The Leeuwin Estate in Western Australia is one of the five founding wineries of the renowned Margaret River region, noted not only for its wines but its art exhibitions, open air concerts and highly respected restaurant. Its owners Denis and Tricia Horgan were mentored by the Napa Valley winemaker Robert Mondavi in the art of viticulture, and success was almost instant after wine growing began there in the mid-1970s. Only two years after its first bottles left the vineyard, Decanter gave its highest recommendation for the 1981 Art Series Chardonnay.
Under the guidance of Denis’s son Justin and his dedicated team of winemakers, Leeuwin has produced some of the finest Chardonnay in Australia. Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay has been called Australia’s “Montrachet” by none other than Oz Clarke, and featured multiple times in Wine Spectator magazine’s Top 100 Wines of the Year. The Australian wine critic James Halliday has also singled out Leeuwin’s Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Riesling for praise. All in all, not bad for a vineyard that was originally bought by the Horgans as a cattle farm!