In Partnership With
Cape Mentelle Is Bringing Its Iconic Cabernet Tasting Back To Sydney
Australia's first look at some hidden gems ahead of local release.
By Ben Esden
23 September 2026 · 2 min read
Sydney's hospitality scene used to get a lot of stick. "It's all pretty beaches and people up there," the Melburnian culture curators would lament, content in the knowledge that anything with real weight – the tastings, the openings, the nights worth booking – happened south of the border.
Well, that’s changed, in my humble opinion. And Cape Mentelle just gave me a reason to back it up.
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Fifteen years since it last set foot in the harbour city, one of Margaret River’s founding wineries is bringing its International Cabernet Tasting back to the east coast on Friday, 16 October, taking over Watersedge at Campbell's Stores, against the iconic backdrop of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.
It is one of the longest-running international wine benchmark tastings in the country – and for one day, Sydney’s more discerning winos will be treated to a blind tasting across three brackets of local and global Cabernet alongside some of Australia's most respected wine media.
From there, a Champagne palate cleanser leads into a long lunch, with each course paired against wines from the tasting itself.
What started as a way for Cape Mentelle founder David Hohnen to line up his own releases against the best producers and winemakers in the world has since grown into something guests are invited to join rather than just hear about. And this year is certainly no different.
The 2026 lineup is being kept firmly under wraps until the big reveal. But if it’s anything like previous editions, guests can expect iconic Australian names sitting across the table from cult-status producers out of Italy (Super Tuscans included), the US, New Zealand, and France.
The headline drawcard is Australia's first look at the 2023 Bordeaux vintage ahead of its local release, with pours from First and Second Growth producers offering an early read on a vintage that is already tipped for tightly limited allocation nationwide. And with at least one of the bottles in the lineup retailing for up to $1,300, it's a rare chance to taste at a level most punters will never see on a wine list.
Priced at $750 a head, tickets are on sale now. If you consider yourself something of a sommelier, this is not one to miss.
This article was created in partnership with Cape Mentelle.