2020 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay (750ml)

Chardonnay from Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia

B-21 Top Recommendation
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“One of the closest things there is to a can't-miss wine”

Joe Czerwinski

Living up to its reputation as Australia’s Grand Cru Chardonnay, the elegant and powerful 98 pt. 2020 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay is a knockout, revealing enticing aromas of rich, opulent fruit seamlessly balanced with precise acidity and subtle minerality on a long-lived finish, incredibly delicious now with stunning complexity worthy of aging for a decade or more at a fraction of the estate's retail price.

Located on a massive 668-hectare property south of Perth, Leeuwin Estate’s art gallery boasts over 150 pieces of modern and contemporary art, a portion of the exhibit devoted to the original paintings for its famed Art Series labels inspired by those of Chateau Mouton Rothschild. Located on an isolated peninsula surrounded by the Southern and Indian Oceans, founders Denis and Trish Horgan purchased the Margaret River property in 1969 to be near to one of Denis’ favorite surfing spots, maintaining it as a grazing pasture until partnering with the legendary Robert Mondavi to transform the farm into vineyards and releasing the first Art Series Chardonnay in 1980. Sourced from the estate’s original parcels, the powerful, mineral-driven backbone for the 2020 Art Series Chardonnay comes from a vineyard known as Block 20 planted with Australia’s Gin Gin Chardonnay clone believed to have originated in Meursault, situated on a gently sloping hillside of gravelly granite soils that enjoys even sun exposure and moderating ocean breezes. Employing a mix of Bordelaise and Burgundian barrels with no malolactic fermentation, winemaker Tim Lovett aged the deeply textured 2020 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay in 100% new French oak for 11 months with regular lees stirring before transferring it to refrigerated stainless steel for six months prior to bottling, preserving the freshness and purity of the fruit and revealing layer upon layer of stunning savory complexity.

Described as “the benchmark, not only for the region but for the country as a whole” by the Wine Spectator, the brilliant 98 pt. 2020 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay reflects a rich legacy of consistency and longevity that has earned an international reputation among Australia’s upper echelon of age worthy white wines, a profoundly complex Chardonnay just starting its journey and unbeatably priced for savvy collectors to enjoy over the next decade.

98WA

The 2020 vintage in Margaret River was moderate to warm and will be forever remembered for the incredibly compacted harvest period, which started two weeks earlier than the 2019 harvest before it and was all wrapped up by Easter—that's largely unheard of. The 2020 Art Series Chardonnay leads with power and density, not unlike the 2018 before it. Tight and green in the glass, you get salted pear, white peach, nectarine, red apple skins, preserved citrus and crushed shell. The wine has minerality and tension within the confines of the opulent fruit. Staggering length, as usual. The winemaking remains relatively consistent across the years: hand-picked fruit from Block 20 and 22 (planted in 1976 and 1978, respectively). Thirty percent 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. Sulfured post-ferment in order to discourage malolactic fermentation, both components remain in barrel for 11 months. Super wine.

98 points, Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate (Jul 2023)

Alcohol By Volume: 13.5%

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$99.98

Compare At: $109.99

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