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 fl avour.
Growing Conditions
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 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 fi rst
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.
Appearance
Dark crimson.
Food Pairing
Moroccan spring lamb tagine