2020 Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay Prelude Margaret River 750 ml

Leeuwin Estate is one of the most revered producers of Australian wine. Their Art Series Chardonnay is one of Australia’s inarguable icons—and their Prelude is one of the truly outstanding deals in the world of wine.

Made with the same attention and care as Leeuwin’s highest-end wines, the 2020 Prelude shows off a vintage that has received acclaim as the region’s best—and it might be the finest version of Prelude to date. 

When we tasted it, we were blown away by its precision and complexity. It was hard to believe our glass didn’t hold their $85 Art Series bottling or a Premier Cru white Burgundy—which is what a number of us called it while blind-tasting.

Sourced mostly from the same great site that legend Robert Mondavi singled out in 1972 for its great potential, the crushed and pressed juice for Prelude is barrel-fermented in a modest amount of new oak. This provides a rich texture to balance the wine’s brightness, and results in a New-meets-Old-World style that’s won over scores of top somms and critics.

In 2020, an early spring and warm summer had vintners declaring the year to be Margaret River’s greatest ever—bold words, since the region has been making wine since the 1970s. Leeuwin Estate crushed their first grapes in 1979, and in the intervening years renowned Aussie critic James Halliday has called them “Australia’s best maker of Chardonnay.” Wine Spectator has gone even further, declaring that “Leeuwin demonstrates just how great Australian fine wines can be.”

A wine that overdelivers in complexity, the 2020 Prelude displays all the beauty and depth of great Australian Chardonnay.