Cullen: new releases and back vintages from this flagship Margaret River estate

Kevin John and Diana Madeline Cullen established their property in Wilyabrup in 1971. Today Cullen Wines remains at the vanguard of winemaking in Margaret River. The couple’s youngest daughter Vanya Cullen, who has made wine at the family estate for 37 years, has gone from strength to strength since becoming chief winemaker in 1989.

Biodynamic certification in 2004 has reinforced the family’s ‘quality, integrity, sustainability’ mantra, and she is lobbying for official sub-regional status for Wilyabrup. This would give Wilyabrup (the indigenous Wadandi name for ‘place of red ochre’) its own Geographical Indication (GI).

Cullen Wines was certified carbon neutral in 2007. The estate’s average annual soil organic carbon increases offset more carbon than is emitted, resulting in carbon negative status.

As for wine quality, Cullen’s Diana Madeline – the producer’s flagship Bordeaux blend – has enjoyed ‘Exceptional’ top-tier status in Langton’s Classification of Australian Wine since 2005. In 2018, Kevin John Chardonnay was one of three new Chardonnay additions to the ‘Excellent’ category of the auction house’s form guide.

From a high bar, quality continues to soar and Cullen has augmented the iconic range named after her parents with minuscule bottlings of Kevin John Legacy Series Chardonnays (since 2013) and Vanya Cabernet Sauvignon (since 2012), in select vintages.

Each is badged according to its auspicious lunar calendar picking dates. ‘Full moon, fruit and flower days are good for power’, while wines harvested when the moon is opposite Saturn have ‘wonderful vibrancy’, says Cullen. I expect the Vanya Full Moon Cabernet and Legacy Series Chardonnays to join Langton’s Classification of Australian Wine in the fullness of time (the classification assumes a history of 10 vintages).

Biodynamic benefits

Does making the Vanya Cabernet Sauvignon detract from Diana Madeline? Not for Cullen, who says that Margaret River’s well-drained soils and maritime climate (the estate is just 5km from the ocean) means ‘the fruit ripens naturally every year to complete physiological ripeness’. She says Cabernet quality has increased thanks to biodynamic cultivation and Scott Henry trellising, which give more even quality in the vineyards,

Biodynamic viticulture has advanced flavour ripeness in the Cabernet in particular. Consequently, alcohol levels have dropped and the wines are fresher and resolutely medium-bodied, meaning less oak is needed. All this, says Cullen, amplifies ‘the very loud voice of the vineyard,’ with its signature floral, mineral and chocolate notes.

With drier profiles than their peers, Diana Madeline and Vanya Cabernet Sauvignon will appeal to Bordeaux lovers. Though long-lived, the ultra-refined tannins and remarkable fruit purity make them relatively accessible early on.

While Cullen’s reds show restraint, Kevin John Chardonnay is flamboyant. Its fruit purity, concentration and drive typifies Western Australia’s low yielding Gin Gin clone.

Eschewing the trend for tighter, reductive styles, Cullen observes that the winery ‘has not moved much.’ The same can be said of Margaret River’s most famous example, Leeuwin Estate’s imposing Art Series Chardonnay from Wallcliffe. Still, the two could not be more different. Wilyabrup’s warmer microclimate and Cullen’s less interventionist winemaking (natural primary and malolactic ferments, and less oak) produce curvaceous, sensual Chardonnay.

Cullen Wines: Factbox

Founded 1971 by Kevin and Diana Cullen

Location Wilyabrup, Margaret River

Vineyards Dry-farmed, certified biodynamic

• Cullen Vineyard
  Area 28ha, planted in 1971, 1976, 1988
  Varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Chenin Blanc
• Mangan Vineyard
  Area 21ha, planted in 1995, 1997
  Varieties Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Verdelho

Soils Granite and gravelly, sandy loam, overlaying lateritic subsoils

Cullen Wines: new releases and flagship back vintages

Updated in September 2021, with eight tasting notes on the latest releases.

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