2024 Cullen Legacy Series Kevin John Chardonnay

99 Points, James Suckling, jamessusckling.com
Pure magic. Complex and expressive aromas of preserved lemons, struck match, honeysuckle and beeswax with salted nuts, flint, orange blossoms and pastry. Long, compact palate with a mineral drive. Electric acidity, phenolic tension and structure bring this wine into perfect harmony. Whole-bunch carbonic maceration in beeswax-lined amphorae. Chardonnay perfection. Drink or hold. 600 bottles produced. Screw cap.

98 Points, Andrew Caillard & Ken Gargett, The Vintage Journal
This really is a ‘drink on bended knee with head bowed’ kind of wine. Harvested on a single day, a flower day in the biodynamic calendar, this is simply thrilling. Just 600 bottles made. Sure, it is not for everyday drinking, but it should be on every bucket list.

The team used whole bunch carbonic maceration in beeswax-lined amphorae. Maturation was for six months in new French oak puncheons. Deep yellow in colour, this is Chardonnay with an entirely new level of intensity of flavour. We have notes of lemon curd, cashews, stone fruits, glacéd orange rinds, honeycomb, fresh croissants and citrus.

A wine of immense complexity and great length, notwithstanding the enormous generosity of flavour, it is perhaps the textural aspects which are the highlight here. The wine has power, length, concentration and balance. Extraordinary length actually, and it should drink beautifully for the next fifteen to twenty-five years. How many of us wouldn’t be just a little bit nervous putting away our White Burgundies for twenty-five years? No such concerns here. Drink 2030–2048.