Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2018

This is the closest I have come to awarding a wine 100 points. Tempted briefly. But sorry guys, I’m philosophically opposed to awarding any wine 100 points. So it gets 99-plus. And having been fortunate to have tasted each Art Series chardonnay, most on release, I’m happy to put my neck out and say this is the finest yet released. It’s a wine that shows the continued pursuit to improve on the near perfection of previous vintages which seems to be the Leeuwin mantra.

Stellar wine from a stellar vintage. The remarkable thing is that this is a wine that gets 100% barrel fermented in new French oak barriques with regular lees stirring for 11 months – and it certainly doesn’t taste excessive, or even slightly oaky. It has such hi-fidelity purity with complex seductive aromatics of vanilla bean and light oatmeal with a cutting minerality. But the palate, oh, the palate. This is where things start to explode and go crazy. Power, poise, and persistence with a dry savouriness balancing the intense ripe fruit. It is such a long finish with a slightly, ever so slightly charry touch completing a remarkable wine.

Get it here, while you can.