Cool destemmed fruit with some skin contact. The juice was settled for 3 days, racked and inoculated with yeast. 100% of the juice was fermented in new French oak barriques with the lees stirred regularly. After 11 months in barrels the various components were blended, fined (bentonite, PVPP, milk) and cold stabilized. Bottled 19–21 August 2019. Benchmark pedigree Margaret River chardonnay from the perfect 2018 vintage. Kaffir leaf, ocean spray, nectarine, yellow peach, custard apple and white peach are the start. Saffron curls, vanilla pod and freshly grated nutmeg frame saline acidity, crouched and coiled. Length of flavour extends across the palate in an endless procession of texture and complexity. All of the power, grace and excellence of previous years is here, amplified. Special. Closure: Screw cap. 13.5% alcohol.

(98+ points) This 2018 vintage is the big guy. It was the season where all the stars aligned for viticulturists and winemakers in Margaret River, with good yields, climatic conditions and quality. The 2018 Art Series Chardonnay today is entering its sixth year from harvest, and for me, this is when the Gingin clone drinking window starts to open. However, this wine was great from the first, and it is both ripe and powerful, tight and long. You get salted peach, wild amounts of exotic spice (Indian in the main, but a splay of Marrakesh marketplace as well), saffron and turmeric, galangal and white pepper. In the mouth, there is roasted fennel seeds and shaved fennel too. It's a ripping wine, kaleidoscopic and swirling—magic in its way. The thing about this wine, is that it has power and undulation in accord with restraint and spice. It's the acid I suppose, that gets me; it is so tightly coiled through the rich internal workings of the wine. Like a finely tuned watch spring in an automatic Swiss watch. Sealed under screw cap. - Erin Larkin

This impressive white is complex, supple and elegant, though not shy on intensity. Opens with creamy, satiny notes of apricot, pear, lemon curd and passion fruit puree, with touches of toasted hazelnut, salted caramel, jasmine and green tea. The way the details mingle with and complete one another makes this as complex as it is refreshing, with a fresh thread of acidity weaving in and out. Drink now through 2036. – MW

Translucent yellow. Powerful, mineral-accented nectarine, orange, pear nectar, iodine and pungent flowers on the intensely perfumed nose. Smooth, chewy and dry in the mouth, offering wonderfully concentrated yet vibrant orchard and pit fruit flavors complemented by suggestions of fennel, sweet butter, saffron and candied lemon peel. Shows superb definition and finishes minerally, smoky and extremely long, with lingering citrus and pit fruit notes and a touch of smokiness. -- Josh Raynolds

The Leeuwin Estate, a former cattle station between the town of Margaret River and the sea, became a vineyard soon after Denis Horgan purchased the vast property in 1969. He planted a parcel of chardonnay vines in 1975, which continue to produce the fruit for Art Series, a chardonnay with a proven track record for long aging. Tim Lovett makes this wine by crushing the fruit, allowing it to settle for three days in contact with its skins, then racking it into French oak barrels to ferment with cultured yeasts. He ages the wine in those barrels (all of them new), with lees stirring, for 11 months. While that approach may sound technical—yes, the wine is clean—it results in a chardonnay that buzzes with energy, quiet at first, then gaining youthful, athletic power. You might catch a sensation of peach, or beeswax, or lemon and milkweed, all of it integrated into a holistic impression and one that retains its integration for days after the bottle is opened. This is a great vintage of Art Series and it should develop beautifully over the next two decades.

The oak is more obvious on the nose in the form of nutmeg seasoning, and then it definitely comes through on the palate in terms of structure and an added layer of complexity to the flavours. But at heart, there is a beautiful purity of fruit here – a lovely balance of ripeness and acidity, currently constrained, but in time likely to blossom into a wine of real star quality.

Leeuwin's top Chardonnay is set for the long haul. Currently fairly tightly wound, melon, marzipan and flint notes peek through the cracks. There's a lovely crunch of acidity, textural weight and depth on the medium-weight palate, brightened by a tang of citrus and stone fruit. Elegant with a saline finish, this should age with grace for another decade (2032) or more. CHRISTINA PICKARD