2022 Domaine Naturaliste "Artus" Chardonnay Margaret River

Professional Reviews

Staff Reviews

AH

Aaron Hughes

Aaron Hughes

Review Date: 07/2025

This is your bigger and bolder statement of Chardonnay from our friends in Australia. This has a nose that leads itself first with a nice rich hit of oak, and underneath that some really ripe and pretty fruit, with pear and apple working together with some lightly candied lemon peel. The palate is dry, but really round with a little tiny touch of butter but mostly creamy oak surrounding the really lush and delicious fruit. There's a lot more there than you might expect, and while this is big and has oak, it still has a lot of style and elegance, with enough acid to carry everything over the finish line. You know who this is for, so buy it for them instead of that other thing and give them an overall better product. Do it.

Notes

After nearly 30 years of working alongside producers in Margaret River, Western Australia, winemaker Bruce Dukes established his own label, Domaine Naturaliste, in 2012. Renowned for its exceptional winemaking conditions, the Margaret River region extends into the Indian Ocean and is bordered by water on three sides, with Cape Naturaliste to the north and Cape Leeuwin to the south. Domaine Naturaliste is located at the foot of Cape Naturaliste, inspiring the winery’s name. Bruce brings a wealth of experience from both local and international winemaking, including four years at Francis Ford Coppola’s Niebaum-Coppola winery in California, along with a master’s degree in Viticulture and Oenology from the University of California. His wines reflect a deep connection to the distinctive terroir of Margaret River.