Around 3000 cases of the flagship Art Series Chardonnay are produced with Leeuwin Estate blocks 20, 22, 96 and 97 contributing to the blend (all Gin-Gin / Mendoza clone). It is all barrel fermented in 100% new French oak where it usually remains for around 12 months. The 2007 Art Series Chardonnay was still youthfully mute revealing a moderate intensity of peaches, oatmeal, chalk, lemon zest, ginger, anise and jasmine with the oak barely perceptible in the background. Rich, ripe, full bodied yet wonderfully structured with crisp acidity and a real minerality, this beauty has a very long finish with the oak integration already nearly seamless. Consider drinking it from 2013 to 2020+. “Back in the 1970s Margaret River was dying – the wine business established it,” Leeuwin Estate’s Denis Horgan told me as we gazed over his impressive winery, restaurant and concert hall operation. “This area used to have one of the highest unemployment rates in the country previously.” Have a brief drive around Margaret River and its environs and you’ll soon know that the region’s lifeblood these days is wine and its heart is Horgan’s Leeuwin Estate, established in 1975. Never one to do things by half, Horgan’s continually high standards at Leeuwin maintains it as one of the region’s benchmarks. Since Bob Cartwrights’s retirement as Chief Winemaker, Paul Atwood, who is a bit of an institution himself having already made wine there for more than 13 years, has adeptly filled his shoes. Prelude Chardonnay is made just like the Art Series but is blended from a selection of cuvees for earlier drinking. It receives no indigenous ferments and no oxidative handling. The key difference is that there is more forward fruit in Prelude than the Art Series, which is of course designed to age. About 2/3 of the total Chardonnay blocks are fermented in 100% new oak, so that equates to around 40% new oak on the Prelude and it usually spends about 1 year in barrel. The Chardonnays don’t normally go through malo-lactic but for example Paul told me they did use 25% in 2006 because it was a cool vintage. The final difference is that Prelude uses some purchased fruit whereas Art Series is always 100% estate grown. Importer: Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA; www.oldbridgecellars.com

Polished, focused, fresh and vibrant, with a subtle interplay of pear, hazelnut, tropical fruit and tobacco aromas and flavors mingling effectively and gaining in intensity as the finish persists. Seamless and inviting, this should age beautifully. Drink now through 2020. 500 cases imported.??–HS??Region: Australia / Western Australia / Margaret River Select to Add

這款葡萄酒散發(fā)著新鮮柑橘、酸橙、白花和橡木的香氣，酒體適中，口感香滑柔順，平衡性良好。酒精含量：14.5%。

這款葡萄酒一直以來都是澳大利亞霞多麗葡萄酒的典范，散發(fā)著濃郁的香草、桃子和芒果的香氣；該酒酒體豐滿，口感柔順，熱帶水果和烤橡木風味已經(jīng)完全舒展開來，令人陶醉；余味層次豐富，持久不散。保守估計，該酒的適飲期為現(xiàn)在至 2015 年。評分：93。