2020 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon
“This wine displays great brightness and texture with a juicy deliciousness that begs to be slurped with fresh seafood, or savoured on its own.”
Cape Mentelle takes a non-interventionist approach towards this classic Margaret River blend allowing the region and varieties to speak with loud, clear voices, aiming to preserve fruit intensity and purity.
Nose
This wine exudes fresh green lime juice, white nectarine and Granny Smith apple skin, overlaid with crisp cucumber aromas with hints of fresh cut lemongrass, passionfruit and Meyer lemon peel. A subtle sea salt character persists over a seam of mineral wet granite to give a lifted freshness to this complex nose
Palate
The bright palate bursts forth with fresh citrus, tropical and floral notes of lime juice, grapefruit, green pawpaw, jasmine and fresh wild flowers. This wine has sinewy energy, displaying a fine line of acidity that carries the freshness and minerality to the end of the lithe palate. Elegant yet textural, there is great tension in the wine, which has a lifted floral white tea note on its finish
Blend
Sauvignon Blanc 79%, Semillon 21%
Cellaring
Ready for enjoyment in its youth, this wine can be cellared for up to 5 years
Food Pairing Notes
The winemakers recommend the mineral brightness of this wine to be well suited to grilled crayfish with fresh lime juice, a freshly shucked oyster drizzled in lemon chilli oil, or a simple scallop ceviche tossed with birds eye chilli and a hint of mirin. Grilled haloumi sprinkled with sea salt, seared salmon tacos seasoned with a fresh mango and papaya salsa, or a simple Greek salad will all accentuate the juicy crispness of this summer white
The Vineyard
The fruit comes from the perfectly suited cooler southern half of the Margaret River region, from our three estate vineyards of Wallcliffe, Crossroads and Chapman Brook. The typical soils of these vineyards are geologically ancient, free draining sandy loams with a high percentage of lateritic gravel. The vines are vertically trained, spur or cane-pruned with canopy manicuring to allow good air flow and dappled sunlight on the bunches. We achieved a great tropical element with some sauvignon blocks ripening a touch more than in the past, while the semillon was picked a little earlier to capture freshness and mineral acidity
The Season
A winter of high rainfall replenished parched soils, and yet rains eased through budburst and flowering to allow a small but clean crop to form. The previous year’s unsettled weather, combined with some wind at the time of flowering (October), produced a tiny crop in the whites, which would define the intensity and power of the vintage. Summer was one of the hottest and driest on record, pushing harvest forward by between 10 days (sauvignon blanc) to 23 days (semillon) compared to the ten year average, producing fruit with great balance of ripeness and acidity. Crops were low, but quality was exceptional
Winemaking
When harvesting sauvignon blanc and semillon, the emphasis is placed on capturing vibrant, fresh flavours with bright acidity. To this end, fruit is harvested at night and in the early hours of the morning to take advantage of the cooler temperatures. In the winery, extended fermentation took place at very low temperatures in stainless steel tanks with carefully selected yeast to accentuate varietal characters. The wine is aged on lees (ferment solids) for an additional four months to add texture and richness before bottling in August
Analysis
13.5% alcohol, 6.16g/l total acidity, 3.24 pH
