Winemaker Notes
Concentrated, perfumed and youthful, the nose exhibits fresh pears and white nectarines with an underlying floral lift of lemon blossom. Subtle notes of pistachio, cinnamon quill, blanched almonds and rice wafer lie beneath. Powerful, yet very fine, the palate has tension with a thread of minerality. Limes, pear skin and lemon sorbet lead to a finely textured mid-palate, with layering and subtle oak integration. The purity and clarity of the fruit is the feature throughout.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Great to see Margaret River's most recognized Chardonnay in such good form. This has all the power one associates with Leeuwin - with the 100% new oak being totally absorbed by the fruit - while the palate is textured, balanced and extremely long.
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James Suckling
A wine with amazing richness and depth. So much apple pie character yet minerally underneath. Full body, so much length. Gorgeous.
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Wine Enthusiast
Leeuwin's Chardonnay continues to be a standard-bearer for Margaret River and all of Australia. The 2012 Art Series is subtly toasty on the nose, blossoming with time into full-on crème brûlée aromas, while the palate offers creamy-textured notions of tropical fruit and custard. The long finish reverberates with fruit, suggesting plenty of aging potential, up to 10 or 12 years.
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Wine Spectator
Amazingly focused, layered and expressive, with pear, lime, guava and floral flavors that meld harmoniously and linger on the creamy finish. Deftly pulls all the elements together into a cohesive whole, lingering effectively and precisely. Drink now through 2022.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Chardonnay Art Series shows evolving toast and marzipan notes over a core of ripe apricots, candied ginger and butterscotch. Medium to full-bodied in the mouth with a satiny texture, the palate possesses a wonderful concentration of stone fruit and spice flavors with plenty of racy freshness and a good long finish. Rating: 92+ Points.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
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.