I opened my bottle of Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon 1995 from the Intrepid Cellar, and recorded my impressions, talking a bit about Margaret River, the Jimmy Watson Trophy, and mature cabernet sauvignon wines. In spite of the amazing wine knife made by Code 38, I need to improve my technique with these older bottles as the corks are more fragile and can break.
Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon 1995
When Brad Wehr began selling wine called Wine By Brad, using very distinctive packaging that was quite different to the more traditional style, and actually marketing it to new customers, it caused quite a stir. As far as wine goes, Margaret River is fairly conservative, in contrast to the surfing image it has. So Brad has definitely turned heads over the years, and has continued to do so more recently as he focuses on alternative varieties with Amato Vino.
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Amato Vino
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https://player.whooshkaa.com/episode?id=81370
After working vintages across multiple continents Andrew (AJ) Hoadley discovered the Great Southern region of Western Australia and decided he wanted to make wines here. He began producing innovative wines from small parcels of fruit, and was quietly thrilled with the results. Many agreed with him, and were seduced similarly with the distinctive La Violetta labels. He joins me on this episode of The Vincast to talk about how he got into winemaking, where his career has taken him, and how he is interpreting this isolated part of Australia.
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AJ Hoadley from La Violetta Wines
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Frankland Estate is without question one of the finest riesling producers in Australia, and it was Hunter Smith’s parents who established the vineyard in an area still very under-appreciated. When he took over the running of the estate he decided to convert to organic viticulture which has had a profound influence on quality recently. Hunter is so committed to the maligned riesling variety that he created the Frankland Estate International Riesling Tasting (now Riesling Downunder) to showcase the quality and continued potential here in Australia.
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Hunter Smith from Frankland Estate
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Tasted with Dan Pannell at the Picardy winery in Pemberton, Western Australia.
Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2014
Lovely delicate oyster shell notes, nice lychee lime and kiwi. Bit of bite and crunchy acidity, papaya apple, excellent balance and a nice textural nuttiness.
Chardonnay 2012
Deep ripe citrus apricot nice openness. Quite ripe barrel fermented notes, toasty nutty texture, but good fruit and acidity to balance.
Pinot Noir 2013
Beautiful, bright fresh clean, lovely balance of fruit and some mature green notes, perfect integrity and intensity.
2014 Merlot cabernet Sauvignon
Bold dark juicy but light and vibrant, sitting exceptionally well in the mid palate, nice bite hints of sour pomegranate and dark cherry, wonderfully drinkable but with poise.
Shiraz 2014
A bit closed, shy and reductive, dark on the nose. Tight lean focused classic cool climate fruit profile, nice tight but generous tannins, fresh, needs to settle in bottle a bit.
Dan Pannell from Picardy wines in Pemberton, Western Australia
Filed under Tasting Notes
Tasted with Iwo Jankovicz in the Si Vintners winery in Margaret River.
Lello 2014
Oily herbal quince, floral mineral. Sherbety fresh open expression juicy and nice texture acidity.
Babayaga 2015 (98% skin contact sauvignon blanc, 2% whole bunch cabernet)
Has that same juicy profile as the Lello, just a totally different profile of fruit.
2015 Halcyon Chardonnay
Slightly closed toastiness, salty caramel coriander hazelnuts. Protecting itself for now, interesting bite, dense yet fresh fruits, cumquats.
Sin Syrah 2015
Juicy closed dark fruit chocolate. Very juicy soft but full flavours, hits of pepper, soft dark fruits, bit of bitter chocolate. Super yummy booze.
Sin Syrah 2014
Spicy white pepper violets and gherkin. Really nice bite had brightness, sweet and sour notes, very Szechuan nature.
Halcyon Pinot Noir 2014
Pretty dark fruits, juicy and fresh, good drinking, very friendly.
Halcyon Cabernet 2012
Possibly the best MR cabernet I’ve tasted.
Iwo Jakimowicz at Si Vintners in the Margaret River
Filed under Tasting Notes
Tasted with winemaker Jo Perry in the Dormilona winery in the Margaret River.
2015 Semillon
Nice and juicy on the nose, fresh broad generous good balanced ripeness.
Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2014
Rich full balanced fruit green and mineral. Presence on the palate, nice texture and depth from lees contact.
2015 Chardonnay barrel
Earthy texture, great mid palate texture.
2015 Chardonnay pot
Much purity, much balance, much completeness.
Chardonnay 2014
Quite classic Margaret River Chardonnay aromatics, malo quite prominent for now.
2015 Chenin Blanc
Pure bright fresh light lean, long.
2015 Sauvignon
Sweet texture, floral brightness, lovely length, nice bit of bite late on the palate.
2015 Cabernet
Personality plus, plush but fine, nice balance with solid fruit.
Jo Perry from Dormilona Wines in the Margaret River
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Tasted in the Vasse Felix Cellar Door in Margaret River, Western Australia.
Filius Chardonnay 2014
Nice bright intense pure mineral notes. Very lean pure white peach lemon notes, quite moreish.
Chardonnay 2013
More savoury stone fruits, a little more savoury and smoky. Slightly broader and pithier textural style, bolder but also more closed.
Heytesbury Chardonnay 2013
Smokier shellfish notes, lots of lees work and barrel toast, charred citrus. Pretty dense and closed at the moment, a bit brusque and oaky.
Filius Cabernet Merlot 2013
Very light focused varietal example. Pleasant clean slightly green style, extremely quaffable.
Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
Tighter and more focused but also bolder, very lean and possibly lacking in fruit.
Heytesbury 2011
Better (riper) fruit on the nose, but still lacking personality. Am I missing something here?
Cane Cut Semillon 2013
Very good, very fresh, well-balanced sugar, neither thin nor fat/rich.
Vasse Felix wines
Filed under Tasting Notes
Wines tasted after a visit to Cullen in Margaret River.
Moon opposite Saturn Sauvignon Blanc
Quite light and a bit herbal, subtlety of the grassy asparagus note. Fresh and vibrant but still quite lean, very delicate dustiness.
Kevin John Chardonnay 2013
Ripe citrus notes sweet nuttiness. Soft rich light subdued leesy but showing a bit of alcohol at the moment, a very generous expression, perhaps needs more time.
Amber 2014
Quite phenolic on the nose, spicy herbal notes, kind of waxy. Very pleasant and probably better with food, a tad awkward though.
Rosé 2013
Very fine, good tannins, quite cabernet dominant.
Preservative Free Merlot 2014
Nice focus tannins small dark berries. Excellent expression of the variety, bright tight and focused, very dry.
Mangan East Block 2012
Quite subtle, closed focus, mature dustiness. Fresh and clean, bit of juiciness but focused tannins. Bit of savoury to boot.
Diana Madeline 2012
Quite closed and a more dusty expression, very subtle on the nose. Very generous and soft with just a touch of oak sweetness on the tannins, bold balanced generous but focused.
Diana Madeline 2011
A touch lean and green for the moment, subtle eucalyptus notes, ripe red capsicum. Juicy bright acids with that savoury green/red notes, quite intense tannins, great grip, more my style of vintage.
Cullen Winery
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Wines tasted at the McHenry Hohnen Cellar Door in the Margaret River region.
Amigos White (Marsanne, Chardonnay, Roussanne) 2011
Nice oiliness but not too fat or broad, not warm, balanced alcohol. Hints of herbs and spice, nice stone fruit core. Pleasant, not showing its age at all.
Calgardup Brook Chardonnay 2013
Quite soft and gentle, round creamy salted butter, nice rich leesy notes, integrated but also showing a bit of oak.
Rocky Rd Chardonnay 2013
A little flintier aromatically, darker riper stone fruits. Mealier texture on the palate, a little darker in fruit profile, slightly riper notes, a bit bolder, preferred style, more length.
Burnside Chardonnay 2013
Crunchier more graphite mineral notes, quite bold, smokier too. Fuller denser dried stone fruit, earthy density, quite exuberant but not obvious.
Amigos Red (Shiraz, Grenache, Mataro) 2011
Savoury smoked sausage, almost a burnt note, undergrowth. Nice darkness, good fruit, smokiness well-integrated, good grip but still fresh. Not just simple fruit.
Tiger Country (Tempranillo, Graciano, Petit Verdot) 2010
Very dusty red earth notes, tight but soft tannins, nice balance of fruit, quite dense could use some more time.
McHenry Hohnen Amigos White Blend
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A podcast about wine, wine culture and wine people. Every week a different guest from the wine industry joins host The Intrepid Wino (aka James Scarcebrook) for a casual chat about the world of wine.
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