Cullen Diana Madeline 2018

Professional Ratings

• 99 James Suckling
  This is a superb edition of this revered, cabernet-based blend with such complete, seamless and elegant feel, yet there’s such depth of flavor, too. Aromas of fresh redcurrants, red and violet flowers, subtle spice, fresh earth, paper bark, fresh-picked thyme and sage, red berries and some cedary notes. The palate is stunning and has a brand of elegance with power that is found in only the greatest wines. Pristine mulberries, red plums, blueberries and red cherries sail through layers of fine tannin, into an unwaveringly long and vibrant finish. An exceptionally concentrated and convincing Diana Madeline release, this is one of their finest. A blend of 79% cabernet sauvignon, 10% merlot, 6% cabernet franc and 5% malbec. Delicious now, but his will bloom from 2028.
• 98 Decanter
  Authoritative, with blackcurrant and mulberry fruit nuanced by deep notes of tobacco, bitter chocolate, currant leaf, dried rose and cedar. With beautifully understated gravitas, the fine-textured graphite tannins and incisive acidity sustain a long, penetrating finish. Reflecting ideal harvest conditions, fruit for this ultra-composed Bordeaux blend was picked over one month on fruit and flower days, including a full-moon fruit day, then part-fermented in amphorae, before ageing in 80% biodynamic barrels (50% new).
• 98 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

  The 2018 Diana Madeline is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (79%), Merlot (10%), Cabernet Franc (6%) and Malbec (5%). The Cullen vineyard is in the Wilyabrup area of Margaret River, and the fruit was handpicked across five biodynamic fruit and flower days, from the Moon opposite Saturn event in late February to the full moon in early March. The wine was matured in French oak for 15 months (50% new). Despite the powerful 2018 vintage, this wine has a core of delicate purity: red fruits in abundance, with skeins of mineral tannins interwoven through its very fabric. There are notes of crushed graphite, ironstone, summer raspberries, licorice root, a hint of leaf (bay leaf and salt bush), even samphire. It echoes and reverberates, but for all of this, it is ethereal and supple. The tannins are ductile and fine boned... a marvelous wine. The restraint and power that go hand in hand are hallmarks of all great Margaret River Cabernet. Best After 2023

• 93 Wine & Spirits

  Vanya Cullen named this wine for her mother, who planted the vines in 1971 on the family’s ranch along Caves Road. Grown on their own roots on gravelly granite soils and farmed under bio dynamics, those vines consistently produce one of the most beautiful reds in Margaret River. In 2018 the blend included cabernet sauvignon (79 percent), merlot, cabernet franc and malbec, which Cullen fermented in a selection of tanks, barrels and amphorae (she makes no additions other than sulfur). This vintage is delicate in weight but satisfying in flavor, a silken cabernet with air in the tannins allowing herbal notes of thyme and rosemary to show. Fresh, bright and honest, it will cozy up to a sauteed mix of wild mushrooms, with or without a steak. §