2000 Art Series Chardonnay

Winemaker's Tasting Notes

The colour is a bright straw with lime green.

Aromas are very lifted with scents of dried pears, quinces and tones of flowers combined with notes of nutmeg, cloves and sweet malt. These integrate into a finely balanced bouquet, the result of very low vineyard yields in a great year matched with subtle winemaking to bring out the wonderful potential promised by the year.

The palate is immediately mouth filling and full, yet there is a fineness and balance that again only comes from great years. The layers of fruit are well defined and long; the natural acids present but very well integrated.

The initial impact is a wine of great power, intensity and depth, with no holds barred, yet there is also much delicacy and elegance showing, indicating that it will mature into an exceptional experience in the medium term.

Comments

"A fine, focused, elegant wine, slowly unfolding as it ages in bottle, building on the long and seamless fusion of nectarine, grapefruit and oak. RATING 95 DRINK 2015.”
James Halliday 2005 Wine Companion
”Complex, leesy aromas of nuts and smoke. Very suave and silky in texture, with subtly complex, leesy flavours of nuts, butterscotch and baking spices. Full in the mouth and already very satisfying. Finishes with lovely persistence, good grip and some sexy oak tones. But less structured and complex than the 2001 (90 points).”
Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, July/August 2004
Leeuwin Chardonnay Margaret River Art Series 2000, though not from a blockbuster vintage, remains bright and generous, with welcome refinement to the subtle pear, aromatic lime and mineral flavors, and it has miles to go before it's all there. Leeuwin makes a second Chardonnay called Prelude from the 320 acres under vine on its 4,000-acre estate. The current vintage, 2001), pops with fruit, with spicy oak nuances. LEEUWIN Chardonnay Margaret River Art Series 2000
Refined and subtle pear, aromatic lime and mineral flavors, which echo enticingly with beautifully modulated oak on the finish. Bright and generous.
Matthew Jukes Top 100 Australian Wines (UK)
"Benchmark Margaret River Chardonnay and regarded by many as the best in Australia. What sets this wine apart is 20-year-old vines. 2000 was a good year for whites. They will improve over the next two to three years. SCORE: 10/10
Graham Boynton, "THE VERY BEST OF THE WEST"
”Refined and subtle pear, aromatic lime and mineral flavours, which echo enticingly with beautifully modulated oak on the finish. Bright and generous. 93 points”
Wine Spectator, Harvey Steiman, 15th June 2004
“Meanwhile at the top end several big ticket Chardonnays are impressive, including Leeuwin Estate Art Series 2000 – 93 points”
Wine Spectator, Harvey Steiman, 15th June 2004
“Has welcome refinement to the subtle pear, aromatic lime and mineral flavours, which echo excitingly with the beautifully modulated oak on the finish. Has miles to go before it is all there. Not quite the blockbuster it can be in its brilliant years, but bright and generous. Drink now through 2012. 93 points.”
WINE SPECTATOR DECEMBER 2003
“Notwithstanding the challenges of Yattarna, Giaconda, Petaluma Tiers and so forth, Leeuwin is my choice as Australia’s best chardonnay. It always starts off life as a fine, focused, elegant wine, slowly unfolding as it ages in bottle, building on the long and seamless fusion of nectarine, grapefruit and oak.”
James Halliday’s Top 100, The Weekend Australian 22.11.2003
“I tasted this last year and it was just starting to show its true qualities. Well, it’s now started to reveal a whole lot more. This is one of the more powerful and intense chardonnays with a deep-textured palate, and one that just goes on and on. It’s already showing some complexity but it will improve with extended age. It is one of Australia’s few long-term cellaring chardonnays, 95/100.”
Ray Jordan’s Western Australia Wine Guide 2003/2004
”Bright, light straw-green; a tightly focused, fine, elegant and harmonious array of nectarine, grapefruit and oak aromas sets the scene for the palate, which has a purity of line particular to Leeuwin Estate. Very much in the style of the ’99, even if a cat’s whisker behind it in terms of absolute quality, 95 points.”
James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion
Australia's best chardonnay? Maybe. Despite being made in a less elaborate way than many trendy chards, this Margaret River classic is superb - and it's still good value in world terms. Complex and full-bodied, rich and complete, yet subtle. Food - lobster. Ageing - drink over four years - 5 STARS
Sydney Morning Herald "Uncorked", edited by Huon Hooke and Ralph Kyte-Powell, October 18 2003
“…..one of the greatest Chardonnays I have ever tasted from Australia, Leeuwin's 2000 Chardonnay Art Series. Possessing the texture, intensity, and precision of a great grand cru white burgundy, it builds subtly in the mouth offering huge flavour intensity, yet managing to remain elegant as well as restrained, authoritatively rich, and intense. Notes of butter, oranges, honeysuckle, and pears are apparent, with the oak component kept well in the background. tremendously intense and powerful, yet subtle, this young Chardonnay should drink well for 5 - 6 years, possibly longer. 93+”
Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, USA, August 23 2003
“…2000 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay (95 points) has the same purity of line as the 1999 version, which is particular to Leeuwin Estate and held in a fine, elegant and harmonious array of nectarine, grapefruit and oak…”
James Halliday, The Weekend Australian, 12th July 2003
"This ravishing brute's really up and downed me. It's a serious threat. I can't recall an Aussie chardonnay with such poise and concentrated power. Fine, seamless and lithe, it's coiled tight with brilliant natural acidity, ready to leap up like Nureyev. It'll be released in a fortnight, so go rewrite that budget. Drink one straight away, and sneak a few into the dungeon for a decade. 94+ points."
Phillip White, The Advertiser, 19th March 2003
Plain and simple, Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay is one of Australia's great wines and arguably the most consistent performer at the highest level. The 2000 vintage is again quite stunning. A wine that evolves different characters in the glass, citrus lime and grapefruit aromas are evident before finding a mineral note and an undertone of sublime oak. On the palate the wine is tightly bound with expressive acidity and shows integrated nectarine, grapefruit and white peach fruits. A viscous mouth feel with an expression of minerality together with a touch of nougat, this wine will sit proudly alongside the long line of outstanding Art Series Chardonnays. Does it overshadow the '99, only one way to be sure! 95/100
David Pike, Scoop Magazine, Autumn 2003
The wine is just extraordinary - seamless, complex and complete. Dried pears, heady spice and malty butterscotch provide the bouquet while the dried peach and butterscotch flavours just sit in the mouth with great depth and intensity. Like its predecessor, it will be declared to be one of the greatest Leeuwin Chardonnays ever and as such will be a great wine of the world.
Bill Thompson, The Sunday Times (WA), 16th March 2003

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