Cape Mentelle Zinfandel 2019
- 91
- $65
- Drink by: 2023-2035
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Works the exotic side of the Zinfandel grape, the wild side. Brimming in blueberry, raspberry and bramble fruit with a standout thread of plum jam – a real sweet preserve note – injected with star anise and 5 spice. It’s dense and rich and warm as Zinfandel – aka Primitivo – can be. Spice takes a major supporting role in wild rooibos, hibiscus, dried herbs, anise and more, mixing and interweaving with wild berries, earth and undergrowth. Cape Mentelle Zinfandel has always enjoyed time in oak, here it has seen French, American and Hungarian oak for 16 months. With so many moving parts, somehow everything comes together with a controlled hand. A fascinating taste experience.
Jeni Port is one of Australia’s top wine communicators. Based in Melbourne, Jeni created the first wine column in the (then) Sun News-Pictorial before moving over to The Age and becoming that paper’s longest-serving wine writer. Over the years she has written for most Australian wine magazines and these days calls WinePilot home. She is also a Tasting Panel member on the Halliday Wine Companion. She was named Wine Communicator of the Year and Legend of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in 2014 and in 2018 Legend of the Vine. She is a founding board member of Australian Women In Wine and is the co-deputy chair of Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards and China’s Wine List of the Year Awards.
