Nose
The nose is open and varietal with notes of
white and black pepper, spicy cardamom and
an elegant whiff of wisteria. Hints of rich
candied orange peels, grated coconut, cedar,
and cigar box add to the enticing aromas
Palate
The intense concentration of flavours reflect
the aromatics. Bursts of complex black fruits,
small, ripe berries and cherries in alcohol are
supported by notes of orange marmalade,
cinnamon syrup and ripe, chewy tannins.
A very textural wine, the finish is long,
intrinsically structured with lingering flavours
of caramelised oak and fresh crusty brioche.
Growing Conditions
The fruit for this wine was sourced from
Cape Mentelle’s vineyards in Margaret
River, ranging in age from 16 to 44 years.
The soils are predominantly deep, sandy
loams with high lateritic gravel content over
clay. Shoot and leaf removal techniques were
used to ensure good fruit exposure to light
and to take advantage of the ocean breezes
that flow through the canopy.Winter provided average rainfall and spring
delivered beautiful warm, dry conditions,
perfectly setting up vintage 2016. A warm
start to summer in January gave good fruit
set and crop predictions. An unseasonal
single rain event in late Januray delivered
adequate soil moisture for full maturity in
red varieties.
Winemaking
The fruit is picked by hand and treated with
great care in small batches. Destemming
varies from 70% to complete depending
on the vineyard selection. “Crushing”
is light on the way to a combination of
open and closed fermenters. The ferments
are carried out with a combination of
wild and selected yeasts and operations
are decided day by day, without recipe,
to optimise potential and complexity. Post
fermentation macerations are long, up to 80
days, before light basket pressing. Malolactic
fermentations take place in barrel and the
wine is kept on lees, unsulphured for several
months and sometimes stirred when taste
demands it. The final blend for this wine was
prepared between September and October
2017. The wine was bottled unfined and
with only a light polishing filtration and
minimal sulphur in late November 2017
Aging
Long aging potential, 20 years minimum
for this great vintage.
Appearance
Deep, dark purple with youthful garnet edges.
Food Pairing
Opulence and precision makes this wine
a perfect match with a platter of jamon
de bellota, blue cheese and fig paste. This
wine will partner perfectly with a duck in
plum sauce, asian greens and wood ear
mushrooms. Chicken liver parfait with
caramelized figs on crostini.