Red Australian wine: Cape Mentelle Zinfandel

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2010 Zinfandel

The 2010 harvest in Margaret River continues a run of excellent vintages, again marked by a very dry and mild summer.

Introduced to the Cape Mentelle vineyard from California in 1974, zinfandel is a particularly demanding variety to manage both in the vineyard and the winery. The resulting unique and hedonistically rich wine makes all the hard work worthwhile and as such the Cape Mentelle Zinfandel has developed something of a ‘cult’ following for lovers of bold red wines.

Appearance

Dark crimson.

Nose

Ripe plums with chocolate, allspice, maraschino cherries, juniper berries and aged tobacco.

Palate

Ripe mulberry, rhubarb and summer pudding with cinnamon, dark chocolate and fl eshy plums. The wine is opulent and rich with savoury spicy tannins balanced by fresh and vibrant red fruits. The sweet fruit carries the entire palate contributing to length of flavour.

Blend

100% zinfandel.

Cellaring

Drink now to 2030.

Food Pairing Notes

Moroccan spring lamb tagine.

Show Technical Notes and Reviews

The Vineyard

Cape Mentelle’s Zinfandel was fi rst planted in 1974 on a ridge of free draining lateritic gravel on an east west row orientation to minimise the affects of strong westerly sea breezes. Traditionally planted to low density bush vines this vineyard requires fastideous attention to detail to ensure only the best quality fruit is produced.

The Season

The 2010 harvest in Margaret River continues a run of excellent vintages, again marked by a very dry and mild summer. The only signifi cant rainfall for the vintage period was not until mid-April and long after the zinfandel had been harvested, ensuring an excellent ripening period with fruit retaining pristine varietal fl avours with great concentration and intensity.

Winemaking

The zinfandel was handpicked in the first week of March. After destemming and individual berry sorting, the must was allowed to soak at cool temperatures for several days prior to fermentation. The wine steadily fermented to dryness prior to basket pressing directy to large oak vats and barriques for malolactic fermentation and maturation. We used 25% new French oak barrels for a total of 18 months. The wine was bottled in November 2011.

Analysis

14.5% alcohol, 6.1 g/l total acidity, 3.59 pH.

The Australian Wine Annual 2013

Jeremy Oliver

An outstanding wine that reflects its varietal point of difference as awell as its regionality. Heady, spicy aromas of blackberries, blueberries, sweet vanilla/cedary oak and drief herbs ar lifted by a scent of rose petals and briar. It’s juicy, long and smooth, with a pristine, perfeclty clear presence of brightly lit fruit underpinned by a fine, tight spine of crunchy tannins, finishing with a lenght, balance and a vivacious cut of acidity. About as non-Californian a zin as you could try, but don’t miss out on this wine!

Download all reviews for this vintage as PDF

Zinfandel 2010 Tasting Notes

2010 Zinfandel

The Australian Wine Annual 2013

Jeremy Oliver

Country / Region

Please enjoy responsibly.