Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay, Margaret River, Australia 2020

Leeuwin Estate, one of the founding wineries in the Margaret River region of Western Australia, is a family producer with an international reputation for creating wines ranking alongside the world’s finest.  In 1972, legendary Napa Valley winemaker, Robert Mondavi, identified the future site of the Leeuwin vineyard as being ideal for the production of premium wine and provided early mentorship to Denis and Tricia Horgan in the transformation of their cattle farm into Leeuwin Estate. A nursery was planted in 1974 with vineyard sites planted from 1975. Enjoying its first commercial vintage in 1979, Leeuwin Estate was thrust into the global wine spotlight when Decanter Magazine highly recommended the 1981 “Art Series” Chardonnay after an international blind tasting.

Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay and Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon are both included in the prestigious ‘Langtons Classification of Australian Wine, representing Australia’s most highly sought-after wines based on consumer demand, collectability, and prices fetched at auction. Art Series Chardonnay has been included in the special designation of ‘1st Classified,’ reserved for a small cohort of wines representing the most desirable wines in Australia that compete with the world’s finest.

Energetic and well poised, an array of fresh lime and nashi pear is laced throughout. The palate is ethereal, mineral and defined with a presence of natural acidity. There is an enticing element of saline, wet stone and phyllitic characteristic that weaves within. The shape and frame on the palate is present and focussed with effortless length.

"The 2020 Art Series Chardonnay favorably reflects the positive aspects of the 2020 growing season, which was warm and dry, and at that time, it was the earliest harvest start time that Margaret River had experienced. That statistic has since been overtaken by ensuing vintages—2024 is a stark example. This wine is tightly coiled and colored white in its characters: nectarine, white peach, white currant, white pepper and pineapple husk. I recall soon after its release in 2022, I tasted this wine blind at one of my wine group nights, and at that tightly bound stage, I couldn't see Margaret River nor the seasonal warmth in the glass. It has since fleshed out somewhat and now is looking more like its place and year. The acidity is juicy and almost puckering in its intensity, and it lingers long after the wine has gone." Wine Advocate 96