Petits Grains is known by many names worldwide, including Muscat Blanc (white Muscat) in France and the United States), Muscat Canelli in the United States, Moscato Bianco (white Moscato) in Italy, Muscat Frontignan in South Africa, Moschato in Greece, Brown Muscat in Australia, Muskateller in Germany and Austria, Muscat de Grano Menudo in Spain, and Muscat de Frontignan and Muscat Lunel in France. While the "petits grains" in the grape's name accurately describes the small, round berries of the vine, some wine experts, such as Oz Clarke, believe that the term "Muscat blanc" is misleading, since the grapevine is notorious for its frequent color mutations siring clusters of berries in nearly every shade possible though most commonly the grape berries are a deep yellow after veraison. In some vineyards, vines of Muscat blanc à Petits Grains are known to produce clusters of berries of different colors that change every vintage.[5]
The precise origins of Muscat blanc à Petits Grains are not known, though Greece and Italy can both make compelling cases due to the proliferation of clones, mutations and offspring.[3] Today, the grape is found throughout the wine-producing world, making a wide range of wine, from light, sweet sparkling and semi-sparkling Asti and Moscato d'Asti wine in the Piedmont wine region of Italy and Clairette de Die region of France, fortified vin doux naturels (VdN) in southern France in AOC regions such as Muscat de Beaume de Venise, Muscat de Saint-Jean de Minervois and Muscat de Frontignan, fortified Liqueur Muscat in the Victoria wine region of Rutherglen in Australia, to dry wines in the Wachau wine of Austria and Südsteiermark.[5]
Nearly all the most notable sweet Muscats of Greece, particularly those from the island of Samos and the city of Patras on the Peloponnese are made from Muscat blanc à Petits Grains. In the history of South African wine, the famous dessert wine of Constantia was made from this variety of Muscat and while today Muscat of Alexandria is more widely planted in South Africa, producers around Constantia are trying to reclaim some of the region's viticultural acclaim by replanting more Muscat blanc à Petits Grains and making wines in the style of the original Constantia.[3]
[AS VERSUS]:
Muscat of Alexandria
The berries of Muscat of Alexandria clusters are larger and more oval-shaped than those of Muscat blanc à Petits Grains
While the grape's name harkens to the city of Alexandria and suggest an ancient Egyptian origin, DNA analysis has shown that Muscat of Alexandria is the result of a natural crossing between Muscat blanc à Petits Grains and the Greek wine grape Axina de Tres Bias. Though as Axina de Tres Bias has also been historically grown in Sardinia and Malta, the precise location and origins of Muscat of Alexandria cannot be determined. Compared to Muscat blanc à Petits Grains, Muscat of Alexandria tends to produce large, moderately loose clusters of large oval-shaped berries that are distinctive from the much smaller, round berries of Muscat blanc à Petits Grains.[5]
Like most Muscat varieties, Muscat of Alexandria is notable for being a desirable raisin and table grape. This is due in part to the grape's high tolerance of heat and drought conditions. While it is used in wine production (most notably on the island of Pantelleria between Sicily and Tunisia, where it makes a passito style dessert wine under the name of "Zibibbo"), the grape lags far behind the reputation of Muscat blanc à Petits Grains. This is partly because Muscat of Alexandria is very vigorous and prone to produce high yields that can be easily overcropped as well as a more assertive aroma profile due to a higher concentration of the monoterpene geraniol, which produces a geranium scent, and lower concentration of nerol which a more fresh, sweet rose aroma.[5]
In France, Muscat of Alexandria is most prominent as a blending component (with Muscat blanc à Petits Grains) in the VdN wines of Muscat de Rivesaltes AOC in the Roussillon wine region. The grape is the primary Muscat variety in Spain, where it is known as Moscatel, though the majority of the country's plantings are used for table grapes and raisins, rather than for wine production. Likewise, in Chile, most of the Moscatel in that country is used to produce the distilled drink "pisco".[5]
In South Africa, Muscat of Alexandria is known as "Hanepoot" and was the fourth-most widely planted white wine grape variety in the country until the early 2000s. While some of the plantings were used for wine production, particularly for fortified wine, many plantings were used for the production of grape concentrate and raisins.[4] In California, there is still more plantings of Muscat of Alexandria than any other Muscat variety, with most of these grapes going into anonymous jug wines from the Central Valley.[5] As in many other places in the world, the grape had a long history of use in the United States as a raisin variety, though in the 1920s, plantings of Muscat of Alexandria began to decline as producers turned to more popular seedless grape varieties.[3]South Africa Wines of South Africa |
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