Cape Mentelle

Star 4.6 (155 Google reviews)

“Margaret River was only a young region when Cape Mentelle claimed the Jimmy Watson trophy in successive years, proving it wasn’t a fluke and that there was something special about this region at the edge of Australia. Cape Mentelle really put Margaret River on the map.” Penny Dickeson, Estate Director
Established in 1970, Cape Mentelle is one of the founding wineries of Margaret River.  While pioneering many of the regions' renowned wine styles, Cape Mentelle also consistently serves as a benchmark for the quality of Margaret River wines. Accolades including consecutive wines of Australias' most prestigious wine trophy, the Jimmy Watson, with the iconic Cabernet Sauvignon in 1983 and 1984, helped put Margaret River on the international wine map.  Today, Cape Mentelles' tradition of pioneering spirit and uncompromising commitment to excellence is being upheld by their talented and innovative young team. 

As a guest at Cape Mentelle, you can be assured that they take their environmental responsibilities seriously. The 120 hectares of estate vineyards are managed with a sustainable viticulture philosophy, meaning as close to organic as possible. This philosophy extends through the winery and waste management practices. 

Sustainable Winegrowing Australia Certification

Amenities

Experiences

Cellar Door Wine Tasting

What's Included: Guided Tasting
Duration: 45 mins

Discover Cape Mentelle wines at their Cellar Door tasting room. Enjoy the ambience of the rammed earth setting and lovely natural grounds. For a redeemable $10 tasting fee, you will be able to taste up to 10 wines including both whites and reds - icon wines are included in the fee. Learn from the experienced and knowledgeable staff as you taste their ultra premium wines.

Take this opportunity to unravel the essence of Cape Mentelle wines for yourself.  

Private Wine Tasting in Original Cellar

What's Included: private wine tasting
Duration: 45min

Discover Cape Mentelle and its remoteness from the everyday through a 45min private experience with your friends or family in the original Cabernet rammed earth Cellar. Explore wines that reflect each vintages story in a structured tasting ranging from a racy sauvignon blanc semillon to a thought provoking zinfandel!


Take this opportunity to unravel the essence of Cape Mentelle wines for yourself.


Behind The Scenes Tour & Tasting

What's Included: walking tour, wine tasting
Duration: 1-2 Hours
What else:

Guests are asked to wear flat, closed in shoes as they are visiting a vineyard and working winery.

This is a 1-hour event finishing at approximately 11.30am.

The guide will be happy to take questions at any stage of the tour.

Go Behind the Scenes at Cape Mentelle

The tour will first visit the historic Wallcliffe Vineyard established in 1970 which produces the award-winning Cabernet Sauvignon. The guide will discuss Cape Mentelle's viticultural practices, the influences on wine styles and quality, the historical reasons for the siting of the vineyard and the beginnings of Margaret River as a wine-growing region. 

After leaving the vineyard, you will visit the winery and discuss in detail how Cape Mentelle's beautiful wine is made. Exploring crushing/destemming, fermentation, maceration, pressing and barrel ageing. You will also learn the different techniques required for making white wine and red wines. Depending on the season, you might even be able to do some ‘tank thieving’ – a term used to describe tasting directly from the tank. 

Depending on wine-making activities on the day, it may be possible to visit the Barrel Hall. Here you can learn about the different types of oak barrels and their influence on the wine. The tour guide then leads you past the white cellar and through to the historic oak vat cellar which was built in 1977. Several original large French oak vats stand proudly in the rammed earth building, the first registered in Western Australia. 

To complete the walking component of the tour, you will then visit the original cabernet cellar which showcases 150 oak barriques surrounded by the pictorial timeline showcasing the history of the vineyard. This is the venue for  Cape Mentelle's annual International Cabernet Tasting benchmarking their current flagship Cabernet Sauvignon amongst 20 other cabernets from around the world. 

You will then be welcomed into the Cellar Door tasting room for a tasting of the full range of Cape Mentelle wines. 

Behind The Scenes Tour with Food and Wine Pairing Experience

What's Included: walking tour, wine tasting
Duration: 1-2 Hours
What else:

Vegetarian and gluten-free requirements can be catered for and bookings are essential the day prior.

Guests are asked to wear flat, closed in shoes as they are visiting a vineyard and working winery.

This is a 2-hour event finishing at approximately 12.30pm.

The guide will be happy to take questions at any stage of the tour.

This option allows you to enjoy the full 'Behind The Scenes Tour' with additional indulgence in the form of a food & wine pairing experience.

Guests are invited to freshen up after the tour before sitting at the table in the Cabernet cellar for the food and wine pairing. This tutored tasting consists of 6 canapés matched with 6 current release wines. The host will discuss the principles of food and wine pairing as you work through each dish and selected wine.  Enjoy some small refreshments and gain an understanding of the Cape Mentelle wines and what food to pair them with.  

Reviews

Star 4.6 (155 Google reviews)
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Ben Stevens 07 May 2024

One of the best cellar door experiences I've had in Oz. Maree was so knowledgeable and passionate about the wines. Tasting in the barrel room is also a nice touch!

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Mihaela Koteva 08 November 2023

AMAZING!!! This is my favourite wine cellar in Margaret River. The staff was super helpful in explaining the different wine characteristics and suggested us delicious wines. My top 3 are: Walcliffe Sauvignon Blanc, Walcliffe Merlot Petit Verdot Malbec & of course Cabernet Sauvignon!!

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Ink Ink 25 June 2023

This winery is very pretty and clean. The staff was knowledgeable. But their wines were not that great. It was more pricier than another winery but another one’s wines were better than this. And it was busy so they didn’t remember what kind of wine we tried and if we don’t ask them any question, they will just tell you about the wines you chose and then leave😂

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Peng Peng Ee 11 November 2023

We enjoyed the tour led by Lee, who was very informative. Though it was not harvesting season, we were able to get a good experience by walking through the vineyards and cellars. We ended the tour with a tasting of 6 wines.