Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Outstanding—95 points. Since 2002, led by winemaker Paul Atwood, working with viticulturist David Winstanley, Leeuwin has embarked on a new programme to refine its Cabernet so that it would stand shoulder to shoulder with the Art Series Chardonnay at the top of the varietal tree. With 38 years of vine age, the best batches of fruit come from moderate-yielding, home-block estate vines grown on free-draining, gravelly soils and picked at optimum ripening followed by a gentle fermentation and blending to French oak
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Wine & Spirits
The purity of this cabernet is impressive, its clear black currant flavors fresh and crisp, uninhibited by its oak aging, presented as a beautiful, unadorned claret. Herbal notes lift the aroma—it’s not aggressively green, but the wine has the same clean sensation as biting into a parsley leaf. Young cabernet fruit and gentle tannins come together in a structure that’s elegant, lasting on freshness that will sustain it for a decade or more in the cellar.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The oak in the 2010 Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon is more subtle than in the 2005, while the cassis notes are turned up and more concentrated. Still showing some vanilla, this medium to full-bodied wine still probably has another 10 years left in the tank, as evidenced by the long, mouthwatering finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is slightly bigger and bolder than the 2009 Art Series Cabernet, but remains a relatively streamlined and silky rendering of the variety. Potent cedar and vanilla notes frame dark fruit aromas and flavors, while the finish lingers, echoing with wood overtones. Drink now–2025.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Home to some of Australia’s most elegant and long-lived red and white wines, Margaret River is situated in the farthest reaches of Western Australia. Relatively warm and dry, the region is cooled by breezes from the Indian Ocean. Margaret River takes some inspiration from Bordeaux, producing top-quality Cabernet Sauvignons and Bordeaux Blends with firm structure, mouthwatering acidity, balanced alcohol and notes of herbs and spice. For white wines, refreshing blends of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon as well as complex, age-worthy Chardonnays are regional specialties.