2022 Zinfandel
"Dry grown, low yielding bush vines from our original Estate Vineyard can be prone to unruly behaviour! However, with great attention to detail these vines deliver an incredible layered wine of depth and power. A truly memorable experience." Coralie Lewis, Senior Winemaker
Our founder, David Hohnen, fell in love with this variety whilst studying in the US in the early 70’s. He brought his new discovery home to be planted in 1974 on the Wallcliffe Estate Vineyard. This fickle variety demands great attention viticulturally, requiring a high bush vine trellis with plenty of space and air for the large compact bunches. It has become a cult classic for us, making a powerful yet fresh version of this ancient variety, enticing its followers each year to return and enjoy.
Nose
Open and floral aromatics are bright but complex with crunchy black cherries, raspberry coulis, fig, shaved coconut and a touch of lavender. Sweet spices overlay with nutmeg, vanilla pod and star anise.
Palate
The palate opens with a smooth texture and a bright, expansive concentration of black forest fruits, candied orange coated with chocolate, nutmeg persisting and a hint of tobacco. Fine, energized tannins lead to the finish with volume and confidence, an assertive wine!
Blend
91% zinfandel 6% merlot 3% shiraz
Cellaring
Ready for enjoyment in its youth, this wine can also be cellared for 10 years and beyond.
Food Pairing Notes
Spiced lamb and date tagine. Puy lentil and eggplant stew. Classic Tiramisu.
The Vineyard
Zinfandel is known as an iconic wine at Cape Mentelle but an unusual grape varietal for Margaret River. This brings challenges each year for our viticultural team as the large bunches are notoriously thin skinned, creating the risk for disease incidence during cooler vintages. This small block of zinfandel is located on our Estate Vineyard, just 4kms from the Indian Ocean. Bush vines demand significant attention to detail with all tasks, such as canopy management, fruit thinning and shoot positioning, all carried out by hand. The aim is to produce grapes with a dense concentration of flavour and powerful expression of place. The 2022 season produced the coldest and wettest start to the growing season in over five decades. These cool spring conditions slowed vine development making it later than usual. Temperatures then radically increased during summer months, with the region experiencing multiple heat waves. The weather during harvest provided ideal conditions, combining warm temperatures and low rainfall, which allowed for extended ripening across the board.
Winemaking
Zinfandel grapes were hand harvested mid-March to capture confectionary flavours from shrivelled berries and bright red fruit flavours from whole berries, along with ripe tannin. After destemming and hand sorting, the fruit was transferred by gravity to a small closed top fermenter with selected yeast. Daily tasting guided extraction and maceration, and after 25 days on skins it was gently basket pressed at the desired balance of concentration and structure. Integrating only the best pressings back to retain the powerful structure of zinfandel, the wine was matured in barrel for 18 months, with limited racking and 50% new French, American and Hungarian oak was used to build complexity. The final blend remained unfined and was filtered before bottling.
Analysis
15% alcohol 6.08 g/l total acidity 3.55 pH Suitable for vegans