22 Feb 08 - John Jens rates 06 Cabernet best value Cabernet

Recently John Jens visited Capel Vale and was suitably impressed with the wines, in particular the 06 Regional Series Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon. He was also quite impressed with not only the quality of the Single Vineyard Whispering Hill Riesling, but the fantastic new labels! See below for the full text.

Pay Day for Pioneers
By John Jens

The Pratten family entered the South-West wine industry in a significant way long before all but a handful of the region's earliest pioneers, albeit in a then unfashionable Cape1 rather than Margaret River or the Great Southern. They are now producing their finest range of vines since they began in 1974.

These days they produce wines, from varieties carefully matched to the various soils and the area's potential, from their own 220ha of vineyards in each of the three regions mentioned above and from Pemberton. The revamped labeling and packaging have never been better (see the 2007 Whispering Hill Riesling, 18.1 Points and $27.95) and the same is true of the wine quality where the whites show marvelous fruit and craftsmanship in the winemaking and the red wines are even better. At least two of the latter would be included among the two or three finest WA wines in their price ranges and varieties.

The 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon is the single greatest value in the range. It is packed with soft, rich, ripe, dense and generous regional Margaret River cabernet fruit. The appealing suppleness here hides the wine's raw power and it is this that makes it such wonderful drinking at such a young age. The winemaker's deft oak handling has added a seamless texture and the finish's lightly astringent arid drying fine persistent tannins linger and leave a perfectly balance aftertaste, especially for a wine in this price range. It is hard to
imagine a more delicious or better cabernet sauvignon at this price, let alone one from Margaret River which continues to improve and thus confirm it's position as the country's finest (and most expensive) cabernet producer. 18.1 points and $22.95. This wine will develop if cellared correctly for 10 to 15 years with ease.

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