Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2014

Matthew Jukes Top 100 Australian Wines of 2017 

Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay needs no introduction. It is an icon of Australian wine and is one of Langton's Heritage Five which celebrates Australia's most exceptional and ground-breaking wines - the other four being Penfolds Grange, Henschke Hill of Grace, Mount Mary Quintet and Wendouree Shiraz. It is often compared favourably with great White Burgundies. "The Art Series Chardonnay is Australia's finest chardonnay based on the wines of the last 30 vintages. The move to screwcap brought a large smile to the faces of those who understand just how superbly the wine ages."  James Halliday

"Art Series chardonnay is a wine with uncommon finesse and it underlines just how great the 2014 vintage was for Margaret River and its top white wines. The 2014 is my favorite  release in a very long time and having given it 19.5s more regularly than I can count it is time for me to unleash a perfect 20/20 for this masterpiece. lt is not only the top scoring white wine of this report it is the top wine of all."  Matthew Jukes

The Art Series Chardonnay is sourced primarily from the 1976-planted Block 20 and supplemented with fruit from the 1978-planted Block 22. The quality of the vineyard is well recognised and remains the backbone of the Art Series Chardonnay. The vineyard blocks are planted to the Gingin clone on a series of rolling hills facing all directions. 

"A pristine and lifted nose highlighted by Nashi pears, limes, white peach and fig. The primary fruits are complimented by nutmeg, cinnamon, almonds and sesame, creating subtle complexity. The palate has concentration with clarity and purity of fruit flavours. Introductory grapefruit and pear characteristics lead to a delicately textured, layered and woven palate with nougat, anise and cashews present. The immense length of the palate, characteristic of Art Series Chardonnay, is balanced with a fine acid line and mineral finish."  Leeuwin Estate

Expert reviews

"Art Series itself is just that – a work of art. lt is the most consistently excellent chardonnay in Australia and in 2014 this iconic wine is less forceful and domineering than in 2013 and there is already striking balance on display. With a perfect thread of acidity and freshness running the length of its spine, Art Series chardonnay is a wine with uncommon finesse and it underlines just how great the 2014 vintage was for Margaret River and its top white wines. 2014 Art Series chardonnay is my favorite  release in a very long time and having given it 19.5s more regularly than I can count it is time for me to unleash a perfect 20/20 for this masterpiece. lt is not only the top scoring white wine of this report it is the top wine of all."  Matthew Jukes - 20/20 points and Top 100 Australian Wines of 2017 

"Part hand, part machine-picked, part wild and part cultured yeast, matured for 11 months in new French oak. Incredibly youthful quartz-green colour; a great chardonnay, its intensity and length right up there with the best prior vintages; white peach and nectarine open the batting, pink grapefruit coming swiftly thereafter, creamy/nutty oak almost lost in the crowd. If this weren't enough, the aftertaste is a work of art, complete in itself. Drink by 2029."  James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion - 98 points and Special Value Wine  ★ 

"There have been many challengers to this great chardonnay, yet still it stands supreme as one of the finest in the land. This is a finer and more delicate example but one that still has the sustained power and deep intensity that distinguishes it. Pear and white peach aromas laced with a light touch of almond meal and grapefruit. Appears slightly more minerally and precise than some previous wines. Holds a very tight line through to the finish. Interesting style shift."  Ray Jordan, The West Australian – 98 points

"Pale colour. Fragrant lime squash, bitter lemon, grapefruit aromas with roasted hazelnut/vanilla oak. Superbly developed and balanced palate with lime, lemon curd, grapefruit, white peach flavours, fine lacy/chalky textures, attractive mid palate viscosity, roasted hazelnut, biscuity notes and fresh indelible acid cut. Finishes crunchy with plentiful nectarine, lemon fruits. A classic Leeuwin with the fruit definition, linear structure and tension for the long haul. A very age-worthy wine. Drink: Now-2034."  Andrew Caillard MW, The Vintage Journal - 98 points (Tasted 2021)

"This is quite firm and taut. Having said that, the balance is exemplary, with the acid cutting through the fruit richness. Needs years to show its best, but with air, the fruit richness builds and you get a glimpse of just how good this wine is. Will age with grace."  Brendan Jansen MW, Fine Wine Club (Vertical Tasting 2000 – 2016 vintage, Tasted May 2019)

"It's thick with spicy cedar oak, yes, but you taste and swallow, and the length of flavour is just staggering. Oak, fruit power, and length is the Leeuwin formula, with bottle age the key to unlocking it. As at now there's clove spice, ginger and cedar oak, nashi pear, Tiny Teddies, melon and white flowers. It's full bodied, spicy and smooth, intense and quite flinty, with cool integrated acidity, and a startlingly long finish. Very much a classic Leeuwin here. Perhaps one of their best. Drink : 2019 – 2034."  Gary Walsh, The Wine Front - 96 points

"One of Margaret River's (and Australia's) iconic Chardonnays, Leeuwin's 2014 Art Series Chardonnay continues that proud tradition. Never shy on toasty, nutty oak or bold fruit, the 2014 features both seamlessly woven together in perhaps greater harmony than in past vintages. Hints of white peach, Bosc pear and citrus appear on the medium-bodied palate and linger on the elegant, finely textured finish."  Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate - 96 points

"Limpid yellow-gold. A suave, highly perfumed bouquet evokes fresh pear, peach and melon, along with suggestions of lemon pith, vanilla, honey and chalky minerals. Stains the palate with intense, oak-spiced orchard and citrus fruit flavors that pick up anise and floral nuances with aeration. Shows serious depth but comes off lithe and graceful, with a silky texture and a touch of back-end smokiness. The strikingly long finish emphatically echoes the mineral and floral notes and leaves a hint of buttered toast behind."  Josh Raynolds, Vinous - 96 points

"Very light, bright straw/green colour, with a restrained, delicate, fresh aroma of smoky oak and low-level sulfides nuances over melon fruit and a hint of grapefruit. The wine is delicate and restrained yet intense in the mouth: a masterful combination of refinement and tension, with definite but subtle flavour. Clean, dry finish and good length. A lovely discreet style. (NB. Very understated for Leeuwin!)."  Huon Hooke, The Real Review - 95 points

"Aromas of cooked apple, pineapple and pear with hints of honeysuckle. Full body, fantastic depth of fruit and intensity. Tight and muscular. Reserved. Powerful. Screw cap. Give it a year or two still but a joy to taste."  James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com - 95 points

"Slightly above-average January and below-average February temperatures were followed by a warmer March with cool nights, allowing for delicate flavours to develop. It's similar in style, if not as concentrated, as the 2016, with succulent acidity that's less driving than in the 2015. Seamless notes of gently waxy ripe pear, grapefruit and slippery white peach are followed by lifted honey, nougat and dried pear flavours which build up through the palate. Long, elegant and nuanced."  Decanter - 95 points

Awards

Top 100 Australian Wines of 2017 - Matthew Jukes
Special Value Wine – Halliday Wine Companion  ★ 

The winery

In 1969, Denis and Tricia Horgan purchased a farm and plumbing business in Margaret River that they would eventually transform into Leeuwin Estate, one of Australia's most iconic wineries. At the time they had little interest in wine or plumbing (they sold the business), but in 1972 they met legendary Napa Valley winemaker, Robert Mondavi, who wanted to purchase their farm to plant vineyards. The farm was not for sale, but with Mondavi acting as consultant and mentor, they planted vineyards with the dream of becoming a world-class producer of premium wine.

A nursery was planted in 1974, the vineyards were planted over a five-year period from 1975 and Leeuwin released its first commercial vintage in 1979. The Leeuwin Estate vineyards are planted to Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz, but it is the Chardonnay and to a lesser extent the Cabernet that are the stars of the portfolio. Langton's classifies Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay as 'Exceptional' and one of the Heritage Five which celebrates Australia's most iconic, exceptional and ground-breaking wines - the other four are Penfolds Grange, Henschke Hill of Grace, Mount Mary Quintet and Wendouree Shiraz.

Leeuwin Estate releases its wines under three labels, the Art Series, Prelude Vineyards and Siblings. The Art Series range was created in 1980 and features Australian artwork on the labels.

Denis and Tricia Horgan continue their involvement in Leeuwin Estate, but today it is their two eldest children, son Justin Horgan and daughter Simone Furlong, who run the business as joint chief executives. 

"I fell into the wine industry because Mondavi wanted to buy the land; I thank God that we didn't sell."  Denis Horgan

Art series labels

The Art Series range was created in 1980 and features Australian artwork on the labels.

"I had developed an interest in Australian art in the early days. During a trip to Europe I was invited to meet Baroness Philippine de Rothschild at the Chateau Mouton-Rothschild wine estate in Bordeaux. The winemaker showed me around the winery and art gallery before having lunch with the Baroness.

I was so impressed with the way art had been integrated into the business that I asked Baroness Philippine if she would mind if we used Australian Artwork on our labels. She thought that was a great idea and said, "Go ahead".

So we created the 'Art Series' range in 1980 to define our most opulent and age-worthy wines from each vintage.  The first label carried a painting of our region's famous 'Caves Road' by Robert Juniper. We now have over 150 paintings from Australia's leading contemporary artists in our collection. We display the original artworks in the winery art gallery."  Denis Horgan

The collection now comprises over 150 paintings and features artworks from artists including John Olsen, Arthur Boyd, Sir Sidney Nolan, Lloyd Rees, Albert Tucker, Fred Williams, Robert Juniper, Clifton Pugh and Imants Tillers. The only work not part of the Estate's own collection is Sir Arthur Streeton's Golden Summer, which was kindly offered by its then owner for use on a special Museum Release of the 1987 Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon before moving to its new home at the National Gallery.

Many of the paintings and sculptures were specifically commissioned. Others were discovered in exhibitions around Australia and the artists approached for copyright permission to be reproduced as part of the label series. The first painting commissioned was of Caves Road by Robert Juniper for the 1980 Art Series Chardonnay. John Olsen was approached to paint the first artwork to be used on the Art Series Riesling. He responded with the creation of four works entitled “Frogs in Riesling”. These paintings were so irresistible that the decision was made to purchase all four and all have been used, in a random pattern, on Art Series Riesling labels ever since. This makes the Riesling unique, as for the labels of all other wines, a new work is commissioned each year.

Sir Sidney Nolan, when approached at the beginning of the series, advised he was not a graphic artist and did not paint for wine labels. He was also a red wine buff and was sent two unlabelled bottles of the 1982 Cabernet Sauvignon – one of Leeuwin's best vintages. He responded that for this wine he would happily provide a painting. This resulted in his Dolphin Rock appearing on the label.

With the high calibre of the artists consenting to appear on the labels, it is no longer a challenge convincing leading artists to be part of this collection. Eventually, as the collection builds, it is hoped to tour it in its own right. Some works have been lent from time to time but most are on display in the Leeuwin Estate Art Gallery.

The concerts

"As one of the world's most isolated wine regions, we wanted to be creative in generating reasons for visitors to come and discover Margaret River and our wines.

Our winery overlooks a meadow surrounded by a forest of tall karri trees, creating a beautiful natural amphitheatre. So in 1985 we wrote to the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, the local Ballet Company and the Opera Company inviting them to consider coming down and doing a concert. The idea of alfresco performances in the bush was extremely novel at the time and we didn't get much interest from any of them.

The then Director of The Festival of Perth, David Blenkinsopp, approached us about that time, asking if we would underwrite the visit to Australia of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, something that somewhat shocked us at the time, huge costs, logistics and all of that – no was the answer, unless they would be prepared to perform in our vineyard.

He went off to London to organise the tour and said he'd talk to the LPO and let me know. To my surprise he came back and said they'd love to perform at Leeuwin, as long as we underwrote the whole Australian tour. Trish thought I was mad, in fact everybody I know thought I was mad, but I said yes!

Funnily enough it was a bit like the wine, we didn't know that much about music and certainly nothing about being concert promoters, however we thought the London Philharmonic Orchestra was a pretty good 'band' to start our concerts with! They really might be worth the risk and we needed to generate a profile for our wine business in a creative way.

So 100+ members of The London Philharmonic Orchestra travelled all the way to Margaret River, we built a stage, did some creative things entertainment wise and all had a fantastic night. The concert was a sell-out; we even had to turn away 500. It made front page news, described as “The most extraordinary concert ever held in Australia."

Our wines were successfully launched nationally at functions held off the back of the concerts throughout Australia – it proved to be a highly successful promotion.

The impact of that first concert guaranteed the future success of our concerts. Whilst it cost a fortune in our underwriting of the total Australian tour it was a highly successful launch pad to promote Leeuwin Estate to all the right people at home and Eastern Australia.

That first Leeuwin Concert was so successful that we continued the relationship with the Festival of Perth for another two years, featuring other international orchestras. Then we thought that we needed to do something different and presented Ray Charles. The new format proved to be even more successful so we decided to stick to that format for a while – 32 years later we have presented an eclectic array of the world's leading musicians at Leeuwin, from Sting to James Taylor, Carole King and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa."  Denis Horgan

Text taken from Milton Wordley's article 'People of Wine', https://winetenquestions.com.au/