Chardonnay, Cullen, `Kevin John` Wilyabrup , Australia

Erin Larkin, The Story of Cullen, Legacy and Vanya, The Wine Advocate.
97+ points
The 2023 vintage was so warmly received by Chardonnay producers in Margaret River, and I would go further to postulate that 2023 was the season that extracted the very best from all producers, in all regions across this great state and via most varieties. Mild temperatures, little rain and a long season came together to produce wines of energy, balance and poise. And so here, this 2023 Kevin John Chardonnay is pinpoint precise, with layers of white flowers, stone fruit, white spice and fine, spooling acidity. This is a lovely wine, quiet and reflective and very long indeed. Patience, it demands. The vines were dry-farmed and biodynamically/organically grown using the Gingin/Wente clone planted from 1976 to 1988, yielding 1.7 tonnes per hectare. I can still taste this palate-staining wine a minute or two after my last sip. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

2022

95+ points
The 2022 vintage was warm and low yielding—very low yielding in the context of Chardonnay. The fruit for this vintage was picked over eight different parcels, from the third to the 21st of February. The fruit was handled in a combination of 50% new French oak, amphora and concrete egg. The 2022 Kevin John Chardonnay leads with chamomile tea, saffron, yellow peach, smoked almonds, jasmine, sandalwood and white-flesh stone fruit. It's a subdued, quiet wine at this stage, quite different from how I remember tasting it on release. As a three-year-old wine (i.e., three years from harvest), this falls before my recommended drinking window for Margaret River Chardonnay, which I believe shows best five years from harvest, as a general rule of thumb. Leave this for a while before drinking it; I believe it will open and evolve positively. 13.9% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.