About

Leigh began his career in the Yarra Valley at Miller’s Chateau Yarrinya in 1984, having graduated from Roseworthy College in South Australia. Leigh was born and raised in Melbourne, so commencing his career as a winemaker in Victoria’s Yarra Valley was a privilege.

In 1987, Leigh was lured to Tarrawarra Estate, Yarra Valley, where he spent four years making Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which would be used by Domaine Chandon (as it then was) to produce their crisp Australian sparkling.

In the early 1990s, Leigh crossed the border into South Australia and joined Padthaway Estate, where he continued making Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. It was at Padthaway that Leigh made sparkling with Australia’s first traditional champagne press, housed in a refurbished woolshed.

In 1993, Leigh returned to Seppelt, Great Western where he spent the next six years. Leigh will tell you those years were for him, winemaking heaven. Some of the best Shiraz was being made at Seppelts during this period, including the prize-winning Chalambar Shiraz and the Great Western Shiraz.

Pivoting in 1999, Leigh set off to Nagambie to establish an advanced bottling facility for McPherson Wines.

In 2002, Leigh returned to winemaking at Taltarni, the Pyranees, where he stayed until the birth of Clarnette and Ludvigsen.

Clarnette and Ludvigsen was established by winemaker Leigh Clarnette and viticulturalist Kym Ludvigsen in 2007.

Leigh and Kym’s friendship began in 1993 when they were working together at Seppelt Wines, Great Western. It was during a business trip to Tasmania, that their friendship was formed over a passion for wine. In the years that followed, the duo travelled to vineyards across the country, experiencing the best wine Australia had to offer.

It was a match made in heaven, Kym gave Leigh new insight into the art of growing grapes and Leigh, with this new perspective, redefined his winemaking.

The core ingredients to any great wine are a carefully curated crop and an attentive winemaker, naturally, a partnership in business was inevitable. And so, Clarnette and Ludvigsen Wines was born.

The business model was simple, Kym grew the grapes at Ludvigsen Vineyard in Great Western, and Leigh made the wine.

Together the pair became known for their rich and generous Grampians Shiraz.

With the passing of Kym in 2013, Leigh continued to make wines for Clarnette and Ludvigsen, sourcing grapes from the vineyard that Kym had so carefully tended for many years.

In 2022, Clarnette and Ludvigsen pheonixed into Clarnette Wines.

Clarnette Wines is a new adventure for Leigh, sourcing grapes from all over the Grampians and Pyranees wine regions, letting his creativity run wild, introducing new varietals that the Clarnette label has never seen before.

Of course, the roots of Clarnette Wines will never be forgotten. Our Ludvigsen label is a nod to our beloved co-founder Kym Ludvigsen. The Ludvigsen label celebrates the wines that Clarnette and Ludvigsen were known for, made from grapes sourced from the Ludvigsen vineyard in Great Western.