Cape Mentelle: new range showcases Margaret River region

Published: 12 February, 2025

Margaret River winery Cape Mentelle is introducing its new Marri range to UK customers via its importer, Bancroft Wines. The four-wine range includes wines synonymous with the Western Australian appellation in Semillon Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.

Established in 1970 and the third oldest winery in the young wine-growing region, Cape Mentelle established the Marri range to showcase Margaret River wines at a new price point, with the range priced at between £16.99 and £17.50.

Named after the Marri tree, a eucalyptus native to the region, the winery hopes the range can showcase to a greater audience Cape Mentelle’s representation of French styles while conveying the unique terroir of the coastal region.

The wines’ production is spearheaded by chief winemaker and viticulturalist, David Moulton, and senior winemaker, Coralie Lewis, who utlise a precise approach to viticulture in the hopes of ensuring their vision is met.

At the recent January tasting launch of the range at Spring Restaurant, Somerset House, although eager to showcase the wines, Moulton confessed it was a challenge to be taken away from the winery as the 2025 harvest was approaching, receiving constant updates despite his over 9000-mile distance from Cape Mentelle.

The Marri tree, which also has adorned Cape Mentelle’s bottle art since 1976, also represent the biodiversity of the Western Australian region. In an effort to honour this biodiversity, the winery utilises cover cropping which has the added benefit of maintaining soil health and attracting insects beneficial to pest control.

The winery’s proximity to nature is not without its challenges, with Moulton detailing the prodigious yet frustrating efforts of local silvereye birds which can wreak havoc on the vineyard’s grapes, so netting adorns much of the winery’s 150ha.

Bancroft also imports Cape Mentelle’s 16 Hectares and Heritage ranges which were both on show at Cape Mentelle’s January tasting. The former refers to the initial 16ha of vines first planted at the winery. The 16 Hectares range, all priced at RRP £24.95, is drawn from the site of this first vine planting, now known as the Wallcliffe vineyard. The premium Heritage range is drawn from hand-selected barrels, with the Heritage Chardonnay and Heritage Cabernet Sauvignon available from Bancroft at £79.95.

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