Leeuwin Estate Art Series Shiraz 2023

This just might be the value buy from the Art Series range – actually, from recent releases, it surely is. From a stellar vintage, the fruit was individually berry sorted with 20% whole bunches added to the ferment. Total maturation was for a year and a half in a mix of new and slightly older barriques and larger format French oak. A dark mauve/maroon colour here, this is beautifully structured. The aromas weave through blackfruits, plums, graphite, chocolate, aniseed, smoked meats and bay leaves. The oak has been superbly handled. This is an exquisite example of Margaret River Shiraz, one of the absolute elite. It is finely balanced with an attractively supple texture, laser-like focus and impressive length. A refined style, with melting tannins, which will continue to provide enormous pleasure over the next decade. One of their very best.

The 2023 Art Series Shiraz, which at this stage is pre-release, shows precision and detail on the nose, with raspberry leaf tea and iodine, blood and blood orange, licorice and milk chocolate. In the mouth, the acidity is intense, but it works so nicely within the layers of gently settled tannins—like sheets of tissue paper. It's a lovely wine, wearing the benefits of intensive viticultural work and matching effort in the winery.

A few years ago, Leeuwin made the decision to bounce back with shiraz after it had been missing from the portfolio for many years. I, for one, am glad they did, and this is yet another example of how far they’ve come with developing this variety. It’s a combination of a lot of hard work and an uncompromising focus on shiraz. And in this year, the season is exceptional. It’s medium-bodied, but there’s a concentration and intensity. It presents with an effortless ease and refinement as it pushes through to its long finish. Spicy plummy fruits, a little licorice, dusty earth, and some chalk dust characters add to the complexity on the palate. There’s perfume and a prettiness here, and it is quite a masterful expression of Margaret River shiraz.