Kevin John Chardonnay 2023

‘From the excellent 2023 vintage in Margaret River, the Kevin John Chardonnay is Cullen’s ‘standard’ Chardonnay, and what a wine. Never less than thrilling these days, the fruit for this wine was harvested over a three week period and then whole bunch pressed before fermentation in a mix of vessels – biodynamic puncheons, amphorae and a concrete egg. Eight months maturation in the

puncheons, 80% of which were new. The wine is 100% Gin Gin clone. Balance, elegance and complexity, even at this early stage, are the hallmarks for here.

Great energy, the nose gives us notes of nuts/cashews, peaches, stonefruit, a hint of riverstones and orange blossoms.

Vanilla, florals, honeycomb and a hint of crisp pear. The focus here is superb,

through to an impressively long finish. Expect this to drink superbly for at least fifteen years.’

Straw in colour with green hints. This incredibly perfumed wine has intriguing aromas of lemon, lime flowers, kaffir lime, dried pear and fig with hints of saline. On the palate, concentrated characters of dried pear, orange blossom, and lemon sherbet combine with vibrant mineral acidity.

This wine was named after Kevin John Cullen, a pioneer of the Margaret River wine region. Together with his wife Diana, they planted the first Cabernet Sauvignon in Wilyabrup, located just 20 kilometres north of Margaret River township. Fruit was harvested from three separate Wente clone Chardonnay blocks in Cullen's own vineyards where the vines are more than 30 years old, having been planted in 1976 and 1988. Their aspect is mostly level or southerly and the soils are old granite and sandy loam. Winemaker Vanya Cullen feels that her conversion to biodynamic viticulture has given better fruit, the character of which she has preserved during the winemaking process.

Fruit was hand harvested around the biodynamic calendar over 8 different passes. It was then whole-bunch, basket-pressed and then 12% of the juice racked to amphora for a two day skin contact before being pressed to 50% new biodynamic puncheons for fermentation. Fermentation occurred with indigenous yeast, with 10% occurring in a concrete egg. Regular batonnage took place. The wine underwent 100% natural malolactic conversion and spent a total of six months in puncheons. The wine had no fining, filtration or cold stabilisation.