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Cullen Wines

2023

‘Kevin John’

Chardonnay   |   Margaret River - Australia
Shelf Talker Spec Sheet Wine Label Bottle Image

About

‘Kevin John’ Chardonnay is Cullen’s flagship white, named after Dr. Kevin John Cullen, co-founder of Cullen Wines. It is made from Wente clone vines planted on their own roots in 1976 on the Cullen’s certified organic and biodynamic Wilyabrup estate. This wine has always been a benchmark for Australian Chardonnay–not just Margaret River Chardonnay. Vintage 2023 was a low yielding vintage which resulted in some stunning grapes and hence quality wine. The growing conditions until December were cold and wet, and due to the negative Indian dipole and La Niña effects finishing in December 2022, there was an unprecedented dry spell from December until the end of harvest that led to incredibly small berries full of flavor.

The fruit was harvested across three weeks according to the biodynamic calendar in late February, capturing fruit and flower days, a full Moon, and a Moon opposite Saturn astral event. Back at the winery, the grapes soaked with the juice for two days in amphora, before being whole bunch basket pressed into a mix of concrete egg, amphora, and biodynamic puncheons. All the wine then aged in puncheons for 8 months, of which 50% was new, before being blended in tank. It was bottled with just sulfur. No fining or filtering.

Stats

  • Grapes: 100% Chardonnay
  • Vineyard: Cullen Wines (Wilyabrup)
  • Vine Age: 40-years-old
  • Soil Type: Sandy/gravelly loam duplex
  • Viticulture: Certified biodynamic - certified organic - dry-farmed
  • Fermentation: Native — concrete egg, amphora, and puncheons (100% whole bunch basket pressed)
  • Skin Contact: 2 days in amphora
  • Aging: 8 months in puncheons (50% new)
  • Alcohol: 13.5%
  • pH: 3.25
  • Total Acidity: 6 g/L
  • Total SO2: 86 ppm
  • Total Production: 955 cases
  • SRP: $164.99

Tasting Notes

Bright golden straw in color. Aromas open with white blossoms, chamomile, vanilla, and almond, followed by ripe pear. The palate is precise and lightly phenolic, unfolding layers of stone fruit, quince, and Bosc pear, carried by crisp minerality and a savory line of acidity. The finish is clean, poised, and quietly elegant.

Press & Reviews

Wine Advocate

98

"I love this wine. The 2023 vintage in Margaret River was utterly sensational, and this is reflected in the wines. Here, the 2023 Kevin John Chardonnay is complex, layered, precise, powerful, texturally wide and very long. It is superb in both an Australian context and global as well. This is one not to be missed. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap."

- Erin Larkin

James Suckling

97

"I like this very much, the intensity dial turned down a notch, and there is an even flow of fruit-weight and freshness, with a curb of well-placed phenolics. The epithet is one of strident poise and restrained fruit, long and detailed across the mid-weighted palate. The oak is beautifully nestled, melding with a subtle nuttiness, effortlessly sublimated into the greater whole. An excellent Kevin John. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drinkable now, but best from 2027. Screw cap."

- Ned Goodwin MW

Producer


Cullen Wines

Region


Margaret River

Country


Australia

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