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| Vanya Cullen |
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HISTORY
Winemaking began on the Cullen property in Margaret River nearly 40 years ago. Studies in the early 1960's showed that Margaret River had some very special qualities. The climate was particularly suited to growing Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. On the advice of eminent agronomist Dr John Gladstones, Dr. Kevin and Diana Cullen planted a trial acre of vines at Wilyabrup in 1966. The encouraging results of this led to the planting of 18 acres of vines on their sheep and cattle farm in 1971, including their first Cabernet Sauvignon vines. Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Semillon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc were planted between 1976 and 1978.
While Kevin Cullen supervised vineyard and winery activities, Diana Cullen was the sole winemaker until 1986, when she was joined by daughter Vanya, who assumed prime responsibility in 1989.
In 2005, the iconic Diana Madeline Cabernet Merlot was elevated to the top Langton’s classification category of “Exceptional” – reserved for just 11 Australian wines.
Committed to biodynamic viticulture, Cullen Wines has evolved into an iconic winery focused on quality, integrity and sustainability at all levels of the business.
PHILOSOPHY
The climate and vineyard site dictates the philosophy of Cullen Wines. The Maritime climate of Margaret River allows a near perfect environment in which to grow the finest quality grapes. The rocky soils produce low yielding intensely flavoured grapes and the flavour of these grapes is what creates the fabric for the wine style at Cullen. All pruning and harvesting are done by hand and with great care. Quality is paramount and when the hand-harvested grapes arrive at the winery from the vineyard, they are sorted again to ensure that only the best goes into the bottle. Biodynamic practices and minimal intervention apply to both vineyard and winery with many wines fermented with natural yeasts and undergoing minimal filtration. As time passes, a greater understanding of the vineyard and grapes is gained and this makes possible the creation of a more individual wine style.
“Cullen is in particularly impressive company in its conversion to biodynamics. The most valuable piece of vineyard land in the world - it is beyond price - is the 1.8-hectare Romanee-Conti, the central jewel among the seven vineyards owned by Domaine de la Romanee-Conti.
Like Vanya Cullen, the part owner/manager of the Domaine, Aubert de Villaine, readily acknowledges the absence of hard evidence, and the importance of faith.” James Halliday, the Weekend Australian, June 18, 2005.
WINEMAKER DETAILS
Vanya Cullen has been responsible for winemaking at her family's Wilyabrup winery since 1989. During that time she has been rigorously experimenting in the vineyard (especially with soil and trellis management) and in the winery all the while looking to give her wines greater complexity. Her palate has been honed by judging throughout Australia and overseas, and by her continuous pursuit of a thorough knowledge of the wines of the world. Over the past decade, Cullen has transformed her family firm from one of Margaret River's best into one of the country's premium boutique wineries. Cullen Wines while remaining family owned has since evolved making quality wine from biodynamically grown grapes sourced exclusively from The Cullen Estate Vineyard and Mangan Vineyard. Cullen Wines is Certified "A" Grade Biodynamic with the Biological Farmers Association. Exemplary viticulture lies at the heart of her success but so, too, do care and thorough attention to detail in the winery. Vanya Cullen was the winner of the 2000 Qantas/The Wine Magazine Winemaker of the year. She was the third recipient of this prize, the first Western Australian and the first woman to win the award. Vanya is the Chairperson of the Yarra Valley Wine Show, sits on the Qantas Taste Panel and has judged at wine shows in every major city in Australia. |
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