Leeuwin Estate Prelude Chardonnay 2021

Leeuwin Estate Prelude Chardonnay 2021

 

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Leeuwin Estate
Prelude Chardonnay 2021
  • Vintage : 2021
  • Country : Australia
  • Region : Margaret River
  • Subregion
  • Type : White
  • Style Creamy Full Bodied White
  • Format : 75cl
  • Alcohol :
  • Grappes : 100% Chardonnay

Experts Score Vintage
RP Robert Parker 93 2021
JS James Suckling 92 2021
WE Wine Enthusiast 92 2021
DCT Decanter 92 2021
WS Wine Spectator 90 2020
VN Vinous (Antonio Galloni) 92 2018
W&S Wines & Spirits 94 2016
JH James Halliday 94 2016
More information on wine critics and ratings

The nose is bright and concentrated with subtle complexity, featuring lime, golden pear and white peach. Aromatic sweet spices of cinnamon and nutmeg with deeper tones of sesame, cashew and nougat provide depth and layers. Elevated jasmine floral notes enhance the purity and varietal expression.

Definitively modern Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay; the palate exudes vibrancy with delicate textures. The intensity of pear, lime and lemon across the palate is threaded with a finite acid spine that is laced with spice and savoury notes, leading to a seamless and elegant finish.

Robert Parker (RP) : 93 Points (2021)
The 2021 Prelude Vineyards Chardonnay is a multi-clonal wine: Davis 1, 5, Dijon (95, 96, 76), which is distinct from the Art Series Chardonnay, which is Gingin clone solely. The vineyard sources vary as well as the winemaking practice, allowing the winemaking team to try different processes and vessels in order to tease out different characters and textures. You get almond meal, preserved citrus and graphite. It's complex texturally yet still tight and linear. It's very good—both fresh and satisfying, with lightness and density at once. Flavorsome, lithe and long. Of the designated Prelude batches, 40% to 50% are left unsulfured and stirred twice a week. "Freshness and acidity are the corridor, and we build texture and complexity around that," says Chief Winemaker Tim Lovett. Rating: 93+

James Suckling (JS) : 92 Points (2021)
Aromas of baked lemons, pink grapefruit, white peaches and sweet thyme. Medium-bodied with rounded texture and bright acidity. Fresh, warm citrus character with white tea spice. Subtle tannins at the finish. Drink or hold.

Wine Enthusiast (WE) : 92 Points (2021)
Leeuwin’s entrylevel range consistently proves an excellent intro to this longstanding Margaret River winery. Bright aromas of honeydew melon and white peach are underpinned gently by toast, cream and a saline nuance. The juicy fruit is persistent to the finish, the toasty, mineral notes flanking. Texturally, it’s slippery but also carries some chalky weight

Decanter (DCT) : 92 Points (2021)
There's an oceanic quality to the nose; lime blossom and sea shells. Fresh, evolving and textured with layered complex lingering on mid palate then clean moreish finish.

Wine Spectator (WS) : 90 Points (2020)
Offers citrus, pear and pineapple at the core and pretty details of spice, toasted hazelnut and dried floral on the finish, where the flavors gain momentum and a touch of grated ginger lingers.

Vinous (Antonio Galloni) (VN) : 92 Points (2018)
Pale yellow. Vibrant, mineral-driven citrus and orchard fruit aromas pick up floral and tarragon notes with air. Tangy and finely etched, offering Meyer lemon and pear flavors that deepen through the midpalate. Closes long and minerally, with lingering honeysuckle and pear skin notes. (JR) (7/2021)

Wines & Spirits (W&S) : 94 Points (2016)
Leeuwin’s Prelude Chardonnay sees 40 percent new French oak, in contrast to its Art Series line, aged entirely in new barrels. By turning down the intensity, winemaker Phil Hutchinson has created a gracious chardonnay that shows the Stevens Road vineyard in a gentle light. That gentleness extends to its texture, supple and silken, and to the pale scents of ginger and yellow flowers. The wine feels substantial, with intensity to its apple and baked-pear flavors—‘it vibrates on my palate,’ one taster said. All the elements of the wine are balanced, so it would probably age; the intention, however, is to present a wine to drink on release, and there’s little reason to resist its seductive beauty

James Halliday (JH) : 94 Points (2016)
Death, taxes and the quality of Leeuwin Estate chardonnay. This may ‘only’ be the Prelude version but its quality is as clear as a bright blue sky. Pure stone fruit, sweet oak, pear and a cleansing flush of citrus through the finish. It builds, it satisfies and it refreshes. Elegance and power in one

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RP
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JS
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WS
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JS
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DCT
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RP
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JH
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WE
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WS
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JH
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WE
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Leeuwin Estate Prelude Chardonnay 2021 Reviewed by Robert Parker 03-12-2023 . Score: 4.5