Cape Mentelle Shiraz, Margaret River

Description

Cape Mentelle Shiraz is sourced from Cape Mentelle’s Estate vineyards in the Margaret River. It is normally 100% Shiraz, although sometimes a tiny amount of Viognier is added to the blend.

Founded in 1970, Cape Mentelle is one of the original wineries of the Margaret River wine region, one of the most remote wine regions of the world. The vineyards in this corner of Western Australian wine-growing region experience the maritime influence of the Indian Ocean which helps to ensures even temperatures, providing consistently excellent vintage conditions. Cape Mentelle pioneered many of the region’s renowned wine styles and today is a benchmark for the quality of the region’s wines.Today Cape Mentelle has over 200 hectares of its own vines across four regional vineyards. It is owned by luxury goods giant Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (LVMH).

The vineyards that the grapes for the Cape Mentelle Shiraz are sourced from are planted with with vines ranging in maturity from 16 – 44 years of age. The vineyards are planted on predominantly deep, sandy loams with high lateritic gravel content over clay. Shoot and leaf removal techniques were used to ensure a balance between fruit exposure to light whilst providing protection from the midday sun.

Cape Mentelle Shiraz draws inspiration from the techniques and wines of the northern Rhône valley in France. Individual vineyards and parcel are vinified separately. The fruit is partially destemmed and undergoes berry selection before fermented on skins for up to 15 days. When the the desired balance of fruit and tannin extraction, each batch was gently basket pressed, with harder pressings kept aside. The wine undergoes malolactic fermentation in both large French oak vats and barriques. Finally the wine is racked into French oak barriques for maturation.

The 2016 Vintage is 99% Shiraz and 1% Viognier.