Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2022

When arguments rage, you can guarantee when the subject is Australia's greatest chardonnays that this wine will always be in the mix. It's another exceptional wine from a vintage that really worked well. As always, 100% of the juice was barrel fermented in new French barriques, with regular stirring to introduce complexity and texture. It's a powerful statement of chardonnay as it always is, with aromas of quince and lime, cut pear, with a little vanilla pod and brioche. So it's layered and complex. The palate is a powerhouse with awesome concentration and intensity, but then there's a minerally lime juice edge that leaves the mouth with a lip-smacking acidity. 98PTS Ray Jordan

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. 97PTS Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate