2022 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay

Rich and enveloping yet remarkably fresh this is one of Australia’s most iconic Chardonnay’s.

Barrel fermented in new French oak barriques with regular lees stirring and matured in the same barrels for a period of 11 months. Brilliant pale straw colour with a greenish tint to the edges and a watery hue. Engulfing the olfactory senses are intense aromas of white peach, pear and nectarine which meld into a dried honey, subtle citrusy crème brulee, delicate cashew and gun flint infused back drop. Rich and layered yet remarkably fresh, enveloping the palate are mouth filling white peach, pear, nectarine and dried honey flavours. Lending further complexity are delicate biscuity oak, almond, citrus, crème brulee and flint elements. Beautifully shaped and refined, it boasts superb power and volume finishing long, texturally full and energetic.
Drink over the next 8-10 years.
Alc. 14%

Other Reviews….
If you were sitting quietly in a corner, contemplating the vicissitudes of life, and a glass of this exceptional chardonnay came your way, well, all would be very well indeed. And you’d perk up. It’s a wine that tends to be scintillating in youth, driven by all manner of citrus flavours – lemon, pink grapefruit with a dash of lime but also a mille-feuille of leesy lusciousness, oak spices and a moreish savouriness. It seems powerful and explosive with its acidity, drive and energy yet manages to remain classy and complex. Drink by 2032.
97 Points
Jane Faulkner – James Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion

The 2022 season was warm and low-yielding, particularly for Chardonnay, and many of the wines produced in the region this season can be typified by their nuttiness and a distinct chamomile tea/white flower character. Here, the 2022 Art Series Chardonnay is showing both of those characters, neatly wedged into the authoritative profile of Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay. Today, for perhaps the first time ever in seeing these wines on release, I note that the oak is a key player in the drinking experience—as ever, seamlessly matched to the fruit and an important part of the wine's style and evident here today. There are toasted nuts, yellow fruits, exotic spices and an open fan of acidity/phenolics through the finish. This 2022 will prove to be a powerful and statuesque player in the wider footprint of Art Series Chardonnays. It's one to collect, but for drinking in the short/immediate term, decanting is recommended. Sealed under screw cap.  Drink 2030-2047.
97 Points
Erin Larkin – Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate