2020 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay Magnum 1.5L, Margaret River

The perfect balance of this wine is central to its place at the top of Margaret River chardonnay tree. The vintage saw little disease pressure, and the purity of the wine is absolute, white peach to the fore, sustained by perfect acidity.

99 points James Halliday Top 100 Nov 2023

It would not surprise me if this was considered the greatest Leeuwin chardonnay yet. You would get no argument from me... there is elegance and power here. Subtle layered wine. It was a year of great concentration and power. Has pear and lime character that is part of the DNA. The fruit is generous, especially about the mid palate. Has a subtle and not overstated flinty character with a lift of spice. The oak is brilliantly managed and complementary. It's very tight and precise and the whole-bunch technique gives it that stalky, phenolics character. There's a savoury almond meal character on the finish. Incredible length and power here. The minerally character on the finish is quite pronounced. In the top three, certainly, of any Leeuwin chardonnay.

99 points Ray Jordan Business News February 2023

Tauter than vintages of yore, boasting complex aromas of pear distillate, citrus verbena, nougat, cashew, cedar-tinged oak and succulent white peach. Immaculately constructed, pure and rather wonderful. Founded on a tensile stream of pungent mineral, transcendental poise and scintillating length. There is little out of place here. Superb New World chardonnay. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

97 points Ned Goodwin jamessuckling.com

This is a peach of a wine. One sip and wow, you’re into its wonderful world. It has one foot entirely in the elegant camp, and the other comprehensively in the domain of power. It’s seamless. There are peach, cedarwood, white flower, ginger and custard-like characters, along with quartz, though it’s all just rolled and reamed into one. The length of it; it’s brilliant. The off-hand confidence. This is a super release.

97 points Campbell Mattinson winefront.com.au March 2023

From one of Margaret River’s most revered vineyards, the 2020 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay is a vintage that reinforces its place among Australia’s greatest wines. Established by the Horgan family and brought to international attention under the long stewardship of Bob Cartwright, the wine today is guided by Phil Hutchison, who continues to refine its hallmark balance of power and precision. The 2020 season delivered exceptional fruit, with ideal ripening conditions allowing intensity and structure to align seamlessly, a vintage many consider one of the finest releases in recent memory.

A brilliant pale gold with green flashes signals both concentration and freshness. Aromas are strikingly detailed, white peach, nectarine and preserved lemon layered with grapefruit zest, cashew, struck match and fine spice. With air, further complexity emerges, oatmeal, citrus blossom and a subtle saline edge, all beautifully integrated.

The palate is expansive yet tightly controlled, delivering waves of stone fruit and citrus wrapped around vibrant acidity and a powerful mineral core. Texture builds through the mid palate with notes of brioche, hazelnut and finely judged oak, yet the wine remains poised and energetic throughout. The finish is exceptionally long and precise, carrying both richness and tension in perfect harmony. This is a standout vintage of Art Series Chardonnay, built for the long term, evolving effortlessly over fifteen to twenty years into layers of honeyed, nutty and deeply savoury complexity.

Butter poached marron, lobster with citrus butter, or a perfectly roasted chicken with crisp skin and pan juices, dishes that match the wine’s scale without overwhelming its detail. Beethoven’s Symphony No 7 or something equally expansive like Mahler’s Fifth, the wine unfolding in movements, layered, powerful and completely absorbing.