2023 Cullen Wines Diana Madeline

Certified organic and biodynamic this vintage is a blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot, with the balance Malbec and Petit Verdot. Maturation was for a period of 14 months in French oak, 40% of it new.

Other Reviews....
Put bluntly, this is perhaps the finest young Australian Cabernet I can recall seeing. It is simply brilliant. The blend is 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Merlot, with that last one percent a mix of Malbec and Petit Verdot. The maturation was for fourteen months in French oak, with 40% of it new. An inky dark maroon colour, this is concentrated and seamless. We have aromas of dark, rich chocolate, cocoa beans, plums, beef stock, graphite, mulberries, cloves and blackberries. Elegance and refinement here, this is all class and there is wonderful length, with the wine finishing with the silkiest tannins. There is immaculate balance and amazing intensity and yet the wine dances with freshness and energy. The image that keeps appearing here is Muhammed Ali at his peak, dancing with grace. The more time in the glass or in an open bottle you can give it, the more reward will come. Surely one of the greatest Cabernets made in this country, perhaps Vanya’s best ever, and it confirms that 2023 in Margaret River – a region of seemingly endless fine vintages – is truly special. Why not 100? I do feel it deserves it, but I simply do not trust Vanya not to come up with something even better next vintage.
99 points
Ken Gargett - WinePilot.com

The 2023 Diana Madeline is an exciting wine. The 2023 season was mild, dry and quite spectacular. There was some rain at the very end of the red harvest, and this was a very site-specific thing, not widespread over the region. Aromatically, the wine is intensely perfumed: graphite and pressed lavender, wet rose petals, raspberry pip, licorice, concrete and summer rain. This gives everything that I could hope for in an early-release Cabernet: dark fruit and exotic spice, mineral detail and more. The chalky and fine tannins shape the palate and spool out long over the finish. Is this the finest and best Diana Madeline made to date? Perhaps! What a wine. Highly recommended. It's the perfect example of great Australian Cabernet: power without weight. Look no further. 13.7% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. Drink 2025-2055.
Here, the fruit was handpicked over seven dates, starting middle of March and culminating on a moon opposite the Saturn astral event in early April. The blend is 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot, with the 1% balance comprising Malbec and Petit Verdot.
98 points
Erin Larkin - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

So much purity and precision, showing aromas of blackcurrants, graphite, violets, cedar and licorice with a core of black fruit intertwined with undertones of spices, bitter chocolate and iron. The wonderfully poised palate has firm yet refined tannins and a plush, midweight mouthfeel. Mouthwatering granitic finish. The structure and tension will develop for decades. Made from 94% cabernet sauvignon, 2% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and touches of malbec and petit verdot. Excellent. Screw cap. Drink or hold.
98 points
James Suckling

2023 was a perfect vintage in Margaret River, and the dry-grown fruit for this wine was hand-harvested over seven picks, before wild fermentation. This is in its absolute infancy, and while the fragrant oak might be the first guest to the party right now, the fruit is undoubtedly the life of it. Pretty dried rose petals, crushed graphite, rose hip, fennel seed, a pinch of oriental spice and salted raspberries hint at what lies ahead. Tight-grained oak tannins link arms with fine fruit tannins, and well-paced natural acidity hums along with lilting rhythm. At its core, there is a purity of bright fruit. A wine of understated elegance and immense power behind its poise. The slight ocean brine on the finish calls you back, like a sea siren. Don’t rush – give this a few years before opening and you’ll be rewarded. Drink 2026-2045.
97 points
Cassandra Charlick - Decanter

This Diana Madeline delights as soon as it's poured. A deep, dark purple-red and so vibrant. Ah the aromas next – all cedar wood, oak spices and warm earth with fresh mulberries and blackberry essence. It has concentrated, fabulous fruit on the fuller-bodied palate yet there’s a fineness, too, with supple tannins enmeshed in lively acidity. It’s a gorgeous drink. Too young now as it’s still showing off its youthful exuberance. Give this a few more years in the cellar to build more complexity and detail; it's guaranteed to age beautifully for another two or so decades. Drink 2025-2045.
97 points
Jane Faulkner - James Halliday's Wine Companion

The quality of tannins is part of the great experience, suede, refreshing, persistent, but you can see the pedigree of the wine in detail of dark berry fruits, espresso, mocha, chocolate and liquorice then bay leaf, brine and sea spray, salt bush and mahogany; all this delivers so much to the experience in its layers and layers. It sets out at medium weight and glides, an elegance, a confidence in balance and the harmony on hand. That it is generally just outrageously delicious is the wine’s ace in the hole. Nota bene the dark roast coffee/mocha is noted here and lends a little piquant bitterness and gummy elements in the finish. Quality writ large is the mainstay; top flight stuff. Drink 2027-2045.
96+ points
Mike Bennie - The Wine Front