2014 Shiraz
"Sitting fairly comfortably in the riper spectrum with its mix of dense black fruit, dark chocolate mints, coffee grounds. Full-bodied with a powerful tannin structure, oak accentuating that". James Halliday
Cape Mentelle Shiraz draws inspiration from the most traditional techniques to highlight our ideal temperate, maritime climate in Margaret River for this classic Australian variety.
Nose
The nose is open and varietal with notes of black plum, applewood smoke and cracked pepper. Hints of cardamom and vanilla pods make the aromas very enticing.
Palate
Vibrant fresh plum accompanies roasted black fruit notes, supported by a good structure of smoky tannins, still youthful and peppery and full body throughout. The oak is sweet but structuring and the finish already shows good length, promising to improve with age.
Blend
100% Shiraz
Cellaring
Drink now or age for another 5 years.
Food Pairing Notes
A shared plate among friends, a dish of glazed duck with pink peppercorn sauce, some simply grilled herbed lamp chops.
The Vineyard
The fruit for this wine was sourced from Cape Mentelle’s vineyards from Margaret River ranging in age from 15 to 40 years. The soils are predominantly deep sandy loams with high lateritic gravel content over clay. Shoot and leaf removal techniques were used to ensure good fruit exposure to light and take advantage of the ocean breeze ow through the canopy.
Winemaking
Fruit was selectively harvested based on flavour and tannin maturity. The fruit was destemmed and berry sorted then individual vineyard batches were fermented on skins for up to 15 days. At the desired balance of fruit and tannin extraction, each batch was gently basket pressed, with harder pressings kept aside. The individual parcels were racked to barriques and large oak vats following pressing for malolactic fermentation. Regular rackings over a 14-month period ensured the individual wines were at their best prior to blending. The wines were matured in selected Burgundian coopered barriques of which 20% were new, before being bottled in October 2015.
Analysis
14.0% alcohol, 5.5 g/l total acidity, 3.63 pH.
