2005 Art Series Chardonnay
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Tasting notes
Perhaps just starting to show its age, the 2005 Art Series Chardonnay is a smoky, toasty beauty, overflowing with grilled peaches and almost meaty, mocha notes. Full-bodied, fleshy and opulent, it's a terrific example of unabashedly New World Chardonnay. Drink it up over the next several years.
Critic scores
Average Score
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
100% Chardonnay. Gingin clone. Stevens Road vineyard. A mild winter and gentle spring winds allowed for good flowering and berry set. The summer was generally dry, warm and clear with few hot days. The Chardonnay fruit was harvested at night and at dawn. Cool crushed fruit with some skin contact. The juice was settled for four days, racked, and inoculated with yeast. 100% of the juice was barrel-fermented in new French barriques with the lees stirred every two to three weeks over the 11 months. After 11 months in barrel, the various components were blended, fined, cold-stabilised and bottled. Bright smoky fruit. Medium weight with quite a pungent middle. Lime juice and smoke. Still very much alive and relatively rich with the merest trace of sweetness. Slightly sudden end. (JR)
No malo in this vintage. Quite closed on the nose. Similar to 2010 in style. May be going through a dumb phase. Much more expressive on the palate. Slightly honeyed citrus, powerful and toasty and rich. More power than elegance. Lots of fruit sweetness even though it is dry. Dense and rich. (JH)
TA 7.2 g/l. 100% new french oak barrel fermentation. Buttery, rich, indulgent, great strident acid, tropical fruit. World class: assured, bold, handles its alcohol well. (RH)
About the producer
Leeuwin Estate is one of Australia’s leading wine producers. Based close to Cape Leeuwin, in the southern reaches of Margaret River, Western Australia, this remote estate is best known for its Art Series wines.