2021 Cullen Wines Diana Madeline

Certified organic and biodynamic this wine is a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec that was matured in 50% new French oak for a period of 15 months.
Midnight black in colour with a dark red black tinged hue. The intense nose is a marriage complexity and refinement offering up delightful aromatics or red to black currants and mulberries which intermingle with hints of violets, dusty vanillin cedar, light tobacco, black olives and spicy bay leaf. Mid weighted, powerful and refined, rich ripe red to black currant and mulberry fruits are framed by a firm yet beautifully integrated tannin structure which gives the palate a graphite like feel. Spicy vanillin cedar, dusty earth, tobacco, subtle black olive and infusions of bay leaf line the back half. Robust yet amply fleshed it concludes with substantial length.
Cellar 10-20 years plus.
Alc. 13.5%

Other Reviews…..
The newly released DM Cabernet is a particularly auspicious one, celebrating what would have been the 100th birthday of Diana Madeline herself. No doubt, she would have been delighted with the wine. In fact, it is very hard to remember when this Cabernet would not have been amongst the very best released in this country. This latest release is likely to be seen as one of the finest they have ever made. This is not just a great Margaret River wine, it is a great wine.
Deep opaque purple hue. The nose is a whirling dervish of spices, cherries, tobacco leaves, cassis, black fruits, leather and dried herbs with hints of cloves and blackberries. The structure is immaculate while the wine is focused, with the intensity maintained the full length to a very long finish supported by silky tannins. Certainly young now, and although it really is enjoyable, expect this wine to give great pleasure over the next two decades. It is going to get even better. This will surely be one of the top wines of the year, even at this early stage. Drink 2023-2053.
98 points
Ken Gargett - WinePilot.com

The 2021 Diana Madeline is composed of Cabernet Sauvignon (91%), Merlot (4%), Cabernet Franc (3%) and Malbec (2%). The only other time since the first 1995 vintage of this wine (formerly labeled as the Cabernet Merlot) that the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon has crested 90% or higher was the 2016 vintage, which saw 93% Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2021 vintage in Margaret River was an interesting one, with several climate curveballs thrown at viticulturists during key times during the harvest season. Here, the fruit was handpicked on biodynamic fruit and flower days across five picks from the middle of March to the Super Moon flower day two weeks later. The wine was matured in French oak for 15 months (50% new). This 2021 is a lean, mineral rendition of the Diana Madeline, with bay leaf, rose petals, cassis, bramble and black tea forming layers that settle in the mouth. The tannins are grippy and very fine, causing one to chew slightly as one drinks. This is ethereal, as these wines often are, yet with line and length that belies its pretty curves and textures. The perfect, ideal apogee for this wine's drinking window is in the future. Get it while you can. Drink 2024-2039.
96+ points
Erin Larkin – Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate

91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc & 2% Malbec. 50% new oak. Vines now 50 years old.
Cherry, plum, dark chocolate, dried rose, lead pencil, baking spice. It’s medium-bodied, saline and distinctly ‘mineral’ with a ferrous quality, crushed slate tannin, spice, I’m thinking Davidson plum?, with that hint of tartness, a musky perfume, so much energy, combining light and shade, and a long gently chewy tannic finish. Distinctive wine stamped firmly with a sense of place. Drink 2025-2040+
96 points
Gary Walsh – The Wine Front

Diana Madeline. The name evokes a lot of emotions, for what the woman stood for then and what the wine stands for now. The 2021 vintage equals 50 years of cabernet sauvignon plantings at Cullen. When released in early 2023, it was on what would have been her 100th birthday. It’s a wine that can come from nowhere else, so strong is its sense of place. Expect to swoon over aromas of roses, violets and mulberries doused in baking spices, a ferruginous quality as much as detailed if persuasive tannins. It’s complex, complete and structured. Gosh, what a wine. What a woman. The perfect combination. Drink by 2045.
97 points
Jane Faulkner - James Halliday's Australian Wine Companion