Professional Ratings

• 98 Australian Wine Companion
  Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay on release is an achingly painful thing to drink, because once you've known the utter pleasure these wines bring at 5 or more years of age, it becomes a mess of cognitive dissonance to drink them so young. They are closed, taut, coiled, but more than anything, populated by rippling fruit that undulates untold through the interminably long finish. They typically don't reveal their kaleidoscopic spice and prismatic fruit flavour until a little further down the track. So, all I can humbly do here, is place the vintage in context. Through the lens of the cool year, this glitters with a purity and finesse that is deeply attractive. Aligned in style with the 2017.
• 97 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

  The 2019 Art Series Chardonnay is filling out beautifully, within the confines of its svelte, mineral form. The vintage was cooler and later than either of the vintages either side, and the wines are aromatic and detailed by virtue of that. I'd still recommend leaving this wine in bottle for another couple of years; they are so slow to evolve that the primary fruit remains vital for at least the first decade. The benefit of waiting gives you extra complexity layered over the fruit, which blooms and plumes with time. The winemaking remains relatively consistent across the years: hand-picked fruit from Block 20 and 22 (planted in 1976 and 1978, respectively). Up to 30% of the cuvée was whole bunch pressed to 100% new Burgundian oak, while the balance was destemmed, crushed and pressed to 100% new Bordelais oak.

  Rating: 97+

• 95 Wine Enthusiast

  There’s a heady, floral perfume to this Chard, from one of Margaret River’s best known estates. Orchard blossom mingles with melon, pear and citrus fruit, along with sprinklings of toast, salt and a smoky nuance. The palate is light-to-mid weight, with bright, bouncy acidity. It deftly balances the toasty oak and lees characters with the juicy citrus flavors.

• 95 Wine Spectator

  Succulent and distinctive, this white opens with notes of crème fraîche, tahini and salted butterscotch that are aromatic and appealing, backed by hints of fresh-grated ginger and mouthwatering acidity and leading to a vibrant, juicy mouthful of dried pineapple, pomelo and yuzu flavors at the core. The elements are all in balance, and the tension between them yields a complex, stunning wine. Drink now

• 94 James Suckling

  This has inviting aromas of white grapefruits, peach pits, lime curd, white flowers and some freshly grated nutmeg. Scallop and oyster shells, too. Medium-bodied, elegant yet powerful, with creamy and phenolic layers and delicious saline and flinty edges.