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Shiraz Art Series, Leeuwin Estate 2019

Tasting Notes

Leeuwin Estate is investing heavily in Shiraz and it shows. New plantings, clones, whole-bunch ferments and bigger barrels produce a vibrant, mid-weight style with riffs of spicy szechuan, fragrant white pepper, clove and violet to the firm red currant and cherry core; contrapuntal, creamy blackberry and crunchy pomegranate lend tension and twang. Fine-grained tannins and subtle oak, fruit and fresh acidity assert its cooler climate credentials.

95
Sarah Ahmed, Decanter.com, May 2022

98% Shiraz, 2% Malbec. Wiunemaker Tim Lovett finds that Shiraz can be lifted by a small amount of Malbec. Fruit was fermented in both open and closed fermenters, with 20% whole-bunch Shiraz to enhance vibrancy and lift. Malolactic fermentation took place in new, one- and two-year-old French oak barrels, with maturation in barrel for eighteen months. The Malbec was both fermented and matured in barrel separately, and added at the final blending stage.
This smells so good: fresh black pepper (so fresh it’s like peppercorns straight from the drying mats). Deep, delicious, meaty sweet fruit. Violets, daphne with a blue-purple-fruited lusciousness and yet the wine is, at the same time, dry and savoury. Grounded yet ethereal. Determined yet open. Muscled tight yet fluid. Extraordinary ying-yang balance of opposite but complementary forces. (TC)

17.5
Tamlyn Currin, JancisRobinson.com, April 2022
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.