Leeuwin Estate Art Series Shiraz 2018

Professional Ratings

• 96 Australian Wine Companion
  The same layers of complexity and spice as the 2017, with all the ripe fruit and power hallmarks of the 2018 vintage. Bouncy and chewy, the tannins are woven into the fruit. Fruit, oak, acid and tannins are integrated and elegant, showing cohesion and harmony from the get-go. Cool-climate elegance is the lasting impression of this wine, as is the fine, chalky tannin profile that ultimately carries the fruit over the course of the palate. Very detailed. Margaret River can be responsible for seriously beautiful shiraz – this is one.
• 94 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

  The 2018 vintage strikes again—it is driven, pure and concentrated. It can't be underestimated for its ability to provide a perfectly ripe platform for great wine, both red and white, in Margaret River. The fruit for the 2018 Art Series Shiraz was wholly sourced from the estate Peppy Park vineyard, 17 kilometers south of the main estate vineyard in Boodjidup. The fruit went over a sorting table, followed by a five-day cold soak. There is up to 20% whole bunch in this cuvée (none in 2017 or 2019), and it is composed of 100% WA Clone. The wine was matured for 18 months in 600-liter demi-muids (Rhone and a Bordelais coopers). "Our priority is opening up the canopies to obtain proper solarization of bunches," said Lovett.

• 91 Wine & Spirits
  Red-cherry flavors meet the firm acidity of bitter melon in this sweet and tannic shiraz. The fruit is full enough to completely saturate those tannins, setting the wine up for barbecued brisket and burnt ends.
• 90 Wine Enthusiast
  This 2018 vintage shows all the perfume, vivid fruit and oak spice we've come to expect from the “Art Series” Shiraz, with more power on the palate than in previous years. Vivid aromas of black currant, licorice, florals and sweet oak spice lead to a mouthful of tannins. They're chewy and a bit drying, but they don't entirely muffle the lifted acidity and attractive fruit and floral flavors. Give this another year or two in bottle for those tannins to knit into the wine and then drink until 2030 or so.