A striking Margaret River blend, this wine combines precision and elegance with depth and energy. Crafted from 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, it spent seven months in French oak (30% new). The result is a supple, spicy, and mineral-driven wine with chewy yet refined tannins, vibrant acidity, and concentrated dark fruit notes of cassis, plum, and mulberry. It’s structured yet weightless, with a Nebbiolo-like tension that lingers beautifully.

The Wine Advocate | RP 95
Published: Jul 7, 2022

A blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot matured in French oak for seven months (30% new). What a gorgeous wine this is. It is juicy and spicy, precise and minerally. The tannins are superb—chewy and supple, they frame the fruit in such a way that you end up masticating the wine, not drinking it, and that is something. All of this is poised within the framework that is endemic to Margaret River Cabernet: supple weightlessness. Like a good Nebbiolo, it has fine acidity, firm, omnipresent tannins and concentrated fruit.

Cullen wines, under the stewardship of Vanya Cullen, is a singular estate in the Margaret River region. Vanya's staunch adherence to biodynamics (and of course by extension, organics) has seen the estate evolve into a beacon of biodiversity and vineyard health. The wines are made in a detailed manner, and in many cases complex—picking dates are dictated by the lunar cycle and often staggered, and often the wines are matured in corresponding biodynamic barrels. The Chardonnay—the Kevin John and its Legacy counterparts—is very specific to the site and, regardless of the vintage, achieves an opulent fruit profile pinned to a taut acid line. I was at the estate on February 14th, 2021, and tasted the first press of what was to be the 2021 Kevin John from basket press after it had spent two days in amphora on its skins, and I was staggered by its apparent resilience to the cool and wet conditions at the time.

Vanya's picking dates and vintage summaries often contradict what is happening at neighboring estates, however it is clear that the vineyards, and by extension the wines, have a resilience to peer pressure and have achieved their own balance and stride. The wines can be hard to define, challenging to describe and yet routinely beguiling. Just when you think you have a vintage pinned, or a style locked down, you discover something else. The wines are of the highest quality; the Kevin John Chardonnay (named after her father) and Diana Madeline Cabernet blend (named after her mother) have become iconic Australian wines in their own right that speak of place, detail and personality. There is a variability and a magic about these wines; the greatest examples of them will veritably blow you away. Singular.

Cullenwines.com.au

Colour: Deep medium red with a purple edge
Cellar: Up to 15 years
Bouquet: Dark fruits complemented by spicy notes
Palate: Medium plus with fine tannins. Lovely ripe plums, cassis and mulberry showing throughout the finish