Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon 1995 (1500ml)

Wine industry pioneer David Hohnen established Cape Mentelle Vineyards in 1970. The 16ha Wallcliffe Vineyard was planted in the early 1970s and the winery's flagship Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced primarily from this Vineyard. 

"Woohoo, here we go again! Another big, rich Cape Mentelle. Sweet and intense palate. Perfectly balanced, full of poise. Concentrated and fleshy, yet so elegant. Complex, satisfying and tremendously stylish. Brilliant."  Andrew Wood, Divine Magazine

Expert reviews

"Woohoo, here we go again! Another big, rich Cape Mentelle. Highly aromatic, showing vanilla, roasted meat and a touch of mint along with the dark berry fruit. Sweet and intense palate. Perfectly balanced, full of poise. Concentrated and fleshy, yet so elegant. Complex, satisfying and tremendously stylish. Take your pick between this and the '94: both are brilliant."  Andrew Wood, Divine Magazine

"Medium to full red-purple; a bouquet with uncommon depth and complexity; and a range of secondary earthy/cedar/berry characters already starting to appear. A wine with similarly good structure and depth to the palate although the flavours are tending more towards the savoury end of the spectrum than the opulently fruity."  James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion - 90 points

About the vineyards

Cape Mentelle has over 150 hectares of its own vines across four vineyards within the Margaret River region. Primary plantings are cabernet sauvignon, semillon and sauvignon blanc, with smaller amounts of shiraz, chardonnay, merlot, cabernet franc and zinfandel.

Wallcliffe Vineyard

Cape Mentelle's journey started in the early 1970s with planting of the 16ha Wallcliffe Vineyard. Varieties planted at Wallcliffe are sauvignon blanc, semillon, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, zinfandel and shiraz, and these vines have provided source material for new blocks as the vineyard has expanded. The winery's flagship Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced primarily from the original Wallcliffe Vineyard. The three cabernet sauvignon blocks are cane pruned. Row spacing is mostly 3m, with 1.5 to 1.8m vine spacing with predominantly vertical shoot positioning trellising.

Trinders Vineyard

Evolving from the success of the Wallcliffe Vineyard, Trinders was developed on the eastern side of the Estate entry road in 1988 when Cape Mentelle purchased the 23ha site. Plantings are of semillon, sauvignon blanc, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot and shiraz. This block has been the testing ground for many early 'alternative' methods, including making and incorporating compost for vine nutrition, undervine weeding and minimal chemical use for pest and disease control. Numerous trellis systems have been tried in the past. Vertical shoot positioning is now used in most of the vineyard to facilitate ripening by keeping the canopies upright and ensuring even sun exposure.

Chapman Brook Vineyard

Chapman Brook boasts some of the best growing sites in the region. The undulating slopes help to create wines of uncompromised freshness. The 40ha Chapman Brook Vineyard is located 20 km southeast of the Margaret River township with a predominantly easterly aspect and some southeast and northeast slopes. Varying depths of sandy loam topsoil overlie ironstone gravel with varying degrees of heavy clay subsoil. This vineyard was planted in the early 1990s, mostly to white varieties - sauvignon blanc, semillon, chardonnay and viognier. The GinGin chardonnay clone is planted here along with some newer clones (5, 76 and 95) of the main varieties. Vertical shoot positioning is used throughout this challenging vineyard with 2m vine spacing and row spacing and unilateral cordons.

Crossroads Vineyard

Crossroads Vineyard is the youngest site, but also one of the strongest performers. Planted in 2003, its ancient lateritic soils are home to sauvignon blanc, semillon, and chardonnay, as well as shiraz and small amounts of petit verdot, zinfandel and grenache.

About the winery

David Hohnen

Wine industry pioneer David Hohnen and his brothers Mark and Giles established Cape Mentelle Vineyards in 1970. The winery takes its name from the nearby Cape, named after two notable French scientists, geographer Edmund Mentelle and his cartographer brother Francois-Simon, who charted the coast of Western Australia in 1801. 

Cape Mentelle's journey started in the early 1970s with the planting of the 16ha Wallcliffe Vineyard. Varieties planted at Wallcliffe are sauvignon blanc, semillon, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, zinfandel and shiraz, and these vines have provided source material for new blocks as the vineyard has expanded. The winery's flagship Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced primarily from the original Wallcliffe Vineyard.

In 1983 Cape Mentelle won the coveted Jimmy Watson Memorial Award for the best one-year-old dry red wine, and cemented its position as a premium winery with another win in 1984. Their Cabernet Sauvignon is widely regarded as one of Australia's leading cabernets.

Another wine to become a core part of the winery's portfolio was the distinctive Zinfandel. David Hohnen had studied wine at Fresno State University in California and was captivated by this robust variety. The 1972 plantings at Cape Mentelle were one of the first commercial vineyards of the variety in Western Australia.

The area under vine increased with the establishment of the 23ha Trinders Vineyard in 1988, followed by the Chapman Brook Vineyard in the early 1990s. By this time Cape Mentelle had a well-established reputation in the Australian market.