The 2024 Destiny Bay vintage has received high scores from Master of Wine Stephen Wong for The Real Review. All three of our Waiheke Island Cabernet blends scored 96 points or higher.
- Magna Praemia 2024 – 98 points
- Mystae 2024 – 97 points
- Destinae 2024 – 96 points
Across all three wines, Wong's reviews highlight the concentration and depth of the 2024 vintage. He also notes their balance and elegance, and their considerable potential for long-term cellaring.
Magna Praemia 2024 – 98 Points
Magna Praemia earned the highest score of the three. Wong describes an exceptionally concentrated Cabernet blend in which cassis and black cherry emerge beneath layers of creamy oak and vanilla, lifted by a fresh floral note of violet.
For all its intensity, the wine keeps its finesse and restraint. Polished, velvety tannins give it focus and shape, and the finish unfolds in stages, from wet stone and graphite through to flowers, wild berries and savoury herbs.
Wong calls it a wine of "superb poise and elegance", with the balance and structure to support long-term ageing. It will be approachable within a year or two, but patience promises further layers of complexity.
Mystae 2024 – 97 Points
Mystae pairs notable power and density with perfume and expression. Layers of blackcurrant, plum and raspberry sit beneath lavish notes of vanilla and coconut cream, and lively acidity brings freshness and precision to the plush, creamy fruit.
Wong sums up the overall impression as one of "elegance and poise". A refreshing crunch on the very long finish adds detail to the wine's underlying power. Mystae is built to age and should reward patience as its dense tannins soften and integrate.
Destinae 2024 – 96 Points
Wong describes Destinae as an intensely concentrated expression of the vintage. It shows masses of fruit and a rich, mouth-filling palate, underpinned by a sturdy structure of ripe, rounded tannins. He highlights its immense length and its "obviously intense and powerful nature", describing a wine operating at another level of density.
Destinae is already approachable with food, and Wong sees considerable potential for it to develop over the coming decade and beyond.
The 2024 Vintage on Waiheke Island
Taken together, the reviews paint a compelling picture of the 2024 vintage. The wines combine extraordinary concentration with freshness, precision and elegance. Each blend expresses the year in its own way, and all three share the structure to reward time in the cellar.
Destiny Bay's reviews across multiple vintages can be found on The Real Review, with full tasting notes available to subscribers.
How to Secure the 2024 Vintage
The 2024 Destiny Bay wines are available exclusively to members of the Destiny Bay Patron Club. Patrons receive priority allocations of each new release. To join, or to enquire about the 2024 wines, please contact us.
