McHenry and Hohnen was founded in 2004 by brothers in law Murray McHenry and David Hohnen. Murray’s back ground had been in hotels and fine wine before he purchased land in the the Margaret River and started growing grapes which he initially sold to Cape Mentelle. David Hohnen had established Cape Mentelle in the mid 1970s and in 1985 he founded Cloudy Bay in the Marlborough region of New Zealand’s South Island. It seemed inevitable that they would conduct a joint venture and McHenry Hohnen was founded.
The winery is in an elevated position overlooking Hazels vineyard just south of Witchcliffe. The view of the vines from the offices is breathtaking. It must renew the soul everyday morning you come into work. The head winemaker is Jacopo Dalli Cani who hails from the Soave region in north eastern Italy. He speaks passionately about his role in producing wines that have character and a real sense of place. The viticulturalist is Mike Sleegers who has over twenty years experience of growing grapes in Western Australia. Together with their teams they have worked to introduce organic farming and biodynamic practices. The hard work was rewarded in July this year with biodynamic certification for the winery and hazel’s vineyard.
The state has three main vineyard sites. Hazel’s, where the winery is located, is 35ha and is currently the only vineyard with biodynamic certification though all all biodynamically farmed. It is the most southerly site and has significant plantings of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Grenache, Mataro, Zinfandel and Merlot. Burnside is one of the regions older vineyards dating back to 1981. Some of the estates oldest Chardonnay vines are grown here on gravel loam. The cellar door is located at the Burnside site. Calgardup Brook vineyard was planted in 1998 on sandy, schist like soils.
Innovation is also important in the winery and chardonnay grapes from the Apiary block of Hazel’s vineyard are wild fermented in a concrete egg to produced a “natural” wine. The wine is aged on the lees and is then bottled with fining, filtration or the addition of sulphur.
Wines tasted at the cellar door.
Rocky Road
Rocky Road Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc 2018. A delightful wine with gentle lime, gooseberry and a touch of tropical fruit. A nice texture and lovely balance.
Rocky Road Chardonnay 2018. Made with fruit from three vineyards this is light, fruit forward, crisp and clean with a nice balance. A good easy drinking style of Chardonnay. Very nice.
Rocky Road Rosé Tempranillo 2019. Lovely salmon pink in colour. A subtle floral perfume and casings of raspberry fruit. a characterful wine for a summers day.
Rocky Road Cabernet/Merlot 2016. A very approachable wine, soft plummy, cherry fruit with a touch of savoury spice. Very drinkable.
Rocky Road Shiraz 2016. Raspberry bruit with lovely peppery spice and a delicate velvety texture.
Rocky Road Shiraz/Grenache/Mataro 2017. This is delightful, youthful juicy cherry and plum and quite delicate on the palate. Tannins are softening to produce a great everyday wine.
McHenry Hohnen
McHenry Hohnen Laterite Hills Chardonnay 2019. Lovely stone fruit, pineapple and vanilla. A Nice texture. Serious stuff, excellent.
McHenry Hohnen Tempranillo 2015. Mature in appearance with soft, savoury dark fruits and a delicate perfume.
McHenry Hohnen GSM 2018. A lovely expression of red berry fruits cherry and raspberry. A wine with real character which needs a bit of time to fully soften out but is still very good now.
McHenry Hohnen BDX 2018. A blend of Malbec (50%), Cabernet Sauvignon (46%) and Petit Verdot (4%) all from the Hazels vineyard. The Malbec has seen 15 months in new French oak, the Cabernet and Petit Verdot spent 15 months in second year oak. Deeply concentrated with cassis, plummy fruit and a gentle perfume. The palate is rich and complex with nice balance and a good finish.
Single vineyard
Hazel’s Chardonnay 2016. Aromas of apricot and peach give way to a palate which has a gentle creamy texture and flavours of lemon, stone fruit, a warming ginger spice and creme brulé.
Hazel’s Chardonnay 2017. A little lighter but with wonderful stone fruits, lemon citrus and vanilla. Creamy and elegant. A lovely finish of vanilla and lemon peel.
Calgardup Chardonnay 2017. Light and delicate with a profound saline minerality. A lovely elegant Chardonnay.
Burnside Chardonnay 2017. Long and powerful with great balance and texture. A complex wine with peach, almond, butterscotch and a subtle floral note. Very good
Hazel’s Shiraz 2017. An element of carbonic maceration in the production. A delightful style of Shiraz , lighter than some, perfumed, spicey and very approachable. Very nice indeed.
Hazels’s Zinfandel 2017. A lighter style of Zinfandel and all the better for it. Medium bodied with nice plummy fruit, warming sweet spice and well balanced.
Hazel’s Cabernet Sauvignon 2014. Showing maturity in appearance. Black fruits, tobacco, dried herbs and a gentle touch of cooling mint. There is real elegance here. Delightful.
Rolling Stone 2015. Only made in the best years this wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot which has seen 18 months in French oak. the wine is unfined and unfiltered. Deep and brooding, it is still youthful in appearance. Blackcurrant, mint, tobacco and a savoury complexity. Full bodied, a wine to be taken seriously. A long, long finish. Exceptional.