"...just pure pleasure, and full of grace, apricot puree, intense and concentrated, with the most beautiful balance of citrus, grilled pineapple, truffle, fennel, uplift and joy. 100 points."  Jane Anson, Jul '26

It's that time of year again when we remind you that you can drink the latest vintage of a wine enjoyed by Napoleon, Jane Austen, and Charles Dickens, for just over £48 per bottle in bond.  If a history stretching back to 1685 is not compelling enough, the new 2023 vintage of Vin de Constance is completely delicious and for the first time ever scores 100 points from a major critic, Jane Anson.  Offered at £288 per six 50cl bottles in bond, you can have it delivered in the spring. 

Established not long after Pepys was the first to record a château name (Haut-Brion) in his diary, and a century and a half before sweet Sauternes became a 'thing', Vin de Constance was shipped to Napoleon in exile on St Helena.  For decades, it ranked alongside Tokaji Eszencia as a wine of kings, queens, and emperors, until phylloxera hit South Africa in the 1870s, wiping out the vines.  The estate was restored in the 1980s, with new vintages bottled in a glass flask, modelled on the handblown bottles of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. 

With no botrytis here, the style of Vin de Constance is derived from the climate, terroir, and winemaking.  Planted overlooking False Bay, the Muscat de Frontignan grapes benefit from cooling sea breezes and are harvested over the space of several weeks, with early-picked fruit contributing fresh acidity and later-harvested grapes giving a unique raisined character (some bunches are twisted on the vines to aid this).  

The 2023 Vintage

Vin de Constance 2023 was harvested over almost two months, with the team making several passes through the vineyards as the grapes ripened at different speeds across the site. It was a season that gave smaller berries and plenty of natural acidity, which has helped give the finished wine a lovely freshness and clarity.

The focus throughout harvest was on flavour and balance, resulting in a wine that feels a little more restrained structurally than some earlier vintages, but still has all the concentration you’d expect from Vin de Constance. Even during harvest, there was a real sense of depth and layers developing, and by the time it came to blending in the cellar, the wine reflected all those small decisions made along the way.

Vin de Constance 2023 is all about clarity and precision. Rather than leaning into richness, this vintage feels more focused and finely balanced, with freshness, acidity and a real sense of place coming through more clearly.

It still has the concentration and complexity you’d expect from Vin de Constance, but there’s a lovely restraint to it too. It feels more transparent and detailed, with the emphasis on balance rather than sheer power. In many ways, it’s a wine that feels both true to the long history of Vin de Constance and very much of its time.

Availability is extremely limited, so please let us know straight away if you would like to order.

Offered in bond, available for delivery in Spring 2027.