Cape Mentelle

Leading Australia Margaret River Winery

Identity

Cape Mentelle is firing on all cylinders, with the winemaking team fully capitalizing on the extensive and largely mature vineyards, which obviate the need for contract-grown fruit. Cape Mentelle is one of those knocking on the door of the winery of the year award.

History

It was established in 1970 as one of Margaret river’s “founding five” wineries, Cape Mentelle pioneered many of the region’s renowned wine styles and today is a benchmark for the quality of the region’s wines.

Wine industry pioneer David Hohnen and his brothers Mark and Giles established cape Mentelle vineyards in 1970. Our phenomenal Cape Mentelle journey started small with just 16 hectares of vines planted on what is now referred to as the Wwallcliffe vineyard’. In the early years David Hohnen experimented with grape varieties including Shiraz, Cabernet, Zinfandel, Sauvignon blanc and Semillon. Many of these original plantings are the source of the distinctive wines that have come to characterize cape Mentelle. The winery’s flagship cabernet sauvignon is sourced primarily from the original Wallcliffe vineyard.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s wine making at Cape Mentelle was characterized by experimentation to improve quality, the character of the grape varieties and the special attributes of the regional terroir are part of the style that evolved.

The area under vine increased with the establishment of the 23 hectares Trinders vineyard in 1988 followed by the chapman brook vineyard in the early 1990’s

Today Cape Mentelle, as part of estates & wines (owned by Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton), continues to build on its solid foundations.

Margaret River - The Wine Paradise

Margaret river's climatic conditions are very particular, thanks to the strategic location of the locality, surrounded by two oceans on three sides. With a rugged coastline bordered by native forests and dotted with vineyards, Margaret River is one of the most remote wine regions in the world, far removed from Australia's hottest wine regions by type and geography. It is a remote central area and epicenter of the best vineyards in the country, where 20% of Australia's "Fine wine" is produced, which equates to less than 2% of total wine production.

Wine Making

Vineyards - A Unique Sense Of Place

Cape Mentelle has over 150 hectares of its own vines across four vineyards within the Margaret River region. Primary plantings are Cabernet Sauvignon, Semillon and Sauvignon blanc, with smaller amounts of Shiraz, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet franc and Zinfandel.

Wallcliffe Vineyard

The basic viticultural principles of soil, site and variety, or in this case ‘varieties’, have created quality and consistency beyond all expectations, as evidenced by the iconic Cape Mentelle cabernet sauvignon. Picking and pruning is carried out by hand in the Wallcliffe vineyard, to give the utmost respect to these vines and to ensure continued production of the fresh, vibrant and stylish wines that have become the trademark of Cape Mentelle.

The site has the luxury of ample water and classic deep gravelly soils. It is sheltered by surrounding bush and fanned by gentle south-westerly winds.

Trinders Vineyard

Trinders was developed on the eastern side of the estate entry road in 1988.

This block has been the testing ground for many early ‘alternative’ methods, including making and incorporating compost for vine nutrition, undervine weeding and minimal chemical use for pest and disease control.

Champan Vineyard

Chapman brook boasts some of the best growing sites in the region. The undulating slopes help to create wines of uncompromised freshness. The 40 hectares chapman brook vineyard is located 20 km south east of the Margaret River township with a predominantly easterly aspect and some south east and north east slope. The steep slopes offer great views from high points as the land slopes down to the chapman brook. Soil moisture monitoring equipment is used at all vineyards but is critical at this site due to the limited water.

Crossroads Vineyard 

Crossroads vineyard is our youngest site, but also one of our strongest performers. Planted in 2003, its ancient lateritic soils are home to Sauvignon blanc, Semillon, and Chardonnay, as well as Shiraz and small amounts of Petit Verdot, Zinfandel and Grenache.

Wine Making Philosophy

At Cape Mentelle we draw inspiration from the great wines of the world. This is reflected in the techniques employed in our vineyards as we aim to produce wines that capture a unique sense of place in every bottle. These characteristics are defined by our pristine coastal location, unique soils and 40 years of viticultural history.

Our philosophy extends beyond the glass as we endeavour to create a legacy of sustainability and longevity. Constantly improving the potential of our vineyards and local environments, we pave the way for the next generation to continue the pursuit of crafting Australia's definitive wine styles and while doing so we are preserving and building on what is uniquely Cape Mentelle.

Sustainable Practices

The team at Cape Mentelle shares a love for the land and a deep commitment to sustainability that underpin every decision and operation.

Weed Control

The team at Cape Mentelle shares a love for the land and a deep commitment to sustainability that underpin every decision and operation.

Biodiversity

Biodiversity and eco-system conservation are at the heart of our practices with our cover cropping program promoting soil health while attracting beneficial insects for pest control.

Irrigation

The use of precision irrigation techniques allows us to provide the vines with just the water they need, resulting in a 60% decrease in water usage from 2016 to 2019.

We recycle 100% of the water we use in the winery thanks to a fully self-contained rain and surface water treatment system considered a model in our region.

Compost

We make our own compost with grape marc that we enrich with other components such as manure from the Margaret River egg farm or woodchips from local trees. This valuable product is then used on our vineyards to improve soil structure and water holding capacity.

Lower Power Consumption

To reduce our power consumption, we have installed solar panels, which contribute to at least 8% of our energy needs, converted all lights to leds as they fail and introduced smaller mobile boiler systems to reduce the loss of thermal energy. Concrete tanks have also been installed, reducing the need for refrigeration.

Commitments

Environmental Certification & Association

N 2010, Cape Mentelle was the first winery in western Australia to obtain the entwine accreditation. Cape Mentelle is a member of sustainable winegrowing Australia, meaning that we report annually and complete the sustainable winegrowing Australia workbook. Cape Mentelle is also part of the apco (Australian packaging covenant) who sets a yearly action plan to make sure that our packaging keeps improving from a sustainable standpoint. Finally, we benchmark against the Moët Hennessy environmental performance index (epi) to measure and improve the impact of our products.

We are currently going through the final stages of accreditation for the internationally recognized iso14001 standards. We are developing an environmental management system to provide assurance to our customers as well as internal stakeholders that our environmental impact is being measured and constantly improved upon, so as to reduce our carbon footprint and make a more sustainable product at all levels for generations to come.

Local Initiatives

Beach Clean Up

Cape Mentelle is a registered 'friend of the cape to cape track' and has adopted a section of the walking track, that includes the limestone headland, which Cape Mentelle is named after. Being a friend includes annual track maintenance, re-vegetation planting, clean-up and reporting any weed infestation.

Nature Conservation

We are a sponsor and major contributor to nature conservation Margaret River via an annual fundraising outdoor cinema night 

Education

Cape Mentelle is committed to working with local schools assisting students with projects and community transparency regarding environmental information.

We provide continued support to the 'our patch' environmental education program for primary school students. This program demonstrates how landholders, from cattle farmers to vineyard owners, manage the environment and protect its future.