Plush, with silky layers of raspberry, blackberry and fig, backed by alluring spice, mineral and graphite notes. Fleshes out nicely on the finish, but stays elegant. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2008. 2,830 cases made, 600 cases imported.??–JM??Region: South Africa / Western Cape / Coastal Region / Philadelphia Select to Add

(a Bordeaux blend with a majority of merlot) Full medium ruby. Complex nose melds currant, smoke, chocolate, minerals, tobacco, leather, gravel, iron and beef blood. Concentrated, creamy and sweet, with highly complex flavors of currant, smoke, iron, graphite, tobacco, woodsmoke and road tar; generous and pliant but with good inner-palate energy. Finishes with suave, fine-grained tannins and subtle notes of leather, gravel, cedar and woodsmoke. Very Old World in style, with enticing sweetness and lingering perfume. Winemaker Mark van Buuren enjoys the consulting help of Stephan von Neipperg, owner of Canon La Gaffeliere, and his consulting winemaker Stephane Derenoncourt.

Dark, rich fruit, luscious spice and a velvety overall texture make this flagship wine from Capaia a benchmark Bordeaux blend for South Africa. Assertive but refined, layered but delicate, the wine unfolds gently on the palate and is the perfect cohort to myriad meat and poultry dishes. Minerality gives it lift and clarity.——S.K.(11/15/2007)—— 92