About The Wine

Leeuwin Estate is a family-owned producer and one of the five founding wineries of the Margaret River district of Western Australia. The winery is currently under the direction of two generations who work with a team of highly skilled winemakers to consistently produce wines ranking alongside the world’s finest. In 1972, legendary Napa Valley winemaker Robert Mondavi identified the future site of the Leeuwin vineyard as being ideal for the production of premium wine and provided early mentorship to Denis and Tricia Horgan in the transformation of their cattle farm into Leeuwin Estate. Following its first commercial vintage in 1979, Leeuwin was thrust into the international spotlight when Decanter Magazine gave its highest recommendation to the 1981 “Art Series” Chardonnay. The international accolades have continued and Leeuwin now exports to 30 markets. Celebrating the combination of fine wine, food, art, and music, Leeuwin features an award-winning restaurant, cellar door, and art gallery. The Estate is renowned for staging spectacular events and welcoming visitors from around the world.

Leeuwin Estate releases wines under the Art Series, Prelude Vineyards, and Siblings labels. The “Art Series” represents Leeuwin’s most opulent and age-worthy wines and is distinguished with paintings commissioned from leading contemporary Australian Artists. Prelude Vineyards wines are made from fruit that produces the most readily expressive wines with the objective that they will drink well soon after release. The Siblings label celebrates the family lineage and the three generations now leaving their footprints on Leeuwin Estate. They all share a place amongst the great wines of Australia, receiving much international acclaim and attention. Leeuwin’s Art Series Chardonnay and Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon are included in the wine auction house, Langton’s, prestigious classification. 

Leeuwin has a respected reputation and is known to be one of the most coveted producers of Australian wines. Wine Spector stated that “Leeuwin demonstrates just how great Australian fine wines can be.”

This estate’s white wines are iconic and the 2018 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay Australia  is one of the best Chardonnays in all the country. Its safe to say that Chardonnay is one of Leeuwin’s specialties. Renowned Australian critic, James Halliday nicknamed him as “Australia’s best maker of Chardonnay.”

Tasting notes: 100% Chardonnay. Immaculate, powerful, intense nose with purity and clarity of primary fruit characterized by pear, white peach, lime curd, and custard apple. There are infinite layers of brioche, grilled hazelnuts, cinnamon quill, shaved nutmeg, black cardamom, and almond meal. A thread of graphite in the background adds elegant complexity. Penetration and drive with incredible shape and frame on the palate. The symmetry of layers, contours, and overall balance is precise. Pear, cut lime and nectarine are definite throughout. Sweet spice and elegant oak use sit neatly with the fruit, underlined by a delicate acid line, leading to a palate with effortless length.

Reviews

Let's put it this way. This is the closest I have come to awarding a wine 100 points...Stellar wine from a stellar vintage. The remarkable this is that this is a wine 100 percent barrel fermented in new French oak barriques with regular lees stirring for 11 months - and it certainly doesn't taste excessive, or even slightly oak. It has such high-fidelity purity with complex seductive aromatics of vanilla bean and light oatmeal with a cutting minerality and spicy lift. But the palate, oh the palate. This is where things start to explode. Power, poise, and persistence with a dry savouriness balancing the intense ripe fruit. It is such a long finish with an ever so slightly, charry finish completing a remarkable wine. ~99+ The West Australian

Benchmark pedigree Margaret River Chardonnay from the perfect 2018 vintage. Kaffir leaf, ocean spray, nectarine, yellow peach, custard apple, and white peach are the start. Saffron curls, vanilla pod, and freshly grated nutmeg frame saline acidity, crouched and coiled. Length of flavour extends across the palate in an endless procession of texture and complexity. All of the power, grace, and excellence of previous years is here, amplified. ~98 James Halliday

>Very light colour, remarkable for a 4-year-old wine. The bouquet is complex and yet very fresh and restrained, showing captivating nougat aromas which lead into a concentrated, powerful yet elegant palate. Absolutely delicious array of flavours. Lemon drops, honey and myriad other aromas and flavours. Tremendous power and persistence. A sensational Chardonnay.~98 The Real Review

Impressive, complex, supple, and elegant, but not shy on intensity. Opens with creamy, satiny notes of apricot, pear, lemon curd, and passionfruit puree, with touches of toasted hazelnuts, salted caramel, jasmine, and green tea. The way the details mingle with and complete each other makes this as complex a wine as this is a refreshing one, with a fresh thread of acidity weaving in and out. ~97 Wine Spectator

THE ICON From an excellent vintage – warm, with very few hot days – this muscular yet lithe Chardonnay suffuses the senses with Leeuwin Estate's clear and penetrating signature perfume of granular pear and fleshier fresh fig. Harmonious lemony acidity makes for an ultra-long, seamless finish, through a palate of acacia, lanolin, smoke, and crème patisserie. The concentrated fruit effortlessly mops up the 100% new oak. A luminous, graceful, and balanced powerhouse. ~97 Decanter

This impressive white is complex, supple, and elegant, though not shy on intensity. Opens with creamy, satiny notes of apricot, pear, lemon curd, and passion fruit puree, with touches of toasted hazelnut, salted caramel, jasmine, and green tea. The way the details mingle with and complete one another makes this as complex as it is refreshing, with a fresh thread of acidity weaving in and out. ~97 Wine Spectator

Powerful, mineral-accented nectarine, orange, pear nectar, iodine, and pungent flowers on the intensely perfumed nose. Smooth, chewy, and dry in the mouth, offering wonderfully concentrated yet vibrant orchard and pit fruit flavors complemented by suggestions of fennel, sweet butter, saffron, and candied lemon peel. Shows superb definition and finishes minerally, smoky, and extremely long, with lingering citrus and pit fruit notes and a touch of smokiness. ~96 Vinous Media