2014 Art Series Chardonnay
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Tasting notes
Limpid yellow-gold. A suave, highly perfumed bouquet evokes fresh pear, peach and melon, along with suggestions of lemon pith, vanilla, honey and chalky minerals. Stains the palate with intense, oak-spiced orchard and citrus fruit flavors that pick up anise and floral nuances with aeration. Shows serious depth but comes off lithe and graceful, with a silky texture and a touch of back-end smokiness. The strikingly long finish emphatically echoes the mineral and floral notes and leaves a hint of buttered toast behind.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Halliday
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
One of Margaret River's (and Australia's) iconic Chardonnays, Leeuwin's 2014 Art Series Chardonnay continues that proud tradition. Never shy on toasty, nutty oak or bold fruit, the 2014 features both seamlessly woven together in perhaps greater harmony than in past vintages. Hints of white peach, Bosc pear and citrus appear on the medium-bodied palate and linger on the elegant, finely textured finish.
Part hand, part machine-picked, part wild and part cultured yeast, matured for 11 months in new French oak. Incredibly youthful quartz-green colour; a great chardonnay, its intensity and length right up there with the best prior vintages; white peach and nectarine open the batting, pink grapefruit coming swiftly thereafter, creamy/nutty oak almost lost in the crowd. If this weren't enough, the aftertaste is a work of art, complete in itself.
Aromas of cooked apple, pineapple and pear with hints of honeysuckle. Full body, fantastic depth of fruit and intensity. Tight and muscular. Reserved. Powerful. Screw cap. Give it a year or two still but a joy to taste. Jul 2017, www.jamessuckling.com
About the producer
Leeuwin Estate is one of Australia’s leading wine producers. Based close to Cape Leeuwin, in the southern reaches of Margaret River, Western Australia, this remote estate is best known for its Art Series wines.