2017 Kevin John Chardonnay

The 2017 Kevin John Chardonnay hails from a cool, wet vintage in Margaret River, one that has played out very well in the white wines in particular. Here, the wine leads with notes of honeycomb and beeswax, yellow flowers, white peach, Golden Delicious apple and brine. In the mouth, the wine is showing attractive development, and it looks both complete and harmonious, with the power of the fruit concentrated on the back of the palate. 13.8% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. According to the technical booklet provided by Cullen during the tasting, 2017 was a cooler-than-average season, with a traditional wet winter, followed by slightly colder-than-average spring and summer temperatures. This allowed for excellent canopy growth and good, slow accumulation of flavor and ripeness in the fruit, maintaining well-composed acidity and resulting in brilliantly balanced fruit naturally. The fruit for this wine was hand-harvested from the Cullen vineyard from February 8 to March 6, with very low yields of 3.2 tons per hectare. The grapes were whole-bunch pressed and fermented with wild yeast in different vessels: barriques, amphorae and ceramic egg. The wine underwent natural malolactic fermentation prior to receiving five months of maturation in French oak, of which 30% was new.