2021 Cape Mentelle Shiraz, Margaret River

This is surely one of the very best examples of Shiraz made in Margaret River in this vintage. Fifteen months maturing in oak, which included 21% new French and Hungarian oak. A dark crimson magenta colour. The vintage imbues it with a more earthy, more undergrowth nature, but there are also notes of chocolate, cloves, cold tea and leather. There is refinement here, along with the power. This wine is very much a savoury style, with impressive length and sleek tannins showing good concentration for the entire length. This should continue to perform well over the next eight to fifteen years. Drink to 2039.

94 points Ken Gargett for Wine Pilot, July 2024

Vibrantly purple red in the glass, really youthful. Complex aromas of blueberry, white pepper, spice, dried herbs, bramble and earth. The palate is mid weight, bright and full of blue fruited goodness, spices and sweet, charry oak. There’s cola and licorice in there as well and the tannins are structured, shapely and the acidity has plenty of crunch. Drink to 2033.

93 points Aaron Brasher for The Real Review, January 2023

Attractive, buoyant, fragrant and really fruity, but obviously not sweet as such. There’s an array of dark plums and blueberries coated in woodsy spices, pepper, Dutch licorice and cedary/charry oak. There’s a pop of fruit sweetness across the fuller-bodied palate with plentiful tannins, if a little parching on the finish. Drink to 2031.

92 points Jane Faulkner for Halliday Wine Companion, July 2024

Arrives in brilliant, shining red-purple hues. This looks lively and definitely is lively in the glass with a delightful spiciness bringing some added oomph. Aromas are lifted and busy in black berries, black cherry, liquorice, sage, chocolate bullets, pepper, bay leaf. Black fruit on the palate is complimented by a light touch of cranberry and layered in the most delightful spice – dusty cacao, liquorice, allspice, clove – played against a background of regional pepper and bay leaf notes. Oak tannins contain some dry, black olive savouriness, again, adding to the overall impact of the wine. Just a slight hollowness on the middle palate is corrected by a solid finish. Drink to 2030.

91 points Jeni Port for Wine Pilot, July 2024

The 2021 Shiraz from Cape Mentelle opens with complex aromas of blue fruits and licorice, layered on an earthy base with high notes of oolong, milk chocolate, white pepper and cloves. The harmonious, savoury palate is medium- to full-bodied, with generous, ripe fruit laid evenly across the considerable length.

This wine craves dishes that have clean flavours, delicate roasting fats, and warm, aromatic spices. You could roast Jerusalem artichokes and serve these with shaved chestnuts and brown butter sage, or quail rubbed with allspice (pimento), cinnamon and white pepper, sprinkled with sumac and toasted pine nuts before serving.

More about this wine

The Cape Mentelle Shiraz is a regional blend of estate grown fruit from the southern and central parts of Margaret River.

The constantly changing conditions of the 2021 season required vigilance in the vineyards and a lot of work with canopy management. The fruit for this wine was de-stemmed and lightly crushed into closed top fermenters and inoculated with select yeast strains. Small parcels were bled (saignée) method, with total maceration times of up to 22 days. Each parcel was basket pressed, and kept separate for eight months before this blend was assembled and matured for 15 months with limited racking in French and Hungarian oak of which 21% were new.

The bottled wine is unfined but was lightly filtered before bottling.

About Cape Mentelle

Cape Mentelle is a Margaret River pioneer established in 1970 by brothers David, Giles and Mark Hohnen with the planting of what is now known as the Walcliffe Vineyard. The original 16 hectares of vines has over the years grown to 116 hectares, with a global export market for the well-regarded wines.

New Zealand born Annabel Angland leads the work in the vineyards, while Margaret River local David Moulton keeps things organised at the winery.