A Beautiful Dilemma

Leeuwin Estate's Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon '02 is thrilling. Given a space to breathe, this powerful Margaret River wine - professional swimmer in build rather than boxer - delivers a crisp collage of flavours. Tomato plant leaf, diced green bell pepper, broad bean, a wafer of bitter black chocolate, recently and overly watered weeds including nettle flower, and soft cucumber centre, are all held within a discreet, clean wooden frame. This bricolage is balanced, with a bitter, sustained finish. A striking wine.

But despite the tide of olfactory analysis, it does not please me. Yes, it is beautiful, but simultaneously, somehow unattractive. And sometimes beauty can - possibly frustratingly - be just that...