Red

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

Highly fragrant and scented cabernet from this excellent cabernet vintage. Aromas of violet and blackcurrant and red berry nuances with a lift of bay leaf and graphite. The palate is seamlessly woven with a fine chalky tannin control. It’s an elegantly crafted wine of good intensity and depth delivering its payload with poise and refinement.

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

Perfumed notes of red fruit engage immediately on the nose. There are scents of rose petal and bay leaf with a little graphite complexity. The palate is firm although there is sweet fruit to balance. Has a distinctive leafy overtone with traces of herbs and cedar. It’s a wine that needs some time to emerge from its shell. An elegant...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

In many ways, it was cabernet sauvignon from Cape Mentelle that put this pioneering producer on the map and indeed Margaret River. This is certainly one of the better recent vintages and one of the better examples of Cape Mentelle cabernet. It's an elegant, stylish and almost medium to full-bodied wine that reveals so much to like about Margaret River...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

In many ways, it was cabernet sauvignon from Cape Mentelle that put this pioneering producer on the map and indeed Margaret River. This is certainly one of the better recent vintages and one of the better examples of Cape Mentelle cabernet. It's an elegant, stylish and almost medium to full-bodied wine that reveals so much to like about Margaret River...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

A powerhouse cabernet of immense fruit concentration yet at the same time showing poise and effortless control. Blackcurrant, dark chocolate and a little graphite black olive characters emerge immediately on the nose. The palate is loaded with cabernet of great intensity with a chalky tannin and slightly graphite edge retaining control through to the long finish.

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

The vintage has contributed to a stylish and elegantly structured cabernet. It has just 2% each of merlot and petit verdot. Perfumed note of blackcurrant and sage-like dark fruits combine with intrigue on the nose. The palate is still quite firm with controlling fine chalky tannins and fine-grained oak working in perfect harmony. As it breathes sweet dark fruits emerge...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

So this is predominantly cabernet, but then there's a small component of merlot and cabernet franc - small but important. There's an impressive purity and refinement about this cabernet that says much about the season, which was particularly kind and the vineyards, which are now quite mature. It's refined and elegant, and it's had 18 months in French oak, but...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet sauvignon was the wine that put Cape Mentelle on the map and went a long way towards cementing Margaret River in the global wine psyche. This is clearly one of the finest examples produced since those early wines of the late 1970s. It captures the variety beautifully, with aromas of cedary blackcurrant, light bay leaf, and subtle olive tapenade....

Margaret River

Shiraz

This is the pinnacle of shiraz from Cape Mentelle. It’s such a beautifully poised and elegant wine revealing how good this variety can be when well-handled in Margaret River. Aromas of red fruit infused with a minerally dried herb characters. A light sprinkle of cracked black pepper adds further elevation. The palate is still quite tight with that minerally cracked...

Margaret River

Shiraz

Carefully selected from micro sites within the three vineyards of Cape Mentelle, this wine displays vibrant, buoyant colour with red and crimson hues. The nose offers spicy, plummy, red cherry notes, while the palate delivers tremendous intensity, tempered and refined. This is the most stylish and exemplary shiraz from the region, with great potential for ageing, though it's already a...

Margaret River

Shiraz

A perfectly poised and presented example of a classy Margaret River shiraz from an outstanding year. The longer growing season allowed the fruit flavours to develop slowly and enabled the grapes to be picked in perfect condition. Lovely spicy, plummy, dark chocolate notes emerge on the nose, while the palate is bright and alive, bursting with red fruits. Dried herbs...

Perth Hills

Cabernet Sauvignon

An elegant and stylish medium bodied cabernet. Perfumed exotic fragrances open with red berry notes of cherry and red currant, plus a little minerally seashell character. The palate is worked with fine chalky tannins and a tidy infusion of oak. Excellent value.

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

You're getting a decent bang for your buck with this value-for-money cabernet. Displays bright red fruits on the nose with some scented violet notes. The dark berry characters of the palate express perfectly what is cabernet sauvignon in Margaret River, with a little subtle bay leaf and graphite. Colour is quite brilliant and bright, and the whole package expresses with...

Margaret River

Shiraz

Highly scented medium bodied shiraz from Margs. On the nose there’s a delightful fragrance of spicy plum and dark cherry, while the palate delivers a seamless integration of fine chalky tannins and lightly applied oak. Well managed wine.

Margaret River

Shiraz

Shiraz has always been a strong part of the Cape Mentelle portfolio, though often overshadowed by cabernet. This wine, from a season of good intensity and fruit weight, offers spicy, bright, lively fruit, brilliant color, and a delightful perfume. The palate is textured, with evident spices and a touch of dried herb influence. Oak is neatly layered, supporting a long...

Margaret River

Shiraz

If you ever doubted that Margaret River could produce outstanding shiraz, then this wine should change your mind. It’s a beautifully elegant, balanced, and vibrant shiraz that delivers with deft understatement. The aromas show lovely plummy and spicy notes, while the palate is seamlessly woven, with fine tannin and oak integrated in support. A firm thread sustains through to the...

Margaret River

Red Varietal

This is a Right Bank influenced Bordeaux blend with about 91% cabernet franc. It’s a variety that needs good vintages and the early 2020 vintage has suited it. A mix of red berry and dark cherry and violet on the nose. The palate is still quite tight but elegantly framed with firm fine tannins. This is a serious statement of...

Margaret River

Cabernet Franc

Predominantly cabernet franc, with a little cabernet sauvignon for structure and a touch of merlot for flesh. The wine shows a delightful fragrance of scented red fruits and a hint of tobacco leaf. The palate has structure, delicacy, fine-grained tannins, and silky smooth oak supporting the style perfectly. A standout example of cabernet franc in Margaret River, showing what the...

Margaret River

Cabernet Franc

Cabernet franc was a variety well suited to the longer, cooler, and quite beautiful 2023 vintage. It certainly allowed those lovely aromatic perfumes and floral characters to emerge. The palate is refined and elegant, capturing the vintage brilliantly. It also has substance and power, delivered with fine tannins, judicious oak use, and beautiful fruit expression. Lovely drinking now, but with...

Margaret River

Zinfandel

One of the most idiosyncratic and individual wines from Cape Mentelle, and indeed Western Australia. Zinfandel is rare here, but this season suited it perfectly, allowing ripeness and generosity without excess. Hand-picked, basket-pressed, and aged in oak for about 15 months, the result is a wine with liqueur, cherry, red fruit, and dark chocolate on the nose, and a vibrant,...

Margaret River

Zinfandel

Cape Mentelle has been making zinfandel almost from the outset, and it remains a style and variety eagerly sought by aficionados. It has been refined over the years, and this example, even in a warm year, shows lovely balance, restraint, and perfumed fruit intensity on the nose before delivering a remarkably soft, complex, and smooth palate structure. Lovely sweet fruit...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This ripping cabernet comes from Capel Vale’s Scholar Vineyard in Wilyabrup. This is a mighty good wine, certainly when you consider the price. The colour is dark and almost opaque. Aromas of intense blackcurrant, dark chocolate and subtle graphite intertwine. Then the palate delivers with a bang. Power plus here with deep dark fruits merging with plenty of necessary oak...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This ripping cabernet comes from Capel Vale’s Scholar Vineyard in Wilyabrup. This is a mighty good wine, certainly when you consider the price. The colour is dark and almost opaque. Aromas of intense blackcurrant, dark chocolate and subtle graphite intertwine. Then the palate delivers with a bang. Power plus here with deep dark fruits merging with plenty of necessary oak...

Margaret River

Malbec

One of an increasing number of straight malbecs emerging from the State's cellars. This soft and generously presented malbec brimming with all those plush red fruits and rhubarb delivers plenty. A spicy licorice edge adds complexity to the finish. A beautiful example of this often-underrated variety.

Western Australia

Malbec

Malbec is an ideal variety for this soft and approachable early drinking red. The red fruits of plum and rhubarb emerge on the nose, while the palate is plump and fleshy with just enough tannin and a little oak to balance and support. Scrumptious wine for drinking over the next few years.

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

Smart cabernet for under $30. From the Scholar Vineyard in Wilyabrup, the source of some of Capel Vale’s finest reds. Black fruits with chocolatey bay leaf and a touch of minerality on the nose. The palate is smooth and seamless—black fruits dominate with dark plum, framed by fine, sinewy, slightly chalky tannins. Medium weight but with impressive flavour intensity. Ideal...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

A refined and beautifully elegant chardonnay sourced from Margaret River. It's wild yeast fermented with regular lees stirring building texture into the medium-weight palate. Spicy lemony characters emerge from the nose and surge into the palate. A little orange zest adds further to a tidy young wine best in the shorter term.

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

A bright minerally cabernet sauvignon which string reflects this vintage. It's poise and elegantly structured. Blackcurrant fruit merges with a lift of scented red berry. A distinctive minerally oyster shell characters settles on the nose before creeping into the palate to define and deliver to a long finish. It's seamlessly integrated with a little graphite edge to complete the finish....

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This 100% cabernet comes off the Scholar Vineyard, which each year produces some of the best cabernets from Wilyabrup. There is power and elegance here, features which seem synonymous with the vineyard. Power-packed blackcurrant, bay leaf and dark chocolate with a delightful floral violet lift. Seamlessly structured palate with fine linear tannins and ample oak. A wine of great polish...

Margaret River

Shiraz

Not the opulence and density of the '20 vintage, yet there is poise and plush fruit contributing to a wine of supreme elegance and style. Spicy floral notes on the nose with some nice cinnamon characters. The palate is soft and generous with fine chalky limestone like tannins and well-weighted oak. It has a slightly gravelly mouth feel which I...

Great Southern

Cabernet Sauvignon

A delicious, engaging Frankland River cabernet that combines power with restraint. Blackcurrant, plum and blackberry fruit are joined by a faint minerally ironstone note. The palate is elegant and poised, with fine tannin and neatly integrated oak. Best enjoyed in the medium term, though already showing impressive drinkability.

Great Southern

Pinot Noir

A thoroughly brilliant and bright pinot from Castelli’s home block near Denmark. The aromas are pure joy with notes of cherry and spicy strawberry. A subtle earthy nuance adds to the complex opening. Then the light to medium bodied palate captures so much of the ethereal fruit characters of the variety in this season. Minerally and slightly chalky tannins with...

Great Southern

Pinot Noir

One of the standouts from a warm vintage, thanks to Denmark’s slightly cooler conditions. Off the home block just outside Denmark, this pinot opens with an intense nose of sour cherry, spice and a touch of truffle. The palate is seamless and silky, beautifully textured with sinewy tannins threading through. Oak is deftly handled, adding balance without intrusion. A wine...

Great Southern

Shiraz

Capturing the strengths of a very good vintage in Frankland, this is medium-bodied but generous shiraz. Smooth and supple, it offers deep blackberry and plum flavours with spice and a touch of licorice, so typical of the region. It’s poised and long, with a seamless mouthfeel and nothing overdone. A lovely expression of Frankland shiraz.

Great Southern

Pinot Noir

A fragrant and light bodied pinot designed for immediate drinking. The nose reveals subtle cherry and spicy characters while the palate is soft and warm with lifted and bright red fruits. The oak is well managed and the tannins fine infused.

Great Southern

Cabernet Sauvignon

The purity of the varietal cabernet from Frankland is evident immediately. Has a meaty blackcurrant aroma that is so much part of the variety. But then other characters of dark chocolate, shale and graphite emerge. The palate has a tight firm core in support of the plush concentrated fruit flavours. An excellent wine displaying a high degree of regionality.

Frankland River

Cabernet Sauvignon

An elegant and slightly angular wine that strongly reflects this vintage in Frankland River. The cascade of black currant washes through the palate as the fine tread of tannin and fine-grained oak works through. A slightly savoury, minerally bay leaf and black olive nuance add further layers.

Great Southern

Shiraz

Confirms the credentials of Frankland River shiraz. Has a dense dark colour. The aromas display a mix of spicy dark plum and blackberry with that slight rusty nail regionality. Super sleek palate with fine grainy tannins and a little oak to complement. The grainy textured palate is a feature.

Frankland River

Cabernet Blend

Castelli Il Liris cabernet sauvignon shiraz 2021 ($120) This blend of cabernet sauvignon and shiraz from Frankland River illustrates the incredible range of wines that can be produced in this region. Bursts out with a combination of underlying black fruits with a lift of exotic blue fruits. It has structure and tannin, but the fruit opulence wraps around the tight...

Great Southern

Pinot Noir

One of the very best wines yet from Castelli, showcasing fruit from the Denmark vineyard. This gets a bit of hands-on treatment, with hand picking, whole bunch fermentation and a little carbonic maceration before barrel fermentation. It brings the wine to life with an energy and drive. It’s medium bodied and within that controlled framework there is power and a...