THE JOURNO'S OPINIONS
RATINGS & REVIEWS
We have received some great ratings and reviews over the years. Check them out!
About Our Wines
"Another stunning cabernet from Mann. A tough call following 2008 and yet this is giving it a real nudge. Vibrant, bright colour in the glass. Opens with a mix of tobacco leaf and blackcurrant lifted with the exotic perfume of violets. When you get to the palate this is where it really starts to rock, with the wild mix of flavours supported by fine tannins and oak. It's efortless and all style. Ranks with the finest from this great estate."
Here's a red blend that is so exquisitely balanced and presented you just can't help yourself but pour another glass. One of the very best under this label. Wild fruit on the nose with a lush mix of plum plummy fruit and a little sage bush edge. The palate seamlessly constructed with an effortless easy finish. The tannin structure and oak integration are features. A most polished and stylish wine.
Vibrant crimson-purple, this is a beautifully structured and balanced wine, with red and black berry fruits, touches of violets and cedar on the bouquet and palate alike, the finish long and fresh.
All the magic and intrigue of one of Margaret River’s grandslam vintages without the need to mortgage your castle! Taut, sinewy tannins draw out beautifully defined blackberry and blackcurrant fruit long and linear. Hints of liquorice, wisps of fireplace.
A substantial wine, the medium-to full-bodied palate very much in the usual Trinders style; ripe tannins are woven through blackcurrant/cassis fruit, oak in balance.
A more regal and refined version than the marvellous 2009. So effortlessly silky through its mid palate to that long finish. The palate displays beautifully integrated fine grained oak and superb fruit quality. It’s powerful and classic, yet so subtle. Great wine..... again.
Another stunning cabernet from Mann. A tough call following 2008 and yet this is giving it a real nudge. Vibrant, bright colour in the glass. Opens with a mix of tobacco leaf and blackcurrant lifted with the exotic perfume of violets. When you get to the palate this is where it really starts to rock, with the wild mix of flavours supported by fine tannins and oak. It's effortless and all style. Ranks with the finest from this great estate.
A restrained and elegant wine, with red fruits, cedar and a suggestion of violets the central theme; elegant, tightly wound and unevolved on the palate, showing a slippery texture; the finish reveals the wine’s true depth of personality with structure in complete harmony with the fruit.
Another 2007 from Margaret River that will be remembered as one of the greatest Cape Mentelle cabernets of all time. Power and poise fused with conviction and stunning value when you look around the globe at comparative cabernet quality.
A much-anticipated vintage of this leading Margaret River cabernet, and not an ounce of disappointment.
With smells of bright cassis and juniper, fragrant and subtly floral, the cedary spicy oak adds a layer of class to this standout wine. The palate’s unthinkably poised: perfectly proportioned tannins carry deeply ripe, sweet fruit with impressive power and impeccable grace. Like an angel, this sits right at the top of the tree.”
Remarkable achievement for the vintage; medium-bodied cassis, blackcurrant: tannins fresh rather than green.
Excellent colour, a fragrant, savoury medium-bodied wine, the bouquet and palate offering a seamless array of black fruits, earth, licorice and French oak; admirable texture, line and length.
A wine that just oozes classic cabernet. Powerful black currant dusty minerally palate strikes a great balance between fruit and oak. It’s firm yet there is generosity in the middle. Controlled and focused with immense length and mid- palate weight. Great wine.
One of the most elegant and stylish shiraz from Margaret River. Savoury, brambly notes on the nose with a splash of spices and black pepper. The palate is supported by fine tannins and fine-grained oak. It results in a smooth and silky finish with wonderful texture and mouth feel. Exceptional wine.
Bright crimson-purple; fragrant red and black cherry fruit on the bouquet also runs fluently through the long, elegant, medium-bodied palate; as the wine moves to the finish, the spicy/savoury components become more obvious, yet still harmonious.
Stylish, meaty and savoury, this measured, polished shiraz has a deep, rather closed bouquet of dark plums and berries, tight-knit gamy cedar/vanilla oak and dried herbs backed by white pepper, cloves and nutmeg. Elegant but profoundly flavoured, it’s long, supple and fine-grained, delivering a seamless marriage of deep plum, blackberry and blueberry flavour, fine-grained oak and a firm, but pliant undercarriage of fine tannin.
Sourced entirely from Margaret River, the fruit is front and centre, soft and spicy. Lovely mulberry notes on the nose. Great spice and structure. Always a good buy.
Rob Mann has streamlined Marmaduke from the all-terrain blends of the past to a high-performance dragster. Powered by juicy black cherries and blackberries, kept on the road by firm, fine, peppery tannins, tuned by a brillinat vintage, this thing outdrives every Marmaduke to date.
A blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc from vines planted in 1970, some of the first in the Wilyabrup area; the bright and crystal clear crimson colour introduces a beautifully modulated wine, with layers of red and black fruits, superfine tannins and cedary French oak.
A red equivalent in the range to the ‘Wallcliffe’, this carries a sub-regional classification rather than a single vineyard. The blend is cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc, and it has plenty of classic cedary comforting characters; sweet berries, plums and bright vanillin spice. The palate’s superbly crafted with ripe, fine tannins that delivery superb, juicy fruit flavour and immense length with striking poise and elegance. Masterful - a welcome new addition to the Margaret River claret movement.
Even richer and fuller in the mouth than the ‘10 but bringing the same raft of flavours into play. Its colour retention is excellent, as is the tapestry of tannins on the finish, making it an even better wine.
A brilliant modern zin - an artful reflection of the more perfumed and fine-grained Margaret River reds from 2008. It’s scented with spicy, floral and meaty aromas of cranberries, blackberries, redcurrants and raspberries, with undertones of bitumen, cloves and cinnamon. Long and supple, with tight-fisted layers of pristine red and blue fruits, it builds in strength and density towards its lingering and finely astringent finish.
Cape Mentelle’s finest ever white wine has a spicy floral scent whose underlying core of grapefruit, melon, tropical and mineral aromas are enhanced by a measured suspense of smoky, mealy, nutty and creamy complexity, plus undertones of brioche and struck match. An exercise in controlled intensity and power, its long and luxuriant, elegant and finely crafted, with remarkable length, a fine minerality and lingering smoky, savoury complexity.
Finely crafted, balanced and elegant, with pristine aromas of melon, peach and grapefruit tightly knit with sweet tight-grained vanilla and clove-like oak, backed by undertones of ginger, cinnamon, minerals and smoky, leesy complexity ... finishing long, bright and assertive.
Fresh nutty, mealy fruit aromas with a hint of funk. Youthful yet complex flavours fill a soft, gentle,
light- to medium-bodied palate with just enough richness and a long carry.
A stylish and contemporary chardonnay...Excellent balance and focus.
The Georgiana is pale straw and has peach blossom aromas. Fresh gooseberry flavours zips onto the front of the palate, green capsicum and lemon curd characters show on the middle palate and flinty acid comes through at the finish.
A fresh, crisp sauvignon from the west, showing ripe lime citrus, dark-leaf herbs, stony notes and a good serve of restrained tropical fruits. The palate has immensely supple flesh and texture, with plenty of acid to kick the finish along. Very tidy..
Bright quartz-green; this is the unwooded version of Cape Mentelle’s sauvignon blanc semillon, but show the fruit intensity and complexity that allows the (oaked) Wallcliffe version to succeed so well. Here there is a panoply of aromas and flavours spanning citrus/grapefruit, stone fruit and tropical fruits (whatever you care to mention) sustained by lovely natural acidity.
Maragret River SBS has come of age... A touch of barrel work (just a small percentage here) adds texture and seamlessness to tightly restrained grapefruit, lemon and guava flavours. Jaw-dropping.
Bright colour, showing the hallmarks of a complex, layered and meticulously detailed blend inspired by the best Bordelaise can muster; fragrant tropical fruits, nettle, fine toasty oak and a tightly wound palate that is both complex and refreshing; long, layered and impeccable.
It is a marriage of fruit generosity and intensity with its long, elegant, layered palate. It is remarkable, too, for the relatively low alcohol that gives rise to this cornucopia of flavours.
Very complex, but supremely elegant, focused and balanced, with funky, schisty, mineral and waxy aromas of smoked meats, gooseberries, lychees and melon overlying spicy nuances of apple, cloves, cinnamon and tight-grained oak. Given the extent of its smoky, meaty and nutty complexity, it’s remarkably fruit-driven and focused, with intense apple, melon and gooseberry flavour tightly woven around a fine, chalky undercarriage, culminating in a lingering briney, savoury finish of tangy fruit and persistent minerality
The big gun of Mentelle’s trio of sav-sems, showing fresh French oak, salad-herbs and a kind of balsamic wild-yeast lift. The barrel aromas dominate slightly. It’s very powerful, concentrated and rich with lovely balance in the mouth.
About Our Winery
Cape Mentelle is firing on all cylinders, with the winemaking team fully capitalising on the extensive and largely mature vineyards, which obviate the need for contract-grown fruit. It is hard to say which of the wines is best: the ranking, such as it is, varies from year to year. That said, Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon lead the portofolio.
"The quality, depth and breadth of the Cape Mentelle range is astounding. The sensational Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 was just pipped in a taste-off for the wine of the year."
Come with a decent pedigree that goes back to his grandfather Jack Mann and his uncle Dorham. But Robert Mann has created this own reputation based on a understanding of provenance, winemaking and region to capture the very essence of style.
Congrats to Cape Mentelle, keep doing whatever it is that are doing guys because it is working!