2021 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon

Cassandra Charlick (Decanter) 96 points

“Immediately captivating: the nose is vibrant and energetic, while simultaneously the epitome of elegance and poise with restrained fruit power. This is a silk evening gown of a wine: form-fitting, precisely tailored, mellifluous and effortlessly chic… Displaying extremely fine-grained tannins, it’s firm, focused and delicate, with a graphite line, fresh acidity and plenty that will reveal itself in good time. Tasted pre-release.”

Jane Faulkner (Halliday Wine Companion) 96 points

“One of the distinctive features of this wine, and in a way a DNA link to all Art Series cabernet, is its savouriness. It’s the rolled tobacco, nori, iodine and whiff of new leather plus the cedary oak, but these are not separate, they form a whole impression. There’s also the core of excellent fruit, the structure, the supple tannins and the bright acidity. And the joy of drinking it.”

Erin Larkin The Wine Advocate 95

Drink Date: 2024 – 2039

The 2021 Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon will be released in the winter of 2024, and it’s an interesting timeline, given the 2020 will be released this February. The 2021 season in Margaret River was frequently wet, and as a result, the character of the red wines is lighter in body and fruit weight. This 2021 wine is lighter in the glass than the 2020 (no surprise, given berry sizes in general in 2020), and the nose introduces dried herbs and exotic spice, alongside the raspberry, cassis and nori. Block 8 and block 9, which make up the backbone of this wine, are dry-grown, and this is an important point in the years that are markedly wet (2021, 2006) and dry (2024, 2022, 2020, etc.). On the palate, the wine is perfumed and fine, lightweight and flowing. It’s a beautiful wine to drink now, thanks to its powdery tannins. It’s all about the tannins here; it’s whippy, like fresh new growth on a plant. I would drink this anytime from release; it offers tremendous pleasure just as it is. Sealed under screw cap.