Dr Tom Cullity of Vasse Felix, Dr Kevin Cullen of Cullen and Dr Bill Pannell, all medical practitioners, were particularly helpful and friendly. Denis Horgan said, ‘They had a big influence on us in the early days. The founding fathers set the standards. They had such passion!’ Robust debate, shared experiences, borrowing each other’s vineyard equipment, raising families and talking wine created longstanding bonds. Denis Horgan once pointed out, ‘Down here we like to think that if we all work together, everybody is better off’. Benchmarking Robert Mondavi travelled to Western Australia regularly during the early days of Leeuwin Estate and would show benchmark chardonnays and cabernets around the world for the team to taste and evaluate. During these tastings, Château Mouton Rothschild labels caught the attention of Tricia and Denis Horgan. They were both interested in Australian art and had collected paintings from well-known artists. They loved the concept. On a trip to Europe, Denis Horgan travelled to Bordeaux and met Baroness Philippine Rothschild. Together with her husband Baron Phillipe, she had formed the joint venture Opus One in California with Robert Mondavi in 1978. After visiting the wine museum and display of labels at Château Mouton Rothschild, Denis Horgan asked his host whether she would object to Leeuwin Estate creating its own Art Series labels based on Australian artists. Enthusiastic and generous, she encouraged the idea. Western Australian artist Robert Juniper’s ‘Caves Road’ was the first Leeuwin Estate Art Series Label and today the winery’s collection of modern and contemporary works now comprises over 160 paintings, all hanging at Leeuwin Estate’s recently renovated art gallery. Robert Mondavi’s advice, ‘Don’t put your wines into wine shows’, became a ‘bone of contention’ between the Horgans and their close friend Len Evans, one of Australia’s great wine ambassadors and a fierce champion of the Australian Wine Show system. But it is difficult to know what type of success Leeuwin Estate might have had. There is an element of being in a lottery when showing wines in this group blind-tasting format, although distinctive wines tend to not be overlooked. Nonetheless, the Horgans ‘stayed true to Mondavi’s advice to benchmark Leeuwin Estate wines against the world’s best and not make show wines the benchmark’.
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The Vintage Journal – Great Estates Series
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