Cape Mentelle Rosé 2018

The Cape Mentelle Rosé 2018 is a beautiful summer wine that’s perfect with food. Its got beautiful flavours of red summer fruit, watermelon and lime to balance out the palate with crisp acidity. This wine is juicy yet creamy, and all too easy to sip. Best enjoyed with friends over a light summer meal like salad, grilled meat or even a cheese board! 

We’ve been churning through the Rosé with these warmer temperatures up here in Brisbane, and this week I wanted to share one we enjoyed on a Saturday afternoon. The Cape Mentelle Rosé 2018 seriously hit the spot after we got stuck indoors due to one of Brisbane’s many tropical afternoon storms. We were planning to enjoy this one at a picnic but instead, we sipped it while watching the rain. It was actually kind of perfect!

I can’t say I’ve tried many Rosés from Margaret River but I have had a couple of Cape Mentelle wines. So I was super excited to give this one a go and see how it was. You know by now that I don’t have to be told twice to try a Rosé – I’ll take any excuse!

About Cape Mentelle

Cape Mentelle is one of Margaret River’s ‘founding five’ wineries. They pioneered many of the region’s renowned wine styles that we see today. The name comes from a nearby Cape which was named after two notable French scientists when the French charted the coast of Western Australia in 1801.

David Hohnen and his brothers Mark and Giles established the vineyard in 1970 with just 16 hectares of vines. The early years saw Cape Mentelle experimenting with grape varieties such as Shiraz, Cabernet, Zinfandel, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. This spirit of experimentation helped to evolve the style of the wines that have come to characterise Cape Mentelle today.

The Cape Mentelle Rosé 2018 furthers this spirit of experimentation where the winemaking team played with varieties not planted on their estate and vineyards from different areas of the local region.

Why I loved the Cape Mentelle Rosé 2018

The Cape Mentelle Rosé 2018 is a seriously refreshing wine. It has a nice bright and vibrant pink hue in the glass which immediately made me think of Summer. The wine itself is full of flavour and is a bit of a fun drop to enjoy. On the nose, I got red fruit such as strawberry and a hint of watermelon. This was overlaid with a bit of crisp apple and lime.

Taste-wise these flavours followed through along with some raspberry and cranberry. The wine is juicy and more of a medium-bodied style packed full of flavour which is balanced out by a creamy texture and acidity. The flavours were balanced and beautiful, making this wine all too easy to sip on.

What to enjoy it with

The Cape Mentelle Rosé 2018 is perfect for enjoying with friends as it is so approachable. Its body and higher alcohol content make it the perfect wine to enjoy with food. Summer meals and this wine would go hand in hand, whether this is a light salad, grilled fish or chicken. Otherwise, just a nice cheese and meat antipasto board – hello picnic!

In summary: Cape Mentelle Rosé 2018

The Cape Mentelle Rosé 2018 is a great summer food wine and packs a punch with flavour. The flavours of strawberry, raspberry and watermelon shine through and finish off with beautiful crisp acidity. This juicy yet creamy drop is the perfect wine to enjoy with friends over a light salad or grilled chicken or fish.

To purchase this wine, visit the Cape Mentelle website.

Note: I was sent this wine as a sample. I was under no obligation to post about it.