Cullen’s New Legacy Series Releases:
Clearly Among Australia’s Finest & Best Reviewed
“Vanya Cullen is one of Australia’s greatest 2-3 winemakers –
I say this … based on the truly outstanding quality of the Kevin John, Diana Madeline, Legacy Series and the Vanya Cabernet Sauvignons.”
- JJ (John Jens)
2023 Diana Madeline Cabernet Sauvignon
99 Points, Ken Gargett, Winepilot
98 Points, Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate
98 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review
2023 Legacy Diana Madeline 'Full Moon Oppersite Saturn'
98 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review &
Ranked #2 of 21 - 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon from Margaret River
2023 Vanya Flower Day Cabernet Sauvignon
99 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review
99 Points, James Suckling, jamessuckling.com
98 Points, Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate
98 Points, Jane Faulkner, The Wine Companion
2021 ‘Legacy’ Sauvignon Blanc
98 Points, James Suckling, jamessuckling.com
2022 'Kevin John' Chardonnay
98 Points, Ray Jordan, rayjordan.com.au
97+ Points, Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate
2023 'Kevin John' Chardonnay
99 Points, Ray Jordan, rayjordan.com.au
98 Points Ken Gargett, Winepilot
2024 'Kevin John' Chardonnay
98 Points, Ray Jordan, rayjordan.com.au
97 Points, Ken Gargett, Winepilot
2024 Legacy Series 'Kevin John' Chardonnay
99 Points, James Suckling, jamessuckling.com
Sunday December 14th
Hosted by Andy Barrett-Lennard
Cullen’s New Legacy Series Lunch & Masterclass
Lunch: Noon, 11 Wines & 5 Courses, $245
Masterclass: 4-6pm, 11 Wines with canapes, $145
Cullen’s New Legacy & Vanya Series Dinner
Dinner: 6:30pm, 15 Wines & 5 Courses $495 (Private dining room - 14 guests maximum)
To see the dinner event page - click here.
Cullen Wines:
A Track Record of Exceptional Critical Ratings
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate awarded Cullen four of the nine highest-scoring Australian Chardonnays at the time.
James Halliday named the 2012 and 2015 Diana Madeline his Cabernet Sauvignons of the Year.
The Real Review crowned a Cullen release Chardonnay of the Year.
Nick Stock rated Cullen 99 points in his 2021/22 tasting of 500 Margaret River wines — one of the highest scores of the entire report.
Robert Parker also awarded Cullen the highest-rated Australian Cabernet (circa 2019) since 2006.
John Jens lists Cullen among his all-time best:
– 2 of his 4 highest-rated Margaret River Cabernets
– His equal highest-rated Australian Chardonnay
– 4 Cullen wines in his Top 15 Chardonnays
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One of the first wineries to be established in the famous Wilyabrup wine growing region of Margaret River, Western Australia. In 1971, Dr Kevin Cullen and his wife Diana planted and nurtured what has become one of Australia’s finest and most well-respected wineries.
Cullen Wines has remained a family business, and the care and respect that Kevin and Di showed for the land and their passion for producing quality wines ins a legacy that continues today. In 1998, the winery was successfully converted to organic practices and in 2004. Since taking the reins several years ago, Vanya Cullen’s passion and hard work has paved the way for the business to become a fully certified A Grade biodynamic winery and the first winery in Australia to be certified 100% carbon neutral.
Cullen Wines’ flagships, the Diana Madeline Cabernet blend and the Kevin John Chardonnay, are consistently rated nationally and internationally as the best in their respective fields. Cullen’s natural and biodynamic wines bring the purest expression of place and land on which they are grown.
A pioneer of Margaret River, Cullen Wines has always produced long-lived wines of highly individual style. The vineyard has progressed beyond organic to biodynamic certification and, subsequently, has become the first vineyard and winery in Australia to be certified carbon positive. Winemaking is in the hands of Vanya Cullen, daughter of founders Kevin and Diana Cullen; she is possessed of an extraordinarily good palate and generosity to the cause of fine wine. Vanya was awarded the Companion's inaugural Viticulturist of the Year in '22, Cullen's 50th anniversary year.
James Halliday, Wine Companion -
Small-batch. Biodynamic. Pure Margaret River excellence.
Cullen’s Legacy Series sits at the very top of one of Australia’s most respected wineries — a collection of ultra-limited, artisan wines crafted to show the absolute best of their Wilyabrup estate.
Every bottle is a tribute to the vision of founders Kevin John and Diana Madeline Cullen, and to Vanya Cullen’s unwavering belief that the greatest wines come from deep care for the land. Today, Cullen is internationally recognised for producing some of the most pure, expressive and age-worthy wines in the country.
Why the Legacy Series Matters
These are not ordinary releases. Each wine is:
Biodynamic & vineyard-led
Cullen has long been a pioneer of certified biodynamic viticulture. Fruit for the Legacy Series is picked on specific “fruit” or “flower” days in the biodynamic calendar — moments believed to best capture vibrancy, perfume and energy. It’s a philosophy centred entirely on health of soil, vine and environment.
Made with absolute minimal intervention
No fining. No filtration. No unnecessary handling. The intention is simple: preserve the natural character of the vineyard and let the wine speak for itself. Expect clarity, precision and incredible purity.
Produced in tiny volumes
These are micro-cuvées — handcrafted from select blocks, often with parcels fermented separately in concrete eggs, amphorae or carefully chosen oak.
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Vanya Cullen is one of Australia’s most awarded and respected winemakers. Her lifelong commitment to biodynamics, sustainability and uncompromising quality has earned her national and international recognition.
Major Honours
Order of Australia (OAM), 2023
Awarded for outstanding service to oenology and viticulture — a national honour recognising her leadership and contribution to Australian wine.Jack Mann Memorial Medal, 2024
Western Australia’s highest wine industry accolade, recognising exceptional and lasting service to the state’s wine community.
Industry Awards
James Halliday Wine Companion
• Winemaker of the Year, 2020
• Viticulturist of the Year, 2022
A rare dual recognition highlighting both her vineyard innovation and winemaking excellence.Gourmet Traveller WINE – Winemaker of the Year, 2000
One of the earliest national acknowledgements of Vanya’s visionary influence.Australian Women in Wine Awards – Winemaker of the Year, 2019
Celebrating trailblazing women shaping the industry.
Additional Achievements
Inducted into the Australian Business Women’s Hall of Fame, 2015
Recognised for entrepreneurial leadership and influence beyond the wine sector.Named Woman of the Year & Green Personality of the Year
Awarded by The Drinks Business (UK) for her sustainability leadership and global impact (year not specified).Margaret River Wine Association – Lifetime Achievement Award, 2025
Honouring her decades of contribution to the region’s international reputation.Finalist – The Real Review “Vigneron of the Year Australia”, 2025
Acknowledging her pioneering approach to biodynamic viticulture.
The Wine List & Menu
First Bracket
2024 Cullen ‘Elvie Clarke’ Sauvignon Blanc
94 Points Ken Gargett, Winepilot
Named in honour of Vanya’s grandmother (Kevin John’s mother), this version is a combination of 58% Sauvignon Blanc, 35% Semillon and 7% Verdelho, all planted back in the mid-90s. Biodynamics has been in use here since 2008, and the vineyard has been owned by Cullens since 2016. The colour here is near transparent, a watery lemon. Delightful fragrances on the nose, this is more elegant. We have notes of citrus, notably pink grapefruit, spices and florals, such as jasmine, with a fine line of oyster shell acidity that carries the length. Focused and refined, there is much to like here and it should drink very well for the next six to eight years. If you like this style with elegance to the fore, then this wine is stunning value.
2021 Cullen ‘Legacy’ Sauvignon Blanc
98 Points, James Suckling, jamesusckling.com
Wow, what a wine! Notes of lime leaves, Meyer lemons, honeysuckle and orange blossoms with crushed stones, pastry and Asian pears. The palate is all about texture, balanced with a midweight mouthfeel and striking acidity. The excellent tension, precision and minerality are profound. Mouthwatering finish. Brilliant length. Not made every year. Grapes must be harvested on a biodynamic picking day. It makes your mouth salivate for minutes after tasting. A real bargain. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
1st course
Second Bracket
‘Metricup’ Chardonnay 2024
There’s an abundance of bound ripe fruit, Anjou pear, yellow peaches, red apple skins and citrus curd. Fresh acidity and gentle phenolics envelope around the rich fruit core of the wine. It’s elegant in style, showing a fresh and clean finish. The wine is supported by mineral characters of crushed seashells and coastal salinity that are, for the time being, gently hidden beneath the rich fruit power of the wine, waiting patiently to expand as the wine evolves in the bottle.
(Cullen Wine Notes)
'Kevin John' Chardonnay 2023
99 Points Ken Gargett, Winepilot
From the excellent 2023 vintage in Margaret River, the Kevin John Chardonnay is Cullen’s ‘standard’ Chardonnay, and what a wine. Never less than thrilling these days, the fruit for this wine was harvested over a three-week period then whole bunch pressed before fermentation in a mix of vessels – biodynamic puncheons, amphorae and a concrete egg. Eight months maturation in the puncheons, 80% of which were new, the wine is 100% Gin Gin clone. Balance, elegance and complexity, even at this early stage, are the hallmarks here. Great energy, the nose gives us notes of nuts/cashews, peaches, stonefruit, a hint of riverstones and orange blossoms. Vanilla, florals, honeycomb and a hint of crisp pear, the focus here is superb, through to an impressively long finish. Expect this to drink superbly for at least fifteen years.
'Kevin John' Chardonnay 2022
98 Points Ray Jordan Winepilot (July 2023)
The approach to viticulture and then winemaking means that this wonderful Chardonnay from the 2022 vintage is as pure as you can get. It all sort of just happens, under the umbrella of a fastidious and rigorously uncompromising biodynamic discipline. The aromas are immediately complex and engaging with traces of talc and lime, a little pear and some nice roasted cashew. The palate kicks in with its power and precision displaying attractive savoury minerality, a little spice and vanilla bean and a rich buttery, though controlled, textural feel in the mouth. The purity and expression of place is heightened by the fact it is bottle unfined and unfiltered. This is a window into one of the finest vineyards in the land.
2nd Course
Third Bracket
2024 Cullen Red Moon Petit Verdot/Malbec/Merlot
93 Points, Ray Jordan, rayjordan.com.au
This is a blend of malbec, grenache, mourvèdre, petit verdot and merlot. The ferment took place naturally with no additions before 8 months in older oak. So the oak influence is minimal, but it still plays a role in developing the textural feel and concentration of the palate. The colour and the fruit are quite brilliant, with a palate showing plenty of chalky tannins for support. It’s a mighty good wine for this price when you’re looking for a value-for-money drink.
‘Ephraim’ Malbec/Petit Verdot 2023
94 Points, Ray Jordan, rayjordan.com.au
The deepest, darkest colour you could ever imagine sits in the glass of this 70/30 blend of malbec and petit verdot from Cullen’s Mangan vineyard. It’s named after Kevin Cullen’s grandfather Ephraim, who like Cullen was a wine pioneer, albeit in the previous century. All naturally fermented and basket pressed before maturation in oak of which 35% was new for 8 months. It’s a powerful statement with rich dark chocolate and black fruit flavours supported by firm chalky tannins and a liberal hit of oak. It's a sort of big easy wine.
‘Legacy Fruit Day’ Malbec 2021
3rd Course
Fourth Bracket
2024 Cullen Cabernet Merlot
94 Points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
A very purple tasting wine here with a mix of blue and black fruits, pimento/capsicum, baking spice, dried roses, and something a bit ferrous. It’s medium-bodied, but quite thick and chewy, not polished up too much, and also has some bitter dark chocolate in the mix, blackcurrant, dried herbs, balanced acidity, and a finishes with some roast red capsicum and a fair bit of perfume. Lots of Cullen in your glass at pretty fair price, if you take my meaning.
2023 Cullen Diana Madeline Cabernet Sauvignon
99 Points Ken Gargett, Winepilot
The 2023 Diana Madeline is almost pure Cabernet Sauvignon with 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Merlot with splashes of Malbec and Petit Verdot. It opens with superb purity and definition showing cassis and violet aromas with subtle leafy and cedary tones plus beautifully integrated oak after 14 months in 40% new French. A seamless balance exists between serious tannins and layered flavours, holding a steady hand through a finish of extreme length. In a word, stunning. The best vintage in recent memory.
2023 Cullen Legacy Diana Madeline 'Full Moon Oppersite Saturn'
98 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review &
Ranked #2 of 21 - 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon blends from Margaret River
Very deep, bright purple-red hue with a lovely cedar, mulberry, cassis and violet bouquet, fresh and bell-clear cabernet varietal aromas. It's full bodied, powerful, concentrated and plush, with masses of tannins creating a firm but balanced structure and lingering farewell. A statuesque cabernet blend that adds further lustre to the Cullen brand. How does it differ from the regular DM? Slightly finer and more polished tannins, and more elegance overall, but it's a fine line.