Jeb Dunnuck (96-99)

I loved the 2017 Côte Rôtie Château D'Ampuis. It’s a ripe, expressive barrel sample overflowing with notions of black raspberries, cassis, vanilla bean, and incense. Medium to full-bodied, rounded, and silky, it has lots of ripe tannins as well as stunning balance. It’s in the same ballpark as the 2016 yet shows the warmer, sunny nature of the vintage.

Vinous (95-97)

Inky violet color. Aromas of pungent violet, rose and magnolia, with deep chocolate, dark plum and roasted coffee elements. The most brooding and seemingly concentrated of this trio right now. With time in the glass, this unfolds slowly to reveal an exotic flavor profile of bitter cherry, blood orange, apricot pit, rose pastille and Indian spices. Very backward today but obviously highly concentrated and only beginning to reveal itself. Finishes dense, weighty and long, with a sweetness verging on syrupy but also powerful supporting structure.

Jeb Dunnuck (97-100)

I loved the 2017 Côte Rôtie La Turque, which shows the sunny warmth of the vintage while staying balanced, pure, and light on its feet. Awesome notes of ripe black fruits, chocolate, spice box, and incense emerge from the glass and it’s full-bodied, has building tannins, a weightless texture, and a monster of a finish. This quintessential La Turque will deliver plenty of charm in its youth, yet benefit from 4-6 years of bottle age, and age for 30-35 years as well.

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.

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.

Vinous (96)

Inky ruby. Powerful, spice- and smoke-accented aromas of fresh black and blue fruits, candied violet, licorice and cola, along with a hint of exotic spices that builds in the glass. Sweet, palate-staining cassis, boysenberry, floral pastille and licorice flavors turn livelier with air. Impressively concentrated but surprisingly energetic, courtesy of its spine of smoky minerality. Finishes sappy, youthfully chewy and extremely long, with steadily mounting tannins and lingering florality. 25% new oak.

Vinous (96)

Inky ruby. Powerful, spice- and smoke-accented aromas of fresh black and blue fruits, candied violet, licorice and cola, along with a hint of exotic spices that builds in the glass. Sweet, palate-staining cassis, boysenberry, floral pastille and licorice flavors turn livelier with air. Impressively concentrated but surprisingly energetic, courtesy of its spine of smoky minerality. Finishes sappy, youthfully chewy and extremely long, with steadily mounting tannins and lingering florality. 25% new oak.

Vinous (95)

Saturated ruby. An expansive bouquet evokes ripe black and blue fruits, baking spices, candied flowers and licorice, and a smoky mineral quality builds in the glass. Seamless, sweet and broad on the palate, offering deeply concentrated black currant, boysenberry and fruitcake flavors that spread out and take on a spicy nuance with aeration. Manages to be rich and powerful but elegant as well, showing superb balance and velvety, even tannins that shape an extremely long, floral- and dark-fruit-driven finish. 20% new oak.

Wine Advocate (97)

Subtle notes of baking spices frame hints of tea, olives and raspberries on the nose of the 2016 Cote Rotie la Landonne. A paragon of elegance, it's medium to full-bodied, but silky from start to lingering finish. It's a wine that's pretty much guaranteed to make even the steeliest curmudgeon smile, as it's so bright, ephemeral and luscious. It's not the rich, ripe wine the 2015 is, but it's suave, complex and long.