Cape Mentelle, Margaret River

The Cape Mentelle winery and original vineyard lie between the town of Margaret River and the Cape from which it takes its name. The original Mentelles were Frenchmen, geographer Edmunde and his cartographer brother Francois-Simon, who lived in Paris in the early 1700s. Founding winemaker David Hohnen once said "I want to make one of the defining styles of Margaret River Cabernet; a great Australian Cabernet; a wine that outlasts me and helps consolidate the region as a premium wine producer for future generations".

The winery is now owned by the French luxury brand group LMVH – owners of Domaine Chandon and Cloudy Bay in New Zealand.

Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon enjoyed impressive beginnings, with Jimmy Watson Trophies for both the 1982 and 1983 vintages, but these were followed by a number of ordinary vintages. However by the late 1980s the quality began to improve enormously. In the 1990s the wine emerged as a classic West Australian style. Cape Mentelle’s articulate new winemaker Robert Mann – grandson of pioneer WA winemaker Jack Mann – is continuing a tradition of making wines of tremendous energy and vitality. Restrained and elegant when young the highly regarded Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignons age beautifully, developing complexity and richness. The cedary, roasted coffee aromas, ripe tannins and textured palate are central to the overall style.

Displaying regional definition Cape Mentelle Chardonnay is emerging as one of Margaret River's classic wines. The core fruit component is sourced from the low yielding McHenry and Chapman Vineyards and the wine is given access to the whole palette of winemaking options. The result is a rich palette of blending options. Excellent, ripe, Chardonnay fruit expression with plenty of nutty, lanolin complexity, concentration and fine acidity are typical of the style.

Cape Mentelle Shiraz is a quintessential Western Australian Shiraz and an excellent foil to the rich, ripe, deeply concentrated Shirazes of South Australia. The fruit is from Cape Mentelle's Wallcliffe Vineyard close to the winery. Thirty per cent is aged in a combination of French and American oak - the remaining wine matured in large oak vats. It shows raspberry/peppery aromas with touches of cherry, gravelly tannins and toasty oak - a style in evolution.

Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon is a pacesetter; Cape Mentelle Shiraz is emerging as another important benchmark. The Zinfandel is quirky but highly seductive. The Chardonnay is extremely consistent and shows all the hallmarks one would expect of the top notch Margaret River elite.