LEEUWIN Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2017

Robert Parker Score: 96 points

Reviewer: Erin Larkin — July 2023 Week 115 Feb 2024

Drink 2024–2040

The 2017 vintage in Margaret River was a cool one; it was wet and cool and threw up many challenges for producers in the area. Having said that, the success stories are the ones who toiled in the vineyard and made sensible choices regarding crop loads and canopies. So today, at seven years from harvest, the 2017 Art Series Chardonnay is savory and taut and intense. piercing. The structural intensity of this wine—i.e., the phenolics—make an impact on the way it feels in the mouth. It shapes it and makes for firm drinking. The wine is gravelly in its character, rocky almost, with graphite and gravel, a hint of iodine and grapefruit, saline and coffee grounds. Hints of turmeric and saffron accompany the orchard fruit. Sealed under screw cap.

This was tasted at the estate in January 2024 as part of the annual vertical of Art Series Chardonnay; the vintage span in 2024 is 1986–2021 (plus the 2023 barrel sample).