Endeavour Group announced it has signed an agreement with Moët Hennessy, the wine and spirits arm of French luxury goods giant LVMH, to acquire Cape Mentelle. A fee wasn’t disclosed.
Completion of the deal will take place ‘in due course’, pending licensing approval, said Endeavour, a leading retail and hospitality group that has alcohol retailer Dan Murphy’s and several other wine brands in its portfolio.
Cape Mentelle was founded in 1970 and the deal heralds an ownership change for a pioneer of winemaking in Australia’s Margaret River region. The winery’s 1983-vintage Cabernet Sauvignon is a Decanter ‘Wine Legend’.
Endeavour Group said core team members would stay on after the deal.
‘It will be business as usual for Cape Mentelle with key personnel to remain with the winery, including estate director Penny Dickeson, viticulturist Dave Moulton and recently appointed senior winemaker Eloise Jarvis,’ it said.
Cape Mentelle will be added to Endeavour’s Paragon Wine Estates arm, created in 2019, and the deal adds a high-profile presence in Western Australia to the group’s existing portfolio, which includes Chapel Hill in McLaren Vale, Riddoch in Coonawarra, Krondorf in Barossa, and Isabel Estate in Marlborough, New Zealand, among others.
Endeavour Group’s CEO and managing director, Steve Donohue, said, ‘Cape Mentelle founder David Hohnen once said “wine is a journey”. I’m excited for Cape Mentelle to join our Endeavour Group journey and help us create a more sociable future, together.’
He added, ‘Anyone who has tried a Cape Mentelle Cabernet or Chardonnay knows just how special this winery is. I’m absolutely delighted to welcome Cape Mentelle to the Endeavour Group and Paragon Wine Estates families and to see it continue to grow on a global scale, while giving more people across Australia access to its fantastic range of wines.’
Last year, LVMH announced it was acquiring Joseph Phelps Vineyards in Napa Valley, adding the top California name to its formidable portfolio of fine wines and spirits.
LVMH owner Bernard Arnault was recently named the world’s richest man by the Forbes publication, which estimated that he had overtaken Elon Musk in the global wealth standings.
