Winemaker Notes
Deep, dark and intense ruby color. Blackcurrant and black cherry fruit with hints of violets, cedar and cinnamon. Rich and complex with mineral, blackberry fruit and dark chocolate on the finish. Harmoniously composed of the five Bordeaux varieties to ensure none dominate. This wine shows a consistent, linear flavor profile with a polished and well-defined finish.
Blend: 43% Cabernet Franc, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 10% Malbec, 6% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 De Compostella is composed of 30% Cabernet Franc, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Malbec, 16% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. Beginning with a focused, juicy and complex nose of dark red fruits, the wine has impeccable balance between oak, fruit and earthy floral tones. Full-bodied and with succulent acidity, the palette offers a firm frame of fine-grained tannins, while the fruit profile makes way for elegant earth and notes of crème de cassis sway with subtle flavors of sage and spiced plum. The red blend continues to somersault and reveal its complexities over the long-lingering and ever-evolving finish. Be patient with this exceptional wine. Rating: 95+
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Wine Enthusiast
This vintage shows ripeness, but enough freshness to carry all the weight of the fruit. The nose offers red berries and spices. There is a lovely mix of smoky and leafy notes on top of a rich core of cherry, blackberry and plum flavors. Well-structured and smooth, it culminates in a satisfying finish.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
South Africa’s most famous wine-producing district, Stellenbosch, surrounds the historic town with the same name; fine winemaking here dates back to the late 1600s. Its valleys of granite, sandstone and alluvial loam soils between the towering blue-grey mountains of Stellenbosch, Simonsberg and Helderberg have the capacity to produce beautiful wines from many varieties. The climate is warm Mediterranean, tempered by the cool Atlantic air of nearby False Bay.
Perhaps most well-known for its Pinotage and Bordeaux blends, Stellenbosch also produces noteworthy wines from Syrah, Chenin blanc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc. The district’s wards—Banghoek, Bottelary, Devon Valley, Jonkershoek Valley, Papegaaiberg, Polkadraai Hills and Simonsberg-Stellenbosch—all produce distinctive wines from vines with relatively low yields.