2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Art Series
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Tasting notes
The 2021 Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon is lighter in color and tannic intensity than the 2020 tasted beside it. No surprise for the vintages that birthed these wines. The latter was sunny, hot and dry, while the 2021 season was decidedly cooler, with more cloud cover and rain. This wine bears the fruits of the diligent labor in the vineyards and is one of the shining lights in the region this year. There are notes of raspberry and nori, moss and petrichor, blood and forest floor. This is a lighter style of Cabernet—and a lovely one at that.
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Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate
James Suckling
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A cooler and wetter year for the region put up challenges for Cabernet production. And while not as revered as 2020, 2021 still produced some wonderful ageworthy wines. Here we have a gentler Art Series expression with the aromas restrained and shy on first look. A waft of emergent sweet plum, dark cherry and gentle mulberry to start with a swirl of the glass unlocking cedar, subtle bay leaf, pencil lead, dried cranberry and a slightly vegetal tomato bush edge. The palate is in a similar mould with fruit notes akin to the nose coating the mouth along with savoury graphite and bay leaf. All of this before ribbons of gravelly tannins team up with fresh fruit-laced acidity to a clean and fresh close. This doesn't hit the heights of other Art Series Cabernets from the surrounding years, but it still carries trademark elegance, length and complexity.
The nose is perfumed and lifted, showing aromas of blackcurrants, boysenberries, cedar, tobacco leaves and graphite. The full-bodied palate has finely integrated tannins and focused acidity, giving complex notes of mulberries, wild blackberries, mocha and spices. Wonderfully balanced and fresh with an underlying power. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
About the producer
Leeuwin Estate is one of Australia’s leading wine producers. Based close to Cape Leeuwin, in the southern reaches of Margaret River, Western Australia, this remote estate is best known for its Art Series wines.