Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon Margaret River Western Australia

Cape Mentelle Vineyards, established by David and Mark Hohnen and now part of the Moet Hennessy Wine Estates, is a specialist producer of premium wines in Margaret River in the south west corner of Western Australia. One of the country's finest wine regions, Margaret River enjoys a maritime location, with the added advantage of a long dry growing season. Cape Mentelle was one of the first vineyards established in the Margaret River region. First planted in 1970, there are today over 180 hectares under vine and the winery was constructed in 1977. Cape Mentelle Vineyards, is committed to the concept of true regional styles and will continue to expand its operations to produce quality wines. The company believes that the role of specialist wineries lies in the production of premium wines from varieties best suited to specific regions. Emphasis is placed on individual fruit character and the development of a recognisable estate wine style. This blend of Cabernet sauvignon and merlot is sourced from the estate's Trinders Vineyard and three long-term growers within the Margaret River region. Great care is taken in the vineyard and this is reflected in the the winery where light crushing is followed by a warm fermentation before cooling down to 25 ï C for the completion of fermentation. Regular pumping over for colour, flavour and tannin extraction occurs during the vigorous phase of ferment, tapering off towards the end. The degree of tannin extraction is determined by taste to achieve a balanced level of tannin mouthfeel. Batches are treated individually with skin contact ranging from 4 to 28 days. Each batch is given a light pressing; the harder pressings are separated. Once dry, the wine is inoculated for malolactic fermentation which occurs in stainless steel tanks, after which the wine is racked to 50:50 French and American oak barrels for 15 months. This has produced a final blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Lovely fruit driven wine. it is a deep crimson purple coloured wine. Showing intense aromas of aniseed, herb garden, plum with some cedar, it is a quite perfumed wine. Well poised the aromas are evident in the palate as the aniseed, plum and cedar flavours dominate this blend, while the fine slinky tannins have become leafy firm at the finish. (6 x 75 cl)

Cabernet sauvignon and merlot are predominantly sourced from the estate's Trinders Vineyard and three long-term growers within the Margaret River region. The soils are comprised of laterite gravel loam over sandy clay sub-soil. The estate vines are planted at 2200 vines/ha and vertically trained on 1.5m trellises for cane pruning. In the other vineyards, the vines are close-spaced at 5000 vines/ha and trained on 1.8m vertical trellises. Small amounts of Cabernet and Merlot have also been introduced from our southern vineyards Foxcliffe and Chapman Brook. Sweet liquorice and blackcurrants, hints of vanilla and blueberry, are a classic definition of the Trinders style. The wine is slippery smooth and immensely gluggable with just the faintest suggestion of tannin. The delicious array of flavours linger on the palate. (12 x 75 cl)

This is the sister company of the famous Cloudy Bay and established in 1970, was one of the first wineries in Margaret River. The blend is a classic Bordeaux mix of Cabernet, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc fermented and aged in both French & American oak. Still youthful, this is dark and dense with ripe blackcurrant fruit initially then a more earthy spiced plum character showing smooth tannins on the finish. (12 x 75 cl)

One of the country's finest wine regions, Margaret River enjoys a maritime location, with the added advantage of a long dry growing season. Cape Mentelle was one of the first vineyards established in the Margaret River region. First planted in 1970, there are today over 180 hectares under vine and the winery was constructed in 1977. Cape Mentelle Vineyards, is committed to the concept of true regional styles and will continue to expand its operations to produce quality wines. The company believes that the role of specialist wineries lies in the production of premium wines from varieties best suited to specific regions. Emphasis is placed on individual fruit character and the development of a recognisable estate wine style. Shiraz is mainly sourced from our Wallcliffe and Trinders vineyards near the winery, planted respectively 26 and 13 years ago, grown on gravel laterite soils derived from weathered granite with a gravel-clay sub-soil. A small amount of Shiraz is also sourced from the McHenry and Darnell vineyards planted respectively 7 kilometres west and 20 kilometres east of Margaret River, both on the banks of the Margaret River. Here the soils are a free draining, alluvial based soil type with a sheltered northerly aspect, the vines are also cane pruned with the canopy trained vertically. Shoot and leaf removal is employed during the course of the season on all vines. The Karri Park vineyard is a new addition to the blend and offers fruit exhibiting intense peppery flavours. This vineyard is located on coastal sands, in the southern part of the cape and is grown in a similar fashion to the other vineyards we source from.. Aged in Oak this is a classy and typically brash, plummy, spicy Shiraz. Lush ripe plump-prune flavours are evident in this densely packed wine showing loads of fruit laced with spice. A Lucious palate, as well as a supple and harmonious structure combine with a complex flavour range from sweet to savoury in this wine as one savours the long finish. (12 x 75 cl)

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Cape Mentelle Vineyards, established by David and Mark Hohnen and now part of the Moet Hennessy Wine Estates, is a specialist producer of premium wines in Margaret River in the south west corner of Western Australia. One of the country's finest wine regions, Margaret River enjoys a maritime location, with the added advantage of a long dry growing season. Cape Mentelle was one of the first vineyards established in the Margaret River region. First planted in 1970, there are today over 180 hectares under vine and the winery was constructed in 1977. Cape Mentelle Vineyards, is committed to the concept of true regional styles and will continue to expand its operations to produce quality wines. The company believes that the role of specialist wineries lies in the production of premium wines from varieties best suited to specific regions. Emphasis is placed on individual fruit character and the development of a recognisable estate wine style. The fruit for this wine is sourced from three sites, with most coming from the McHenry Vineyard, which has a sheltered north-easterly aspect and deep gravel loam soils sloping down to the Margaret River. This low-yielding vineyard provides quality fruit that forms the backbone of the blend. The Chapman Brook vineyard also provides grapes, planted in 1993-4, it is located about 20km south-east of Margaret River and is now a major contributor to this wine with its crisp, clean citrus flavoured fruit. The chardonnay grows on a north facing slope with well-drained grey gravel loam soils. Finally, the sandy loam soils of the Maiolo Vineyard, further north in the region, produce fruit contributing to the ripe, full-bodied characters of the wine. All vineyards are spur pruned and vertical shoot positioned to enhance sunlight exposure. The machine-harvested Maiolo fruit was crushed, must-chilled and pressed to stainless steel tanks for cold settling prior to racking off gross lees to another tank for inoculation with prise de mousse yeast, which produces clean, fruit driven wines. Two (6 x 75 cl)

Intense, tinned pea and green pepper on the nose with some richness on the palate from the partial barrel-fermentation and a fresh, herbaceous style with some real complexity. (12 x 75 cl)

Cape Mentelle Vineyards, established by David and Mark Hohnen and now part of the Moet Hennessy Wine Estates, is a specialist producer of premium wines in Margaret River in the south west corner of Western Australia. One of the country's finest wine regions, Margaret River enjoys a maritime location, with the added advantage of a long dry growing season. Cape Mentelle was one of the first vineyards established in the Margaret River region. First planted in 1970, there are today over 180 hectares under vine and the winery was constructed in 1977. Cape Mentelle Vineyards, is committed to the concept of true regional styles and will continue to expand its operations to produce quality wines. The company believes that the role of specialist wineries lies in the production of premium wines from varieties best suited to specific regions. Emphasis is placed on individual fruit character and the development of a recognisable estate wine style. Half of the grapes are sourced from estate vineyards and the other half from contract growers in the Margaret River region. Gravel laterite soils predominate in most of the best vineyards with some sandy loam soils in others. A range of canopy management strategies are employed, all with the objective of maximising sunlight into the fruiting zone. Cape Mantelle take a minimal approach to vinification of this blend as it is geared to maximising fruit flavour with a distinctive regional nuance. Fruit is machine harvested at night to ensure that it arrives at the winery in cool condition. A small amount of SO2 and a pectolytic enzyme to aid in settling is added to the fruit before crushing/destemming and transfer through a must chiller to a tank press. The juice is gently expressed from the skins the yield is only small. The juice is then racked off gross lees and fermented at 15 degrees Celsius in stainless steel tanks with 20% of the blend fermented in new French and American oak barrels and left on lees for ten weeks. All batches are simply bentonite fined and filtered before blending the batches judged to be the best. Heady aromas of passionfruit, orange blossom, ripe lemons and notes of tarragon mingle with a waft of vanilla derived from barrel fermentation. The palate is creamy and textural, with vibrant, flamboyant citrus flavours that finish crisp and clean, with great length and focus. (6 x 75 cl)

The fruit for this wine is grown on Cullens own vineyards and it is made predominantly from the traditional Bordeaux blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, and is bottled in a Bordeaux bottle. However, the wine does contain a small amount of Chardonnay and this has added complexity and a touch of richness to the middle palate, without changing the basic structure of the wine. Showing a straw colour with green tinges it has a complex blend of fresh custard apple, lemon and lime aromas. On the palate it is vibrant, rich, round and complex, reflecting the range of varieties in the blend with the Chardonnay providing citric flavours through to the great acid finish. (6 x 75 cl)