2021 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay

Firmly standing at the top of the tree of Australian Chardonnays, Leeuwin Estate have turned out yet another spectacular release from the 2021 vintage. Barrel fermented and matured in new French oak barriques with regular lees stirring for a period of 11 months.
Brilliant pale straw colour with a subtle tint of green around the edges and a watery hue. Captivating aromas of white peach, nectarine and dried honey delicately infused with gun flint engulf the nostrils. Biscuity oak, subtle cashew, citrusy nougat and spice notes add a further dimension of complexity. Beautifully shaped, expansive and refined the palate is layered with fleshy white peach and nectarine fruits which overlay a biscuity nougat, subtle dried honey, ginger spice, roast almond and gun flint back drop. Tremendously powerful yet relatively light on its feet it has a fresh silken like feel. Finishes with exceptional length and finesse.
Drink over the next 8-10 years.
Alc. 13.5%

Other Reviews…..
The 2021 Art Series Chardonnay leads with a distinctly floral nose: jasmine and white garden rose, wisteria and lemon blossom. The season was a challenging one in Margaret River, defined by the rainfall, which was constant. The temperatures were modest (not cool, as plenty of rain might suggest),and given that the region is so diverse in terms of distances between vineyard areas, this created quite a patchwork of outcomes for producers. On the palate, the wine is powerful and savory—it leans heavily on exotic dry spice and cracked honeycomb, with hints of salted butter on fresh white bread, beeswax and salted pink grapefruit. Stylistically, it is not dissimilar to the 2017; however, the dovetailing of acid and fruit feels seamless and well matched here. The wine is piercing and structural, tightly coiled and almost rigid, in the best of ways. It's an impressive wine, one that, at this stage of its life, is defined by its penetrating acid line. Sealed under screw cap.
97+ points
Erin Larkin – Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate

There’s always an anticipation when a new vintage arrives. This doesn’t disappoint – it’s archetypal Art Series: powerful, rich and layered with flavour from stone fruit, pink grapefruit and Meyer lemon to a touch of mandarin. The palate builds with creamy lees, oak spice and some phenolics – the oak is superbly integrated, and pure acidity leads this to a persistent finish. Impressive as always. Drink by 2034.
97 points
Jane Faulkner – James Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion

I seem to have missed tasting the 2020 LEAS Chardonnay, which is kind of disappointing. It’s a blip in my Leeuwin radar, given I’ve tasted every one of them on release since the 1992 vintage. Anyway, teeth gnashing aside, the bottle seems to be lighter these days, which is very good.
Pear, lime, grapefruit, floral too, with a distinct mint/aniseed top note, backed with discreet spicy cinnamon/ginger oak. It’s fresh and lively, quite saline too, flinty and chalky, a honey ginger drink character in the mix, along with a cucumber coolness and biscuit spices, a whole lot of presence and power here, delivered in a kind of understated, but confident way. The finish is very long, and refreshing. Gee, this is good wine. It ripples through the mouth like a flat white stone pitched across a cool lake. That’s an image for you, and I’ll leave you with that. Drink 2025-2040+
97 points
Gary Walsh – The Wine Front