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 hails from a sensational vintage in Margaret River. Along with 2023, it may be one of the very best—certainly the former has achieved this status already. The season was warm and dry, and crucially, the marri blossoms were abundant this year, meaning the Silvereyes—the local and viticulturally pesky birds—found their appetites sated without the need of grapes, which was a blessing for producers. For the first time, the fruit is quietly beginning to recede into the tannins (tertiary notes of cocoa, leather and dried bay leaf are emerging), and this is impressive, as it has taken nearly eight years from its harvest for this tertiary creep to start. "Finally!" we say. Even the 2020 tasted alongside is showing more fruit recession than this wine, showing the elite nature of the season. Whatever it is, it remains a great wine, one that will stand the test of time. 13.6% alcohol.

• 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. §