Awards, Ratings & Reviews
98/100 — James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion · 2020 Vintage
“Has the usual estate blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc and malbec (92/4/3/1%), the grapes hand picked on fruit days between early February and early March, the components matured in French oak (50% new) for 13 months. The perfumed bouquet has already soaked up the new oak, the purity of the fruit in a cassis-redcurrant-blueberry spectrum. The small berries of a quasi-drought summer might have imposed awkward tannins, but the medium-bodied palate is so perfectly balanced it has a drinking span of 30 years and counting. Drink by 2055.”
TOP 100 WINES OF 2022 — Halliday Wine Companion
SPECIAL VALUE WINE — Halliday Wine Companion
97.5/100 — Winsor Dobbin, gourmetontheroad.com · 2020 Vintage
“Australian wine lovers have become accustomed to paying serious prices for cellar-worthy icon red wine releases. Star new-release wines from labels including Penfolds, Henschke and Torbreck can set you back $800 a bottle and are full-throttle towards the $1000 mark. And prices for top Bordeaux, Burgundies and Barolos are often beyond the wallets of mere mortals. That's what makes the Cullen Diana Madeline from Margaret River in Western Australia quite remarkable. This organic and biodynamic icon from a winery that last year celebrated its 50th anniversary is one of Australia's most loved red wines but still sells for only $150. For many that still makes it a "special occasion" wine but for aficionados, and those with a bit of credit on their cards, it is a super buy. I love the combination of bright dark fruit, savoury notes and ferrous hints in a wine that will cellar well but also offers immediate enjoyment.”
97/100 — Aaron Brasher, The Real Review · 2020 Vintage · Drinking Window: 2022–2042
“Dark, deep and a really youthful purple colour in the glass. Lifted and complex aromas of cedar, graphite, blackberry, brambles, violets and a briary underbrush edge. Full, rich, layered and complex, lashings of mulberry and blackcurranty fruit, firm, granular, textured tannins and lively acidity. Just beginning its journey and what a journey it shall be.”
96/100 — Wine Enthusiast · 2020 Vintage · Tasted: Jul 2023
“Diana is a wine built to last the ages. It's expressive now, though, via layers of heady aromas like black currant, blackberry, pencil shaving, briny black olive and spice box. Dusty, fine, sandy-textured tannins cinch the fresh, plummy fruit in the mouth. A tightrope of power and poise.”
96/100 — Robert Parker The Wine Advocate · 2020 Vintage · Tasted: Mar 2025 · Drinking Window: 2025–2045
96/100 — The Wine Front · 2020 Vintage · Tasted: Feb 2022
“Great detail in that the wine comes from nine picks across fruit and flower days of the biodynamic calendar, spread across a month-ish lunar cycle. The Cullen way. Another beautiful, soulful release, this one a bit darker, a bit bolder, a mesh of tannins over train tracks and tension, but a wine of significant pedigree and wow factor nonetheless. Dark chocolate and graphite aromas with salted plum, black olive, bay leaf and oyster shell. Flavours ripple with authority in that weave of tannin, dark choc again, panforte perhaps more apt, dark cherry, saline minerality, more bayleaf and cinnamon spice. Succulent in the finish, mouth-watering and very fresh. Compelling stuff. Drink 2024 - 2040+.”
About This Wine
The 2020 vintage was defined by dry conditions from budburst through to harvest. Lower than average rainfall in 2019 combined with hot, dry weather during January, February and March created near-drought conditions.
Bunch numbers were about average, but low berry weights produced very low yields and wines described as balanced and pretty in nature.
The wine is a blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec.
Closed tanks, open fermenters, barrels and amphora were all used during fermentation, with skin contact ranging from 10 to 99 days depending on the batch.
The wine matured for 13 months in 50% new French oak in a mixture of barriques and puncheons, including some biodynamic oak.
Producer Notes
Colour
Garnett with ruby purple tinges.
Bouquet
Mulberry, chocolate, rose, iodine, salty plum.
Palate
First impressions have juicy berry fruit, mulberry, plum, cherry. This unctuous fruit is framed by fine grained tannins and Wilyabrup earth, ironstone, and dust which expresses the heat of the vintage and compliments the concentration of the fruit.
About the Producer
The combination of firstly organic, and subsequently biodynamic viticulture at Cullen Wines provides the opportunity for the land to exist at its full potential, thereby nurturing vines to produce their best and most individual grapes. Vanya Cullen has pushed the limits of biodynamic practices in every facet of the business and the yield of the estate vineyards has soared.
All Cullen Wines are grown on a certified Biodynamic, Carbon Neutral and naturally powered estate.
In 1948, Dr Kevin John Cullen and Diana Madeline Cullen purchased their property in Wilyabrup in the heart of Margaret River. Following advice from Dr John Gladstones regarding the suitability of the region for viticulture, the family planted their first vines in 1971, including Cabernet Sauvignon.
Diana Cullen became Chief Winemaker in 1981 and made history in 1982 as the first woman to win a trophy at the Perth Royal Show. Their daughter Vanya Cullen joined the winery in 1983, becoming Chief Winemaker in 1989 and Managing Director in 1999.
The estate achieved A Grade Organic certification in 2003 and A Grade Biodynamic certification in 2004. Cullen also became the first vineyard and winery in Australia to be certified carbon positive.
Specifications
- Vintage: 2020
- Grape Variety: 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 1% Malbec
- Region: Margaret River / Western Australia / Australia
- Fermentation: Closed tanks, open fermenters, barrels and amphora; skin contact 10–99 days depending on batch
- Maturation: 13 months in 50% new French oak barriques and puncheons
- Production Attributes: Biodynamic oak used during maturation
- Harvest Date: 8 February – 10 March
- Closure: Cork
- Drinking Window: 2023–2045
