2010 Diana Madeline
Main Content
Title:
2010 Diana Madeline 
The 2010 season produced wines which were abundant in fruit and had excellent balance. In accordance with biodynamic principles, the grapes were hand harvested on fruit days from the Cabernet Sauvignon vines, which are now 39 years old. The fruit was carefully sorted before fermentation with indigenous yeasts and malolactic bacteria. No acid or yeast was added, producing a wine which has a sense of place through the grapes and natural winemaking techniques employed.
Tasting Notes
Colour:
Delicate crimson and garnet ruby.
Bouquet:
The plum, mulberry and blackcurrant aromas cascade out of the glass bringing high notes of rose and violet. Savoury ironstone and tobacco complete the classic aroma profile of the Diana Madeline.
Palate:
Fine grained tannin with uplifting and sustained fruit notes. Red fruit and plum flavours connect with the ironstone minerality, providing backbone and structure. This medium bodied elegance is deceptive as the depth and length on the palate are profound.
Cellaring:
Drink now and up to 40 years.
Food:
Root vegetables (especially beetroot), lamb and beef.
Winemaking Details
Vineyard:
Cullen Vineyard
Varieties:
77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 4% Malbec and 3% Cabernet Franc
Harvest:
1 – 28 March 2010
Oak:
Aged for an average of 19 months in French oaks barrels, of which 51% were new
Alcohol:
13%
Reviews:
A 77/10/6/4/3% blend of cabernet sauvignon , merlot, petit verdot, malbec and cabernet franc. Confident with the quality of her biodynamically-grown estate grapes, Vanya Cullen is taking a gently gently approach with all aspects of the wine. Thus it is medium-bodied at best, but is perfectly balanced and its array of blackcurrant, redcurrant, earth and spice fruit flavours are clearly varietal. Above all else, it is certain the wine will develop beautifully over the next 20-30 years.
From a great vintage in Margaret River, this elegant cabernet sauvignon-dominant blend (77 per cent) includes merlot, petit verdot, malbec and cabernet franc. Pretty, complex aromas include blackcurrant, violet, rose petals and plum. The wine is just a joy to drink, with fine-grained tannins carrying medium-bodied flavours of red berries, blood plum and some ironstone minerality all around the mouth. A great option for the cellar – this will age beautifully – decant it for a few hours if you decide to drink it now.
Food match \ Braised kid
The combination of terroir, early picking, biodynamics, aged vines and sympathetic winemaking makes such a strong statement. Slightly more robust than recent vintages and as such may prove an even greater crowd pleaser. It is a stunning blend of all five Bordeaux varieties. Silky, effortless and graceful. Will cellar for decades. Perfect with rack of lamb.
Delicate, sophisticated and precise. Optimum fruit from another great Margaret River vintage ensures this famed blend will live large and strong. Refined, long, elegant palate.
2010 DM makes a vital statement: its phenomenal predecessor was no fluke. At thirty-nine years of age and privileged to fanatical biodynamic care, the Cullen vineyard is in a remarkable place indeed. At a tantalising 13.0% alcohol, elegance meets the strictest definition. Utterly enticing, profoundly pure, effortlessly seamless and earth-shakingly long-lived. Margaret River graphite, high cocoa dark chocolate texture and gravelly tannins support pin-point exact violet and blackcurrant fruit. For the record, 77% cabernet sauvignon, 10% merlot, 6% petit verdot, 4% malbec and 3% cabernet franc – but such is its seamless coherence, you’d never know it was a blend. Diana would be proud.
Firm, boasting chewy tannins that clamp onto a gorgeous thread of currant, boysenberry, tobacco and black pepper flavors, which manage to float free on the long, expressive finish. Needs cellaring. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2017 through 2025.
A very firm, structural wine that shows stiff, suede tannins framing a medium bodied, dark fruited core. There's a dusting of savouriness and a twiggy character that is a suggestion of both the 19 months of French oak maturation and savouriness of the blend. It's austere, but superbly formed. Cellar Long.