WINNING OVER MOTHER NATURE

Margaret River is known for being a remote place of beauty, blessed by a reliable climate, with the odd extreme thrown in now and again. This winter Mother Nature subjected us to an almighty curveball that brought with it relentless, record breaking rainfall and some of the strongest winds Margaret River has seen, reaching up to 115km. The area saw daily rainfall from June through to September which totaled 882.7mm (182.7mm more than the winter average) saturating the land, causing flooding everywhere including Cape Mentelle.

We were in the middle of bottling when the winery was overcome with over a foot of water after our central creek line burst its banks sending a deluge of rain into the cellars, soaking everything in its path. Bottling operations were immediately cancelled as we swung our ‘chaos plan’ into action.

From the bean-counters, to the forklift-drivers, to the winemakers - all hands were called on deck to protect our packaged goods in the warehouse – everyone downed tools to sandbag the flood zone and stop further damage – crisis averted with no damage! We have now successfully completed bottling the first run of our 2013 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon which was interrupted during the flooding, as well as bottling our outstanding 2012 reds of which we are already proudly enjoying!

LOOKING AHEAD

We have learned that flooding is a reality and as a result our business continuity plan has been tweaked to address this situation should it happen again. Our defence perimeter has been fortified to stop water from hindering our most important winter operation – getting wine in the bottle!

I believe our vines will have been unaffected by the increased water due to two factors – the age of the vines and the vineyard soils. Due to their substantial age, Cape Mentelle vines can resist heavy flooding – they have the capacity to store large volumes of water because of the mature, larger trunk system. These vines will now enter the upcoming growing season with sufficient reservoirs to thrive. Cape Mentelle vines also exist on high quality, well-drained soils. The fact that the soil contains zero herbicides means that the vine row grasses can absorb any excess water, promoting better vine root health that can quickly recover from flooding.

It is hard to predict what lies ahead weather-wise but I am satisfied that the quality of our grapes and the energy put in by the Cape Mentelle team, during this wet and challenging winter, will translate once again into world-class wine.

Evan Thompson
Winemaker, Cape Mentelle Vineyards

MOVIES AT CAPE MENTELLE

“Our open air cinema has become a highlight of summertime in Margaret River”.

CELLARING NOTES

The winemaking team have reviewed previous releases of three of Cape Mentelle’s wines. These notes represent their frank and honest assessment based purely on the wine in the glass on the day - previous reputations and reviews upon release are not taken into consideration - we’re rigorous critics!

A NEW WAY OF THINKING

“Once upon a time, food and wine pairing seemed to have rules, which were as set in stone as the Ten Commandments: Thou shalt drink white wine with fish and poultry; thou shalt drink red wine with red meats and cheese; the only possible companion to duck shalt be pinot noir.”

And, of course dessert wine shalt accompany dessert, which of course it apparently should never do. I once asked Comte Alexandre de Lur-Saluces of Chateau d’Yquem what to pair with his fabulous Sauternes and he answered, emphatically, “never dessert! The wine should accompany savouries: foie gras, pâtés, terrines.” So, there you are. So much for rules. Of course, it’s all a matter of taste, as it is with food-and-food pairings. Certainly, duck and orange is a known combo, as is apple and pork, turkey and cranberries but perhaps a more unfamiliar marriage is that of fish and pawpaw (or papaya) and this is what I’ve chosen to accompany the Cape Mentelle Chardonnay 2012. The wine notes say of this splendid wine: “fresh lime, honeysuckle, cashew nuts and lemon curd”, and on the palate there’s more lime along with “pear and grapefruit… with hints of gunflint and marzipan.” Winemaker Rob Mann suggests a match with marron – not the chestnut but the region’s freshwater crayfish – dressed with a lime and chive beurre blanc. A great idea. But in the absence of the local crustacean, why not try this dish? That’s not a commandment, just a suggestion, but I think you’ll love it.

Chef Ian Parmentier

Fish with pawpaw sauce

An easy recipe suitable for any white fish fillets. Serves 4.

Ingredients

600 g fish fillets
250 g fresh pawpaw flesh
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp grated ginger root
6 or 7 spring onions
2 limes (or 1 lemon)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup chicken or fish stock
Coriander leaves or
Vietnamese mint to garnish

Chop the white part of the spring onion and cook gently in frying pan with the grated ginger in 1 Tbsp of olive oil for 2 or 3 minutes.

While that is cooking, remove the flesh from the pawpaw and mash with a fork. Add this to the pan and cook until it is thoroughly softened. 

Stir in the chicken (or fish) stock, the coconut milk, sesame oil, and the ground coriander and leave to simmer gently while you attend to the fish.

Make sure the fillets are dry by wiping with a kitchen towel then fry them gently with the rest of the oil. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes on each side. Don’t overcook. Remove to plate along with any juices.

By now the sauce should be cooked. Squeeze in the juice of one lime or 1/2 lemon. Strain the sauce. Pour any juices from the fish fillets into the sauce. Stir then pour over fish.

Garnish with slices of fresh lime or lemon and fresh coriander leaves or Vietnamese mint and serve with plain rice.

MENTELLE AMBASSADORS

Preeti Jathar (Germany), Bobby Cabrera (Texas), Caroline Felzen (Germany), Sebastian Klimpel (Germany)

Sebastian Klimpel arrived in Perth in October 2011 before heading South to the picturesque Margaret River region two weeks later.
“I had heard about Margaret River and its beautiful landscape, beaches, forests and wines,” said Sebastian. “Not only did we find a stunning landscape but many lovely people who made us feel at home.” Sebastian stayed for six months heading up North when the rainy season began.
“We were sad to leave all our friends but very excited to begin a new adventure.”
Sebastian left Margaret River in April driving along the coast to Darwin. Breathtaking places dotted his travels including the Pinnacles, Cape Range National Park, Karijini National Park and finally the legendary Gibb River Road.
“I will never forget this experience and Australia will always stay in my memories. I’m looking forward to being back in Australia one day. There are many tales to tell about my journey but the one thing I know for sure is - Western Australia is the place to be!”

You too can become a Mentelle Ambassador, for inspiration have a look at previous Ambassador photos on our facebook page - www.facebook.com/capementelle. Next time you are in a remote or exciting location keep your eyes peeled for that unique photo opportunity – of you or someone you love, with your favourite drop of Cape Mentelle! We will publish the best and most intriguing photo and the winning Mentelle Ambassador will receive a FREE mixed case of six bottles of Cape Mentelle wine (within Australia). All entrants will receive a limited edition leather Cape Mentelle notebook. Email entries to [email protected].

GREENER, SMARTER, STRONGER

Our wine packaging is sporting a fresh look for the 2013 vintage! It’s greener, smarter, stronger and more uniform.

Cape Mentelle’s new shipper packaging suits all tiers of wine bottles from burgundies to claret doing away with the need for a range of different styles of boxes.

The six-pack box is now unbleached making it a greener option and made of a thicker grade board for increased strength and produces less waste.

The new consistent-style of shipper packaging is in use now.

NEW 2011 VINTAGE RELEASES

The 2011 harvest in Margaret River was warm, dry and early and continued an excellent run of recent vintages.
Warm nights and above average daily temperatures throughout the growing season led to very early ripening across all varieties with harvest commencing earlier than any of the last five vintages.
Ripe, plush and velvety tannins with abundant fruit flavour are the result of an outstanding early and warm vintage.