Leeuwin Estate, Art Series Chardonnay, 2023
Leeuwin Estate, Art Series Chardonnay, 2023
- 75cl
- 13.5%
- White Still
- Chardonnay
- Organic
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Optimal drinking window: 2028 - 2035
Est. delivery in early summer, 2026
Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2023 is a benchmark example of Margaret River Chardonnay and a continuation of the wine’s long-standing reputation for precision, restraint, and longevity. The fruit is sourced exclusively from Leeuwin Estate’s vineyards in the Wallcliffe subregion, where gravelly soils and strong maritime influence from the Indian Ocean promote slow, even ripening.
The label artwork for the 2023 Art Series Chardonnay is titled Distant Blue Hill by Australian artist Mark Howson. Known for his avant-garde cubist style, Howson’s work frequently explores memory, distance, and the emotional resonance of place. The collaboration reflects the estate’s enduring commitment to cultural expression alongside viticulture and winemaking.
The vineyards sit on ancient granite and gneiss soils with patches of gravel and laterite, providing excellent drainage and mineral complexity. The proximity to the Indian Ocean moderates temperatures, creating one of Australia's most temperate wine regions with a Mediterranean climate. Cool sea breezes during the growing season help retain natural acidity while ensuring slow, even ripening of the Chardonnay grapes.
Margaret River produces some of Australia's finest Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, despite being one of the country's youngest wine regions. The region's unique combination of maritime climate, ancient soils, and Mediterranean weather patterns creates wines with both power and elegance. Unlike the warmer inland regions, Margaret River's ocean influence allows for wines with natural acidity and restraint, earning it comparisons to Bordeaux for reds and Burgundy for whites.
Margaret River's 2023 vintage delivered one of those seasons that reminds you why this region has earned its reputation. The growing season unfolded with textbook conditions: a mild, wet winter replenished soil moisture, followed by a warm, dry summer that allowed grapes to ripen steadily without the dramatic temperature swings that can unsettle delicate varieties. Harvest stretched through March and into April, with growers able to pick at optimal ripeness rather than racing against weather fronts.
The result is a vintage that captures Margaret River at its most expressive. Cabernet Sauvignon shows the structure and depth this region does so well, with firm tannins wrapped around dark fruit that promises excellent ageing potential. Chardonnay displays the minerality and citrus precision that has made Margaret River a benchmark for this variety in Australia. We think these wines will reward patience - the reds need until 2026 to start showing their best, whilst the whites are already drinking beautifully and should hold well until 2030.
What the critics say:
"2023 was a long, dry, mild season in Margaret River (certainly in the context of white wine), although there was some rain at the end of the season that, depending on the location of the vineyard, caused some challenges for some producers. From my viewpoint up in Perth (some 276 kilometers north), the season seemed to roll out in a most restrained fashion. I have been very excited to try the premium white from this season and indelibly curious about the premium reds. Tasted as a barrel sample in January 2024, this 2023 Art Series Chardonnay is inchoate at this stage, but it shows all the finesse and precision of the year that I was expecting. At this point, it is floral and waxy and defined very much by lashings of aromatic pear in every way you like it: poached, baked or fresh cut. There's loads of time before this wine will be ready for release, but I feel we will be in for a treat. (2024)"
OUR GROWERS
Leeuwin Estate
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