Leeuwin Estate

 Andrew Caillard MW / BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (Australia)  tasted  1 wines  from  Leeuwin Estate . In a tasting of  13 wines 

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Vasse Felix Tom Cullity 2018 /Medium deep crimson. Fragrant cassis, dark plum, chinotto aromas with herb garden, aniseed notes. Voluminous blackcurrant, dark plum, blackberry fruits, lovely persistent fine chocolaty textures, superb mid-palate density, fresh juicy acidity and plentiful mocha, espresso oak notes. Finishes chocolaty with plentiful sweet dark fruits and attractive mineral length. Lovely concentration, definition and torque. Should last some distance and keep for a while to let the elements further integrate. An impressive landmark vintage. 78% cabernet sauvignon 17.5% malbec 4.5% petit verdot. Matured in new (59%) and seasoned French oak for 18 months. 98 points

8m 25d ago

 James Halliday / BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (Australia)  tasted  1 wines  from  Leeuwin Estate . In a tasting of  6 wines 

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Rubicon 2016, the deep garnet-purple colored Cabernet Sauvignon gives up bold notions of crushed red and black currants, wild blueberries and blackberry preserves with touches of violets, dark chocolate, cardamom and bay leaves plus a hint of unsmoked cigars. Medium to full-bodied, the palate reveals great elegance and depth, with a beautiful line of finely grained tannins and amazing freshness, finishing long and layered.

1y 9m ago

 Tamlyn Currin, Wine Writer (United Kingdom)  tasted  4 wines  from  Leeuwin Estate . In a tasting of  22 wines 

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Torres Mas La Plana 2017 / One of two Penedès reds in the Familia Torres Antologia range (their top five Spanish wines). Tasted from a 37.5-cl sample bottle. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from parcels planted in 1961, 62 and 63 in the middle of the DOP. The first vintage was 1970. The vineyard lies between two rivers, which means that there are two very different soils in the vineyard. On the upper side, a warmer soil, poorer, less organic matter resulting in more concentrated smaller berries, smaller bunches, more tannins, more concentration. The lower side has more alluvial, sandy soil, and the vines are bigger, the berries are bigger, there is less tannin, less concentration, more fruit, more freshness, more acidity. Overall it has a very diverse, deep soil with many layers, moderate water-holding capacity, high calcium carbonate and moderately coarse texture. They have been slowly changing their approach here, with a lot of focus on regenerative viticulture: ‘One of the important things about Torres is the curiosity’. Building wildlife corridors, bird and insect boxes, bee hives, livestock grazing during winter, horse ploughing, natural ponds and the use of electric tractors. They’re making massive investments in building the microbial life of the soil and organic matter. Vintage 2017 was a ‘strict’ year – very dry especially at the end of spring and they had to work the canopy carefully to protect the grapes form the sun. A blend of Cab Sav plots, picked at different times and vinified parcel by parcel. They use oak fermenters for small tannic bunches and stainless steel for the bigger bunches. 15-25 days of skin contact. 18 months in French oak barrels, 60% new. pH 3.4, TA 5.6 g/l. They now use much less new oak, and use bigger containers (foudres of 1,000 to 3,000 litres).
Rich yet refined. Wears its oak like a royal musketeer wears his cloak. Flair and flare, daring and drama but real grace. Muscular yet nimble on its feet. Dark, dark fruit loaded with gunpowder and smoke. Incredibly elegant, despite the power and bravado. You could not get anything more Spanish yet unequivocally Cabernet Sauvignon. 

2y 21d ago

 Erin Larkin / BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (Australia)  tasted  1 wines  from  Leeuwin Estate . In a tasting of  14 wines 

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CHATEAU MARGAUX 2017 / 89% cabernet sauvignon, 8% merlot, 2% cabernet franc, 1% petit verdot/ 100% new oak. Red currants, succulent and intense, also sweet… great harmony and choral resonance… I realise I’ve drifted off in my own thoughts with this wine… the flavour lingers so. This is BDX, it is the best wine we’ve had today (this week/month etc) and it is the reason why we seek to make and drink better wine. Holy crapola.

2y 2m ago

 Ken Gargett, Wine Writer (Australia)  tasted  6 wines  from  Leeuwin Estate . In a tasting of  29 wines 

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Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 / 98 points  – The first boutique winery in Australia was Lake’s Folly in the Hunter Valley. Naturally, its wines quickly became ‘must-have’s’ for those few early wine-obsessed drinkers, who helped drive the transformation in the industry from ‘fortified dominant’ and ‘big producers only’ to what we enjoy today. There were others. Stuart Anderson’s Balgownie Estate was a winery where winelovers lucky enough to be on the mailing list would plead for a bottle or two. So too, Mount Mary. Virgin Hills, anyone? From the West, nothing personified ‘cult’ like Moss Wood. 

These days, some have risen and fallen. Others have stayed the course. We have wineries like Wendouree, Giaconda, Torbreck, Cloudburst, Bindi, Clonakilla and others. Indeed, just what makes, and what is, a cult winery today might make a terrific topic. Over to you, editor? 

Moss Wood. It might have been the famous 1982 and 1983 Cabernets from Cape Mentelle which really put Margaret River on the map, but the wines everyone wanted came from the tiny Moss Wood. It would be fair to say that it has had a few ups and downs over the years but in recent vintages, it has been right on its game, especially with its flagship Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Put simply, if you love Cabernet, whether it be from Bordeaux, the Napa, Margaret River or anywhere, Moss Wood Cabs should be on your radar and in your cellar.

The latest, the 2018, continues its recent run of hot form. 92% Cabernet, 4% Petit Verdot and 4% Cabernet Franc, it comes from a year the Mugfords, the caretakers of this wonderful estate, claim is a cracker (well, my words but you know what I mean). To be honest, claims of a great year in Margaret River tend to fall on deaf ears. When isn't it a great year there? The day a MR winemaker tells me they had a shocker, that is when I’ll listen.

One sniff of the black/purple liquid swirling in your glass and you know you are looking at a world class Cabernet. Blackfruits, mulberries, cedar, cigar box, coffee beans, dark chocolate. A wine with balance, intensity, elegance and astonishing length. The silkiest of tannins. A sweet core of floral notes and dark berries. The construction is immaculate but not in any way constraining. Sensational stuff. 

Sure, at around $150 a bottle, it is not cheap but compare it with the big guns from the Napa or First and Second Growth Bordeaux, against which it sits comfortably, and this is a steal. 

I looked at this last night and gave it 97. Today, it is an easy 98. Tomorrow? I’ll never know. 98.

2y 7m ago

 Thomas Girgensohn, Wine Blogger (Australia)  tasted  1 wines  from  Leeuwin Estate . In a tasting of  26 wines 

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Guigal La Mouline is always the more feminine wine of the three, and this is true for the 2015 La Mouline. The grapes come from 100 year old vines with very low yields. This Shiraz includes 10% Viognier, and the wine is matured for two years in new oak. There is no whole bunch included. This wine without doubt was the wine of the night. Fragrant, opulent, fresh, elegant, velvety, pure, silky, spicy; this comes to mind rather than any fruit descriptors. This full-bodied wine has incredible length and stays with you for some time (98 points). 

3y 2m ago

 Christer Byklum/ BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (Norway)  tasted  1 wines  from  Leeuwin Estate . In a tasting of  26 wines 

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Opus One 2008 / Deep ruby, youthful, cassis, coffee, blueberries. Softer texture, feels very elegant even as it is so young, fresh acidity, ripe tannins, balanced, long length. 94

3y 8m ago

 Julia Harding MW / BWW2024 Finalist, Wine Writer (United Kingdom)  tasted  1 wines  from  Leeuwin Estate . In a tasting of  25 wines 

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Henschke Hill of Grace 2004 / 100% Shiraz grapes from pre-phylloxera material brought from Europe by the early settlers in the mid-1800s and grown in the Eden Valley wine region. Matured in 100% new French (50%) and American (50%) hogsheads for 18 months prior to blending and bottling.
Slightly greyish but deep garnet. Intensely sweet dark cassis fruit plus some cedary leafy notes. Rich and smooth and really plush, generous and silky but also very moreish and juicy. pH 3.6, TA 5.7 g/l,

4y 14d ago

 Juha Lihtonen / The Best Scandinavian Sommelier 2003, Pro (Finland)  tasted  1 wines  from  Leeuwin Estate . In a tasting of  60 wines 

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Australia Wine Day 2019 gave a good insight from what is cooking in Wonderland Oz in DownUnder! Fascinating wines from Orange, Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale and Margaret River. Some classics from Barossa like Grange 2011. Ashton Hills charmed with its Pinot Noirs, especially with the Reserve 2018 - absolutely delicious Burgundy-like pinot! Penley Estate impressed with its silky smooth and elegant red wines, and great label design! Among the exciting experiences were An Approach to Relaxation and Ten Minutes by Tractor, and many more. The best whites of the day were still the Margaret River Chardonnays, especially Leewuin Estate with its Montrachet-flair!

4y 1m ago

 Guido Walter, Wine Importer (Germany)  tasted  1 wines  from  Leeuwin Estate . In a tasting of  11 wines 

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Philipponnat Clos de Goisses 1998 / 94 points / Its grape-varieties are predominantly Pinot Noir, with the rest planted exclusively in Chardonnay. Always a vintaged wine, it is vinified according to the tradition upheld by generations of cellar masters and aged for almost ten years in the Philipponnat cellars which are excavated out of chalk. A powerful robust wine with a pronounced taste and lengthy finish.

4y 10m ago

 Thomas Girgensohn, Wine Blogger (Australia)  tasted  1 wines  from  Leeuwin Estate . In a tasting of  17 wines 

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It is not often you have an opportunity to taste Chinese wine in the west. Yet, China is the sixth largest producer of wine in the world. Production has been pushed very hard, in particular in the western Xinjiang province. There is now a surplus of Chinese wine, as consumption is still focused on the major cities, where the wealthy prefer imported wine, anyway. And these companies are not well equipped to export their product either.

Broadly speaking, there are three major regions. The coastal region, where vine growing has been going on for a long time, the middle region, and Xinjiang in the west. While the focus is on Xinjiang, conditions are difficult there. The winters are very cold, and the vines need to be buried. This is very labour intensive.

4y 10m ago