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Margaret
River, Western Australia
Part
9:
McHenry Hohnen
McHenry Hohnen Vintners, PO Box
1480 Margaret River, Western Australia 6285, Australia; Tel/fax:
(61) 8 9758 7777
E-mail: bee@mchv.com.au
Website: www.mchv.com.au
Father and daughter: David and
Freya Hohnen
My final visit in Margaret
River was also one of my most interesting. It was with new winery
McHenry Hohnen, at a still-under-construction winery located a few
kilometres south of the Margaret River town. The Hohnen half of
McHenry Hohnen, of course, refers to David Hohnen, a well-known
figure in the wine world, famous not only for being a pioneer in
Margaret River with Cape
Mentelle, but also for setting up iconic winery Cloudy
Bay in New Zealand’s Marlborough region.
Cape Mentelle and Cloudy Bay
are now part of the LVMH portfolio, and David Hohnen left the role
of corporate CEO in 2003, to strike out on his own. Now his chief
interest is farming: sheep and a few pigs. But wine is hard to get
out of the system, and with his brother in law Murray McHenry, a new
winery has been born, based around the four Margaert River vineyards
that were already in the family.
I met with David and his
daughter Freya, who is in charge of winemaking duties, to taste some
of the wines, notes of which are given below.
I also met with David
shortly after my return to London, when he was passing through, and
an interview with him, in which he discusses the history of the
Margaret River region, the development of Cape Mentelle and Cloudy
Bay, and the background to McHenry Hohnen, can be found elsewhere on
this site.
The
vineyards: olive trees and vines
Here, though, the focus is
on the wines. They’re an interesting bunch, made in an elegant,
more European style than many from Margaret River. Particularly
interesting is the use of varieties not normally associated with the
region, such as Tempranillo, Barbera, Petit Verdot and Grenache.
3 Amigos Marsanne
Chardonnay Roussanne 2006
Gently aromatic nose. The palate is fresh with herb-tinged fruit
and a bit of richness of texture. It’s fresh with a savoury edge.
Quite tight. 88/100
3 Amigos Marsanne
Chardonnay Roussanne 2005
Open, herby nose with some richness and a bit of funky
minerality. The palate has a rich spicy edge to it: quite savoury
and minerally, with good acidity. An interesting wine. 90/100
McHenry Hohnen
Calgadup Brook Chardonnay 2006
Just 12.5% alcohol. Nice lemony freshness to the nose, which is
lemony and precise but with enough richness to provide pleasure. The
palate is bright, smooth and elegant with the nutty richness
balanced by freshness. An elegant style. 91/100
McHenry Hohnen Calgadup
Brook Chardonnay 2005
It’s a tiny bit funky on the nose, which is minerally and
tight. There’s nice, rich rounded fruit on the palate, which is
rounded and textured, with a distinctive nutty almondy character.
90/100
McHenry Hohnen Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2005
Very fresh bright green herby nose. Palate is concentrated and
full with more herbiness. A distinctive herbal sort of style
that’s quite appealing. 89/100
3 Amigos
Shiraz/Grenache/Mataro 2005
Lovely fresh nose of bright, peppery red fruits. Ripe but with a
nice spiciness. The palate is supple and rounded with lovely fresh
Rhône-like pepper and spice. ‘I always thought that if we grew
these varieties in places where they ripened in Autumn and struggled
a bit, they’d do well’, says Hohnen. 91/100
3 Amigos Shiraz/Grenache/Mataro 2006
Lovely ripe dark fruits nose with a nice peppery, spicy
meatiness: this is fantastic. Supple, smooth ripe fruits on the
palate with a nice peppery spiciness. Delicious stuff. 92/100
McHenry Hohnen Tiger Country Tempranillo/Petit Verdot/Cabernet
Sauvignon 2005
Restrained, smooth sweet dark fruits nose. The palate is full,
dense and smooth with rich spicy chocolatey fruit and a hint of
meatiness. The fruit is backed up by firm yet spicy tannins. Good
weight here, and it’s really nicely restrained. Ripe but
expressive. 92/100
McHenry Hohnen Tiger Country Tempranillo/Petit Verdot/Cabernet
Sauvignon 2006
Very fresh, firm savoury/spicy dark fruits on the nose. The
palate shows structured pure dark fruit with lovely fresh acidity. A
bright wine with good tannic structure. Lovely. 92/100
Then we looked at some 2007 wines in barrel. A range of varieties
were represented, including Tempranillo, Barbera, Mataro, Petit
Verdot, Grenache, Cabernet, Merlot and Malbec. All showed very well:
it looks like 2007 is set to be a very successful year for McHenry
Hohnen, as indeed it appears to be for the Margaret River region as
a whole.
UK
agent: Louis Latour Agencies
Wines
tasted 04/07
Find these wines with wine-searcher.com
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