Cullen Wines Kevin John Flower Day Legacy Chardonnay 2024
G 98
This really is a ‘drink on bended knee with head bowed’ kind of wine. Harvested on a single day, a flower day in the biodynamic calendar, this is simply thrilling. Just 600 bottles made. Sure, it is not for everyday drinking, but it should be on every bucket list. The team used whole bunch carbonic maceration in beeswax-lined amphorae. Maturation was for six months in new French oak puncheons. Deep yellow in colour, this is Chardonnay with an entirely new level of intensity of flavour. We have notes of lemon curd, cashews, stone fruits, glacéd orange rinds, honeycomb, fresh croissants and citrus. A wine of immense complexity and great length, notwithstanding the enormous generosity of flavour, it is perhaps the textural aspects which are the highlight here. The wine has power, length, concentration and balance. Extraordinary length actually, and it should drink beautifully for the next fifteen to twenty-five years. How many of us wouldn’t be just a little bit nervous putting away our White Burgundies for twenty-five years? No such concerns here. Drink 2030–2048 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2022 G 98 Very hard to say that this latest release of the Art Series Chardonnay is as good as anything they have done before, as it simply sounds as though one is repeating oneself every year. Nevertheless, in the months since I first saw this wine, it seems to have done the near impossible and stepped up to an even higher standard. This is an iconic Chardonnay and justifiably recognised as such around the world. What is not quite so apparent is why on earth people pay many times the price for White Burgundies which are often nowhere near this quality when this is available. That is a question above my pay grade. Lemon-green in colour, there is a most evocative nose, beautifully fragrant. The balance is impeccable throughout. Focused and lingering, this is a wine of freshness and elegance, yet extensive complexity is already evident. The nose gives us notes of white jasmine, oatmeal, cashews, ginger, peaches, mandarin, citrus and lemon curd. There is incredible length here and wonderful generosity. Simply an exquisite wine. Track record suggests that this wine will easily enjoy twenty to thirty years in a good cellar. Drink 2028–2040
22
The Vintage Journal – Regional Focus
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