THE CABERNET SOCIETY | PAUL HOLMES À COURT

From our table to yours, a collection of five decades of moments with the Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon as shared by our Cabernet Society in celebration of the 50th vintage release.

Author | Paul Holmes à Court, CEO & Owner, Vasse Felix

In mid-1987, my father had the opportunity to purchase Vasse Felix from David Gregg. He sent my mother and I down to Margaret River to do some sort of inspection, even though we all knew what was going to happen. Sure enough, the purchase was successful, and from then on, there was a distinct increase in the amount of Vasse Felix that found its way to our dining table at home, and it was invariably the Cabernet Sauvignon. It was my father's favourite wine then, and it is my favourite now. 

One of the most memorable vintages for me was the 1985 Cabernet Sauvignon. I remember clearly because there's a great back story to it. After entering the wine in the World Trade Fair in London in early 1987, David Gregg was approached by Woodside Petroleum with an offer to purchase the entire vintage for use as corporate gifts. Short of cash, David thought it was a great deal, so he took it.  

Famously, the wine went on to win the trophy for Best Red Wine at the Fair, but there was no wine left to sell! After my father purchased Vasse Felix later that year, we discovered that David had earlier shipped a small parcel of the wine to the UK. We went into the secondary market and bought back as much as we could. We have some of those bottles in the cellar still.

Margaret River Cabernet has always held a special place in my heart. As Winemaker David Gregg said, "To be honest, Cabernet was always king, it was the first priority in everything." 

Nothing has changed. The success of everything at Vasse Felix hinges on this one wine. If it is strong, everything else will be fine.