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.

Tim Atkin MW (98)

"Lighter and lighter" is the motto at Klein Constantia these days, according to Matt Day. The latest, world-class release of Vin de Constance certainly doesn’t lack sweetness at 165 grams or even concentration, but it has a freshness that's reminiscent of Vouvray or Barsac. Subtly wooded in 50% new barrels, it unfurls layers of citrus, toast and tarte tatin, with a drizzle of honey and vivid acidity and palate length. Bravo!

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 (94)

The 2020 Viognier The Age of Grace has a subtle, well-defined bouquet of detailed lemon sherbet, lemon thyme and crushed pebble scents, poised and, yes, graceful. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, and linear and quite steely toward the almost Chenin-like finish. This is not a flamboyant, Rhône-like Viognier – it’s is far more tensile and racy. It should age extremely well in bottle.

Wine Advocate (97)

Hands down the best Viognier in the country, the 2022 Estate Reserve Viognier is instantly impressive in the glass. It seduces and captivates with a delicate floral nose that overflows with aromas of just-ripe stone fruits and sweet citrus. Medium to full-bodied, the palate shows considerable weight with agile, succulent acidity before displaying an appropriate level of phenolic bitterness to keep things food friendly and fresh. The wine concludes with an elongated, ever-evolving finish that has me returning for more. Just under 1,600 bottles were produced. If you're a Viognier lover, you must seek out this bottling.

Christian Eedes (97)

Made from own vineyards that survived the fire and what a triumph it is. Matured for 11 months in 500-litre barrels, 40% new. The nose shows white peach, citrus and some struck-match reduction while the palate shows extraordinary concentration and well-integrated acidity before a super-long finish. It’s wonderfully well realized, possessing plenty of depth without sacrificing focus.

Vinous (94)

The 2021 Chardonnay Estate Reserve is 100% from Greyton matured for 11 months in 500-litre barrels, 40% new. It has a wonderful bouquet with honeydew melon, apricot blossom and light crushed stone scents that percolate through with time. The palate is very well balanced with tropical hints of passion fruit and guava, but the acidity keeps everything on a tight course, very minerally on the finish. Top class.

Vinous (96)

The 2022 Chardonnay Reserve comprises fruit from the Greyton homestead, which is oxidatively handled and fermented for 11 months in 500-liter barrels (25% new). After swirling to address the reduction, it reveals concentrated scents of dried honey, melted candle wax, orange blossom and a touch of grilled walnut. The palate is well-balanced with mineral-infused, slightly tropical fruit: quince and hints of guava that merge into a more mineral-driven taut finish. Quite a multi-faceted Chardonnay, this will age with style and panache. If that Corton-Charlemagne is a bit over-priced…and it probably is…then you know where to come.

Christian Eedes (93)

34% Grenache Blanc from Piekenierskloof, 31% Verdelho from Stellenbosch, 21% Roussanne from Stellenboch and 15% Chenin Blanc sourced from both Stellenbosch and Swartland. On the nose , white peach, potpourri and dried herbs. The palate is light bodied and tightly wound with pure fruit, fresh acidity and a very dry finish. Has a lovely restraint about it.

Christian Eedes (95)

50% Chenin Blanc, 42% Verdelho and 8% Grenache Blanc. Roussanne has been dropped from the mix this year while some of the Chenin Blanc is from the Piekenierskloof Skuinskap vineyard – Lourens opting not to release this as a standalone wine as he felt he left picking too late. Pretty and enticing aromatics of pear, peach, citrus plus hints of potpourri and dried herbs and a little flinty reduction while the palate has a dense core of fruit and comes across as entirely seamless. This is establishing itself as one of the best Cape White Blends around.

Discover the brilliance of Lukas Loggerenberg Trust Your Gut 2020, meticulously bundled by vastly admired South African winemaker, Lukas Loggerenberg. After a harvest from the exquisite Stellenbosch region, the grapes were 100% whole-bunch fermented, delicately handled, and left to mature for a year in old barrels. This simple yet intricate process results in a ethereal blend of distinctive citrus aromas and textured minerality, teeming with elegance and complexity.

Lukas Loggerenberg has swiftly received global recognition for his pioneering approach to winemaking, and the Lukas Loggerenberg Trust Your Gut 2020 is a captivating testament to his craft. This wine exudes Loggerenberg's philosophy of 'trust your gut', marrying intuition with artisan skill to create a wine of exceptional balance and depth. A bottle of Lukas Loggerenberg Trust Your Gut 2020 is indeed an experience, a journey in taste that celebrates the winemaker's passion and ingenuity, destined to impress even the most discerning palates.

Tim Atkin MW (95)

Block W is located in Faure, very close to the cooling breezes of False Bay on the Bredell farm and is my pick of the Mulderbosch Chenins in 2018. Intense, focused and mealy, with some added texture from 100% malolactic fermentation, lovely weight and concentration and a lingering, bone dry finish.

Tim Atkin MW (96)

"The hardest wine to make," says Andrea Mullineux of this Chenin Blanc from a nutrition-poor vineyard on the Kasteelbeg. But the effort is certainly worth it. Showing aromas of white flowers and gunflint, it has amazing focus, salinity and depth with linear acidity and notes of green apple, kitchen spices and umami.

Tim Atkin MW (95)

Chenin Blanc is the marquee variety here, with support from 26% Clairette Blanche, Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Semillon Gris, Viura and Verdelho, most of which is sourced from 37 to 70-year-old vines. Lemon, lime and wet stone flavours with some phenolic grip and remarkable palate length.

Greg Sherwood MW (95)

Bottled after 12 months, this is a very, very pretty vintage with lower yields but also beautiful fruit purity, precision and a wonderful fruit – acid balance. The aromatics are ripe, succulent and opulent showing honeysuckle, white blossom, lemon cordial, dried herbs and lovely white peach and pineapple pastille notes. Nevertheless, the stand out feature on the palate is undoubtedly the textural sophistication, harmony and chalky minerality combined with super tangy acids bursting with lemon rock candy, white peach and crystalline citrus flavours. Simply an incredible intensity with a harmoniously weightless balance combined with a long, piercing finish. This is definitely a noticeable step up on previous vintages and an incredible achievement for the Mullineuxs! Drink now to 2034+.

Tim Atkin MW (96)

The latest in an impressive run of outstanding Chardonnays from this top Elgin estate - no mean feat in a vintage where some producers struggled with fructose levels - this is bigger and bolder than the 2017 release. More Meursault than Puligny-Montrachet perhaps, with some cream and cashew notes on the palate underpinned by racy acidity

Tim Atkin MW (92)

Now into its third vintage - and showing its highest alcohol yet at a towering 11% alcohol - this very rare Cinsault Blanc is sourced from a 0.2-hectare parcel on granite in Wellington. Naturally fermented in clay amphorae, it's salty and very fresh, with lemongrass and citrus peel flavours. 2021-25

Tim Atkin MW (93)

Donovan Rall has moved to two picks for this wine to give it more nuances. The same is true of the shift away from oak to separate fermentations in stainless steel, concrete and a solitary amphora. Complex, fresh and very pure, this has the variety's characteristic brightness and acidity, with some creamy lees and a long, focused nish. 2021-26

Tim Atkin MW (94)

"Massive acidities" is how Donovan Rall describes the 2019 white wines, and he's not exaggerating. This concrete egg-fermented Grenache Blanc comes from a single vineyard at 620 metres in Piekenierskloof and is a case in point. Peachy, pithy and linear with bready undertones and a tangy, textural finish. 2021-25

Tim Atkin MW (95)

Donovan Rall only used the first pick for this stunning Piekenierskloof Grenache Blanc in 2020, fermenting and ageing it in a combination of concrete eggs and amphoras. It's a salty, complex, dialled back white with notes of gunflint, wild herbs and greengage and high-altitude minerality and precision.

Tim Atkin MW (97)

'White Wine Discovery of the Year' - Donovan Rall has made a habit of winning one or more or my discovery of the year categories and he's done it again with this Chenin Blanc from a Paardeberg vineyard planted in the 1960s. Picked in four stages, it’s a stunning expression of the site, with saline grip, lots of extract and concentration, hay, pear and lime flavours and wonderful energy.

Vinous (94)

The 2017 White is a blend of 60% Chenin Blanc, 30% Verdelho and 10% Viognier. It is the first vintage where the Chardonnay has been left out due to the concentration. It has an intense bouquet of oyster shell, lemon thyme and crushed stone, very focused in style. The palate is very well balanced, with a lightly spiced entry, linear and racy, and a gorgeous orange pith, nectarine and white peach finish that lingers in the mouth. Outstanding.

Tim Atkin MW (95)

As he did in 2017, Donovan Rall made his signature white wine without any Chardonnay, going for a 60/35/5 blend of Chenin Blanc, Verdelho and Viognier from the Swartland and Stellenbosch. Firmly established as one of the best blends in the Cape, it's still youthful and primary, but has stony reduction, ne lees and a medley of pear, citrus and stone fruit. 2021-26

Tim Atkin MW (96)

The Swartland and Stellenbosch are the twin sources of this consistently outstanding white blend from Donovan Rall, made from a cuvée of Chenin Blanc with 32% Verdelho and a splash of Viognier. Nuanced, understated and focused, with wax, lanolin and aniseed top notes and a palate of citrus, pear and peach skin. Taut and refreshing.

Tim Atkin MW (95)

Donovan Rall is a consummate blender of grapes, crafting seamless assemblages like this one of Chenin Blanc with 34% Verdelho and 1% Viognier. Dominated by fruit from the granite soils of the Paardeberg, it has aromas of oatmeal, wet stone and white flowers, peach, pear and lemongrass fruit and the tangy acidity of the vintage.

Christian Eedes (97)

72% Chenin Blanc, 24% Verdelho and 4% Viognier – includes a portion of Chenin from the vineyard from which Noa below is sourced. Expressive aromatics of citrus, peach, floral perfume, herbs and a subtle reductive note while the palate has a dense core of fruit, invigorating acidity and dry finish. Poised and rather thrilling drinking.