2011 Cabernet Sauvignon
Dark rich powerful palate with a fine elegant structure still showing great fresh vibrancy of fruit. The long finish has fine chewy powdery tannins.
“The Cape Mentelle Cabernets just get better each year. The 2010 was outstanding, but this brings a greater depth and fruit concentration into the palate while retaining that beautifully elegant design which has become a feature of these wines.”
Ray Jordan - The West Australian
Nose
A complex and balanced mix of inky blackcurrants, couverture, thyme and aniseed with a touch of violet and a subtle oak influence.
Palate
A rich and plush palate with great drive and intensity combining a vibrant mix of dark berries, couverture and wet slate with velvety tannins leading to a long, cool and mineral finish with great persistence.
Blend
91% cabernet sauvignon, 6% cabernet franc, 3% merlot.
Cellaring
Drink now to 2041.
Food Pairing Notes
Tepanyaki Margaret River Wagyu Beef paired with a wild mushroom broth and soba noodles.
The Vineyard
Cape Mentelle’s Estate Vineyard was first planted in 1970 with additional plantings in 1988 on a ridge of free draining lateritic gravel with an east west row orientation to minimise the affects of strong westerly sea breezes. For nearly 40 years the best parcels of cabernet have been carefully managed
to produce grapes with full concentrated flavour and with a firm yet fine tannin profile. The grapes are harvested by hand and sorted berry by berry to ensure the best possible expression of fruit character and structure each year.
The Season
The 2011 harvest in Margaret River was warm, dry and early and continued the 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.
Winemaking
The hand picked fruit underwent destemming and berry sorting followed
by light crushing. Individual vineyard batches were fermented on skins for up to 30 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 oak following pressing for malolactic fermentation. Regular rackings over an 18 month period ensured the individual wines were at their best prior to blending. The wines were matured in selected Bordeaux coopered barriques of which 50% were new with the balance being one year old. The final blend was completed in November 2012 and bottled in December 2012.
Analysis
13.5% alcohol, 6.3g/l total acidity, 3.59 pH.
The West Australian Wine Guide 2014
The Cape Mentelle cabernets just get better each year. This one is right in there with the best of them. The 2010 was outstanding, but this brings a greater depth and fruit concentration into the palate while retaining that beautifully elegant design which has become a feature of these wines. Dusty powdery tannins, medium-weight concentrated fruit and such beautiful oak treatment. Takes cabernet to an art form.
