The 2023 season in Margaret River was potentially spectacular, particularly for the whites. I say "potentially," because when it comes to premium wine release, Cullen is always the first producer off the mark. This is the first finished 2023 premium Chardonnay I have tasted from the region, and frankly, I like what I see. The season— in the context of the white varieties—was mild and dry, and by all accounts, it produced fruit that was poised, detailed and precise in its expression. So, this 2023 Kevin John Chardonnay is richer and more intense than I expected from such a quiet season, but it does so with brilliant balance and harmony. You get crushed, roasted and salted cashew, green pistachio, sweet Pink Lady apples, fresh picked curry leaf, elderflower, tree-ripened nectarine, scratched pink grapefruit, saltbush and sun dried kelp. It's got all the yellow, exotic dried spice too: tamarind, saffron and a hint of turmeric. The wine is imbued with piercing acidic drive; it races languidly over the palate and soars through to a long finish. This is a pretty epic wine, and to think that it is perhaps still knitting itself together, just imagine how good it will be in five years from now. Exciting! 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

The Chardonnays I have tasted so far from the 2022 vintage in Margaret River remind me of the 2014s, in their soft acidity and primal, almost unbound fruit power. Here, the 2022 Kevin John Chardonnay leads with crushed nuts, salted yellow peach, red apple skins, preserved citrus rind, yuzu, green tea and saltbush, before tumbling into the flavors in the mouth. Toffee apple, nuts, curry leaf and saffron. Concentrated, piercing and intense. The acid envelops the tongue and holds it hostage, while the fruit explodes with power. The Gingin clone is on show here. The wine trails to a soft, juicy finish. It is lingering, very good, excellent, even better after a gentle decant and served in a big Burgundy glass. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

Fruit for the 2021 Kevin John Chardonnay was picked over six dates (ranging from the 3rd of February to the 18th of February) on a range of flower and fruit days. Each pick was handled differently—a selection of basket pressing with and without whole bunches, into concrete eggs and French oak puncheons. The lower baume picks show startling numbers (acidity in Riesling territory); all of it went through wild fermentation and malolactic fermentation and matured for seven months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. This is excellent, in short. The detail in the winemaking is obvious in the mouth—the acidity has been mitigated by the malolactic fermentation and is the source of the crushed nuts and toast undercurrent of flavor and intensity in the mouth. It billows, but it is also more "on the rails" than some of the previous, warmer vintages. This is very contained, yet true to the fruit power that defines the site.

The 2017 Kevin John Chardonnay features gentle notes of toast and honey overlaid on a core of fig, citrus fruit and white peaches. Medium-bodied, it's creamy in texture yet taut and crisp, with a long finish that ends on a dusty, phenolic note. It should drink well for a decade or so.

Precise pear and pineapple notes are sleek and juicy, with a touch of rosin. A dash of minerality lingers on the finish. Drink now. 50 cases imported.??–MW??Region: Australia / Western Australia / Margaret River Select to Add