Gary Walsh, The Wine Front: 94
I reckon I’ve tasted every vintage of Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay on release since 1992, so this brings me up to 21 vintages. I’m an adult now. I like this a little more than the 2011. Hazelnut, pear, melon, toast and clove spiced wood. Full bodied, toasty savoury wood plays a leading role in the flavour profile, though of course there’s the typical Leeuwin fruit power to go with it. Pear and lime in the mix, silky honeyed texture, then a little crunch of tannin on the finish. Great length. Has complexity already as a young wine, but really needs a few years to settle down and mesh, at which point it will almost certainly rate a little higher.

ACCOLADES AND AWARDS FOR 2011 VINTAGE (of which there are many):

Langtons Wine Classification: Exceptional

Wine Spectator have ranked the 2011 LEEUWIN ESTATE ART SERIES CHARDONNAY as wine number 5 in their prestigious Top 100 wines of 2014 out of nearly 20,000 wines reviewed this year.

James Halliday: 98
There is always cause to genuflect in the presence of chardonnay royalty, such as that of Leeuwin Estate. It imposes its will without a flicker of effort; the line between citrus and stone fruit, and between oak and mineral comes and goes, leaving you grasping at straws; it's a wine of flawless balance, line and length.

Tyson Stelzer, Wine Business Magazine: 97
A magnificent vintage that blesses the characteristic towering magnitude of Art Series with a gentle touch of elegance and laser focused acidity. Early picking has transformed a warm season.

Ray Jordan, The West Australian: 97
Yet again, this supreme example of Margaret river chardonnay has come up trumps. Complex mealy grapefruit-infused aromas with touches of lanolin and beeswax and a little peach stone fruit. It’s all so compelling and intriguing. The palate delivers with great finesse and captures the slightly more refined style of chardonnay coming from Leeuwin these days. Outstanding.

Wine Taste Magazine: 97
Art Series sits at the bigger end of Margaret River’s chardonnay power set, unashamedly proclaiming grand fruit presence within a robust frame of 100% new French oak. It has done so with an admirable measure of finesse in recent years, though I feared the warmer 2011 vintage might trouble this style. To the contrary, sniper-like precision in picking early has captured the magnitude of this label with greater clarity of acid line and elegant focus than ever. Introducing one of the great vintages for LEASMRC. Constant oak trials across 23 coopers and some 900 new barrels a year have made for impeccable oak integration, maintaining the purity of grapefruit zest, white peach blossom and succulent fig, overlaid with wonderful hints of struck flint and gunpowder. Epic persistence, laser-focused acidity and outstanding drive.”


“96 points. The customary impressive power and concentration are there but the oak is subtly played and alcohol is moderate. The aromas summon honey, spices and grapefruit. Great focused intensity and length: a beautiful drink.”
Huon Hook, SMH, 9 June 2014

Josh Raynolds, Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar: 94 points
Pale, green-tinged gold. Potent scents of lime pith, orange, iodine and white flowers, with an intense mineral overlay. Juicy, tightly focused and concentrated, offering nervy citrus and orchard fruit flavors complicated by anise, chamomile and a hint of buttered toast. Shows superb energy and clarity on the finish, which clings with serious, mineral-dominated tenacity. I was reminded of a very serious Chablis here; the style of this bottling has become more taut and Old World-like in recent years, which is just fine with me.