Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

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.

The 1998 Cape Mentelle Cabernet was voted the best cabernet in Australia by Gourmet Traveller Wine. The follow-up 1999, from the "Vintage of the Century" in Margaret River, follows in its footsteps.

"This is a delicious, age-worthy, silken, medium-weight cabernet boasting glistening pools of blackcurrant and olive paste flavour. There's a passing cuddle of vanilla and coffee bean oak, but at its core there's lots of lovely, rich, ripe, flooding varietal flavour, which persists. Tannins are beautifully ripe."  Campbell Mattinson

Expert reviews

"This has to be one of the most reliable brands in Australia, consistently turning out wines of amazing quality from a wide array of grape varieties. The semillon sauvignon blanc blend is invariably brilliant, the chardonnay, a varietal tour de force, while the shiraz and the zinfandel are always memorable and immensely satisfying. But for founding winemaker, Davis Hohnen, it's the cabernet sauvignon that's his 'holy grail', his continued quest for a dry red to stand with classified Bordeaux. The 1999 is a classy wine featuring all manner of cabernet characters from blackcurrant through coffee, cedar, briary wood to green herbs and a hint of capsicum. A very serious wine, dense and profound with a cellaring future of at least ten years. Definitely gold medal standard on my card."  Paddy Kendler  ★★★★★

"Seriously good, tall poppy wines like Cape Mentelle cabernet always have the detractors breathing down their neck and with the hiccup of the 1997 non-release those detractors have had a bit of free time. The rot stops here. This is a delicious, age-worthy, silken, medium-weight cabernet boasting glistening pools of blackcurrant and olive paste flavour. There's a passing cuddle of vanilla and coffee bean oak, but at its core there's lots of lovely, rich, ripe, flooding varietal flavour, which persists. Tannins are beautifully ripe, it's drinking remarkably well now, and if the 14.5% alcohol wasn't showing I would have marked it higher!"  Campbell Mattinson,  Winefront Monthly - 95 points

"A wine played in two parts. At once meaty, wild and leathery, but also with a tightly-knit underswell of succulent, brightly flavoured small berry fruits. There's a herbal, capsicum-like note to its briary aromas of cassis and raspberries, with earthy regional influences and cedar/vanilla oak qualities playing second violin. It's long and firm, packed with distinctive small fruits before an astringent and drying finish of pliant tannins. Right on the stylistic edge. Drink 2007-2011+."  Jeremy Oliver – 93 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.