Provenance

Private Client

Critics Ratings

2013
'A Cape benchmark, 2013 powerful yet elegant Cabernet Franc-led 5-way Bordeaux blend. Aromas richly mix cassis, dark chocolate and undergrowth, echoing on a palate that's muscular but focused and athletic, ready now and toned (33% new oak) to go the distance.' - Platter's SA Wine Guide 2016, 5*

'With a dusty nose full of wet stone minerality, the aromatics speak of a cooler vintage style laced with graphite, dried straw, baking herbs and pithy black berry fruits. The palate is where the wine takes off like a rocket and really shines. Woven together very tightly, the intensity and vibrant saline black berry intensity combined with tart crunchy acids make this wine stand out from the rest at the moment. So elegant and persistent on the finish, this is the real deal. A super classy wine drinking well now but with many years ahead of it still.' - Greg Sherwood MW, 97/100

'A more or less equal blend of the five red Bordeaux varieties, each of them grown on different soil types, this is as refined and concentrated as ever in 2013. Black fruits, fresh tea, mint and cassis with sweet vanilla oak: the balance is very impressive, as are the polished, fine-grained tannins.' - Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2015, 95/100

'It has a voluminous and very pure bouquet, ebullient red cherry and wild strawberry fruit, with just a touch of cassis. The palate is medium-bodied with sensual tannin, as usual, and with perfectly judged acidity; this is a more "sedate" and "relaxed" De Compostella that is not too worried about being "wine of the year." Rather, it is happy and harmonious in its own skin; it is happy to just give pleasure and complexity without excessive effort. It's one of the most elegant releases since their debut in 2004.' - Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, 94/100 (Nov 2015)

'A hefty wine, with a dense core of steeped plum, blackberry confiture and mulled currant fruit, all backed by loamy tannins and a lingering Turkish coffee note. A broad swath of tobacco flows underneath. This needs a little cellaring to meld fully. Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot.' - James Molesworth, Wine Spectator, 93/100 (Nov 2015)

2015
'The 2015 is genuinely a compelling wine with a classic nose more reminiscent of a fine, opulent Cru Classe Pauillac. There are beautiful perfumed notes of assorted purple flowers and fresh violets that melt away to reveal ripe, intense notes of crème de cassis, blueberry crumble, cherry kirsch liquor and damson plum. More structured and intense than its riper, plumper predecessor 2014, the 2015 delivers more intensity with tannic restraint and brooding classical depth. Bit of a block buster but also shutting down a bit now. A wine for 30 to 40 years surely.' - Greg Sherwood MW, 97/100

'Benchmark Cape Bordeaux blend led by Cabernet Franc (40%), the other 4 varieties and understated oak (just 30% new) in support. Black fruit, cassis, herbs and cherries, 2015 is a delicious paradox: intense yet elegant; dense yet ethereal, classically conceived yet unmistakably SA.' - Platter's SA Wine Guide 2018, 5* (95/100)

'The 2015 MV de Compostella spent 12 months in barrel before each variety was blended, then another 12 months in barrel including 33% new French oak. It has a beautifully defined bouquet of blackberry, burnt toast, brown spice and light pencil lead aromas that gain intensity in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fresh blackberry and bilberry fruit, a killer line of acidity and the sense of symmetry that imbues the best MVs I have tasted over the years. It remains one of the Cape's finest red wines.' - Neal Martin, Vinous, 96/100 (Aug 2018)

'Perhaps the best vintage of Compostella to date, this is a blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 11% Petit Verdot and 4% Malbec. It showcases a beautiful elegance and herbal edge in waves of cigar tobacco and blackcurrant leaf, with a grounded fruit core of blackberry, plum and cassis. Additional notes of leather and German chocolate cake lend depth and intrigue, while the finish exhibits a masterful evolution between all these components with each sip. Well-structured and superbly balanced, it boasts gripping tannins and ample acidity to frame the ripe fruit. A beauty that should mature masterfully, drink 2023-2033.' - Lauren Buzzeo, Wine Enthusiast, 95/100 (Apr 2018)

'This is the eleventh vintage of this outstanding Bordeaux style blend and it may well be the best yet. Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon based, with some Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec completing the line up, it's a floral, scented, finely crafted delight, showing stylish oak, filigree tannins and layers of mocha, graphite, green herbs and dark, refreshing fruit. 2019-28.' - Tim Atkin SA Special Report 2017, 96/100