2013 Shiraz
"A core of black-cherried fruit champs through an array of clove and assorted dry spice notes. This is a savoury rocket. Peppery, leafy, fruity and firm. Its ripeness is at the upper level of comfort, but power and impact comes as a result." - James Halliday
Cape Mentelle Shiraz draws inspiration from the techniques and wines of the Northern Rhône Valley in France. The fruit is destemmed, berry sorted, cold soaked and traditionally fermented. Maturation in both large oak vats and small barriques is aimed at retaining the refined fruit, floral and spice characters of the variety.
Nose
A lovey mix of fresh and dry fruits, rich dried plums, fig compote, cherry and bruised raspberry with underlying dried herbs, liquorice and tobacco.
Palate
Juicy and supple on the palate, inviting dried cherries and dark fruits with savoury notes of fine leather and wood spice. Finishing with warmth from fine, silky tannins and a fine acid bone adding length.
Blend
99.6% Shiraz, 0.4% Grenache
Cellaring
Drinking beautifully now or cellar until 2028
Food Pairing Notes
Well-marbled Wagyu burger, cherryglazed duck magret and fresh roasted baby vegetables. For dessert, the 2013 Cape Mentelle Shiraz would be well complemented by a fresh forest berry tart with a dollop of spiced cream.
The Vineyard
The fruit for this wine was sourced from Cape Mentelle’s Estate vineyards from Margaret River ranging in age from 13 to 40 years. The soils are 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.
Winemaking
Fruit was selectively harvested based and flavour and tannin maturity. After the fruit was destemmed and berry sorted, some berries kept whole to amplify the crunchy fresh fruit characters. Individual vineyard batches were fermented on skins for up to 15 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 barriques and large oak vats following pressing for malolactic fermentation. Regular rackings over a 14 month period ensured the individual wines were at their best prior to blending. The wines were matured in selected Burgundian coopered barriques of which 20% were new, before being bottled in September 2014.
Analysis
13.5% alcohol, 5.8g/l total acidity, 3.55 pH.
