Beloved winemaker Bob Cartwright announces his retirement

Western Australia wine industry icon Bob Cartwright has announced his retirement.

Cartwright spent 28 vintages as winemaker at Leeuwin Estate - where he mentored some of Australia's finest winemakers - before moving into consulting.

Cartrwright began his career in the Barossa Valley at Kaiser Stuhl in 1963, working initially as a cellar hand then as a laboratory assistant.

After two years practical experience he commenced study at Roseworthy Agricultural College, graduating in 1967 and winning the R.H. Martin Memorial prize for Sensory Evaluation.

In 1973, Cartwright relocated his young family to Western Australia, joining Leeuwin Estate in 19798 for their first vintage in the fledgling Margaret River wine region.

At Leeuwin, Cartwright is credited with having crafted what was to become known as one of Australia’s finest Chardonnays, the Leeuwin Art Series.

In fact, The Busselton Mail notes he "could quite well be responsible for making WA’s first chardonnay" - when Cartwright arrived in WA he worked at a sister company of Houghton’s in the Swan Valley called Valencia, where the vineyard had just grown enough chardonnay grapes to pick.

“That is when we made some,” he said.

Cartwright said one of his career highlights was the work he had done in establishing the region’s chardonnays as a world class wine.

“If I talk about Leeuwin chardonnays where I spent most of my time, we never ever did a dud, they were all brilliant and that is something no other winery in Australia has managed to achieve,” he said. “The chardonnay at Leeuwin has consistently been the best.”

Cartwright said he would miss everything about wine making 

“It is always a buzz when each new year comes on, the new shoots, the grapes ripen, at the moment everything is going into dormancy, after pruning the new shoots everything will look green, fresh and vibrant again,” he admitted.