Provenance

Private Client

Critics Ratings

'Deep squid-ink colour, plush lavender, black pepper nose, dusty background. Dense cassis fruit cosseted in major - but soft - cloaking tannin. Echoing length. 95 first bottling of mainly Cabernet Franc (fickle elsewhere, very fine on these Heldeberg slopes) blend with 20% Cab. S., 10% Merlot. Expensively oaked and taste it, structure to last 10 years. A new benchmark, reflecting the individuality of Cordoba.' - Platter's SA Wine Guide, 5* (1999)

'Was the maiden vintage 1995 Crescendo from Helderberg property Cordoba the best Crescendo of them all? A blend of 70% Cabernet Franc, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot, it was rated 5 Stars and termed "a new benchmark" in the 1999 edition of Platter's. On the nose, red fruit and some decay, but decay in the best sense - forest floor, mulch, compost. Perhaps some dried herbs but that implies some greenness which isn't there. The palate, meanwhile, was medium bodied and still remarkably lively. Savoury but not severe, the acidity fresh but not sour and those tannins - still firm but not aggressive, a steel girding lending shape and form.' - Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 93/100 (Oct 2013)