Chardonnay
75cl * 13.5% ABV * Margaret River, Australia
Leeuwin Estate was one of the founding wineries in the Margaret River region in Western Australia. This family vineyard was established in the early 1970s under the mentorship of Robert Mondavi of Napa Valley fame. As a family run business, there are currently three generations involved in the running of the business.
Leeuwin Estate wines have many accolades to their name. The Art Series wines are highly lauded with the inclusion of both the Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon in the prestigious 'Langtons Classification of Australian Wine'. The distinctive 'Art Series' labels feature artwork from leading contemporary Australian artists and the Estate is also home to their own Art Gallery.
2023 was an exceptional vintage in Margaret River, characterised by a summer of long sunny days and moderate temperatures allowing the grapes to ripen steadily to create beautifully balanced fruit with exceptional purity and intensity.
Fermentation took place in new French oak barriques and the lees were stirred regularly. The wine was blended and bottled following 11 months of maturation in barrel.
Intensely concentrated and lifted, the nose arrives with a rush, all fresh cut pear, white peach, ripe lime zest and pith, before jasmine, white florals and vanilla pods emerge, rounded out by cashew meal and toasted macadamia. At first coiled and restrained, the palate builds and builds. Gentle, natural acidity is orbited by apple, pear, white nectarine and ripe citrus, all showing their own persistence and drive, but never supplanting the wine’s overarching elegance – the completely integrated oak and delicate, layered texture serve to subtly, quietly hem in the fruit characters as they fan out. Profoundly powerful and immensely long, this is a wine of distinction with a remarkable life ahead.