A biodynamic red to blow sceptics’ minds

Cullen wines help us understand how effective biodynamic practices can be, says Matthew Jukes.

Matthew Jukes
By Matthew Jukes
published

855-Cullen-634

2013 Cullen, Mangan East Block, Margaret River, Western Australia (£30, Laithwaites.co.uk).

Vanya Cullen was in the UK recently to host a very special vertical tasting (where you taste several vintages of a single winery) of her stellar Kevin John (KJ) chardonnays and Diana Madeline (DM) cabernets.

Vanya is one of the most inspirational and talented winemakers in the world and she is a fervent proponent of "biodynamism". This means the Cullen regime follows the moon's cycles closely and ensures the vineyard is in perfect harmony with nature. Too often this mantra is trotted out by random vignerons and the wines invariably disappoint. Vanya's wines, however, possess uncommon resonance. This makes them compelling, vital, and in most cases nothing short of magnificent.

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While KJ (the 2014 is £73.30) and DM (the 2013 is £71.80, both from Hedonism.co.uk) are made in tiny quantities, there are two other wines I adore. The 2014 Mangan Vineyard Semillon (£21.99, www.ozwines.co.uk) and my featured red, a petit verdot/malbec blend, both sing.

The semillon pulses with strident florals, ginger slivers and lime zest, and East Block wears sooty, mulberry and potpourri nuances. The use of old French oak elevates its aroma to anthemic proportions. Cullen wines help us understand how effective biodynamic practices can be. They will blow sceptics' minds and thrill others besides.

Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year (MatthewJukes.com).

Matthew Jukes
Matthew Jukes

Matthew Jukes has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books.  

Matthew regularly lectures, judges, speaks at wine conferences and runs masterclass tastings for both corporate and private clients all over the world. Matthew is also the creator of his ground-breaking initiative, the One Day Wine School, an indulgent day of tasting and learning first performed in 2006.

He has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006 and has written a weekly column for the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine since 1999. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website, www.matthewjukes.com.

Matthew is one of the world’s leading experts on Australian wine and, with Brisbane-based wine writer Tyson Stelzer, runs an annual competition in Australia to find ‘The Great Australian Red’.  He was made Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK at the 2012 Australia Day Foundation Gala dinner. 

Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy.  His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.

 

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