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2010 Pierro Chardonnay New Release
The 2010 vintage continued Margaret River's great run of vintages, especially for white wines. There were pretty much ideal growing conditions for the whites which had been picked before rain late in the season challenged the local vignerons.
For the team at Pierro, attention to detail in the vineyard is the factor which most clearly determines the success of the Pierro Chardonnay. It is sourced mainly from a north facing block on the south bank of the Willyabrup Brook which flows down the valley to the nearby Indian Ocean. Mike Peterkin believes that this natural watercourse provides a nourishing life-source for the vineyard. The mature vines (25 to 30 years old in 2010) are from high density plantings, 4,000 to 5,500 vines per hectare.
The success of this wine has meant that there is much about the winemaking process that has become traditional at Pierro: the wine is barrel fermented in new and one year old French barriques; a hundred per cent goes through the malolactic fermentation and has regular lees stirring (battonage) during its 12 month oak maturation. Mike Peterkin remains a strong supporter of the role that the malolactic fermentation can play in improving the flavour and length of palate of the Chardonnay. Battonage gives a seamless character and creamy texture to the wine.
The new Pierro winery was completed a decade ago and so the changes that this made possible have become an integral part of the winemaking process. Mike Peterkin believes that three things have improved the aging potential of the Chardonnay: its phenolic content has been lowered by whole bunch pressing and the reduction in temperature of each batch of grapes which gives more delicacy and greater length to the wine; paying greater attention to the levels of dissolved oxygen and sulphur dioxide during processing; and the use of screwcaps which offer better protection from oxidation.
The 2010 Pierro Chardonnay is very much in the style of recent vintages of the wine though it has an initial softness and delicacy that surprises, and delights. It is subtle, delicate and fine to start and then builds with intense cool stonefruit characters, savoury flavours that move towards shaley, minerally notes to finish. There's a pleasing viscosity, neatly integrated cedary oak, and a pleasing harmony that peaks with its lingering dry aftertaste. Pure, tangy, multi-layered. The previous vintage has already developed more minerally complexity with 12 additional months in bottle - expect the 2010 to do the same.
2011 Pierro Semillon Sauvignon Blanc LTC
The Semillon Sauvignon Blanc LTC is one of our most popular wines and the 2011 (just off the vine!) will carry on this tradition. Margaret River has had an amazing string of white wine vintages and so, once again, there are no question marks about the quality of the harvest. Here is a scintillating white wine that seems to dance in the glass with superb clarity. The wine typically has restrained aromatics, some lemon citrus notes and dried herb complexities while the palate is subtle and delicate showing fruit purity and delicious tanginess. There is tight structure with power building before a finish featuring refreshing, zesty natural acidity. A delightful white, superb paired with fresh seafood.
As Ray Jordan described it when he awarded it: Best Blended White (lightly oaked or unoaked) “Consistently one of the best white blends in WA – And Australia, for that matter. Predominantly Semillon with Sauvignon Blanc and a touch of chardonnay, the wine has a lightness of touch, a freshness in youth and the capacity to mature into something more evocative. You couldn’t want more than this in a blended white. 95/100
2009 Pierro Chardonnay
The run of very good to excellent vintage for chardonnay in Margaret River almost defies belief: the years from 2004 to 2010 have certainly produced outstanding chardonnays for Pierro. While each vintages produces a unique wine, the quality has been uniformly high. The 2009 vintage saw cool, mild weather with no extremes of heat, decent rains at the right times, and moderate crops given time to ripen slowly. Some felt had been the West's best ever white wine vintage.
For the team at Pierro, attention to detail in the vineyard is the key to the success of the Chardonnay. It is sourced from a single site, the north-facing estate vineyard on the south bank of the Willyabrup Brook which flows down its namesake valley to the sea. Mike Peterkin believes that this natural watercourse provides a nourishing life-source for the vineyard. The mature vines (24 to 29 years old in 2009) are unirrigated and come from higher density plantings (4,000 to 5,500 vines per hectare) than are usually found in Australia.
There is much about the winemaking process that is traditional at Pierro: the wine is barrel fermented in French barriques; a hundred per cent goes through the malolactic fermentation and has regular lees stirring (battonage) during its 12 month oak maturation. Mike Peterkin remains a strong supporter of the role that the malolactic fermentation can play in improving the flavour and length of palate of the Chardonnay while battonage gives a seamless character and creamier texture to the wine.
The new Pierro winery was completed a decade ago and so the changes that this made possible have become an integral part of the winemaking process. Mike Peterkin believes that three things have improved the aging potential of the Chardonnay: its phenolic content has been lowered by whole bunch pressing and the reduction in temperature of each batch of grapes and this gives more delicacy and length to the wine; paying greater attention to the levels of dissolved oxygen and sulphur dioxide during processing; and the use of screwcaps which offer better protection from oxidation.
There's purity about the 2009 Pierro Chardonnay that sets it apart in the first flush of youth: intense ripe, juicy white peach and nectarine flavours that are deep, long and primal. As well as this, there's a delicacy and finesse that will remain part of its makeup, some hints of cedary oak that will blow away and a smooth viscosity that will become softer and creamier – all adding to the satisfying complexity that age brings. For now, there's a tangy, zesty, vibrance in the mid-palate and a refreshing, cleansing acidity that enables the wine to finish crisp and dry. Hard to resist.
2008 Pierro Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot LTCf
There may well be a fair bit of debate among wine lovers as to whether 2007 or 2008 was the better year for reds in Margaret River. Needless to say, there are terrific wines from both years. If you liked the 2007 Pierro LTCf, you'll love this at least as much, perhaps a bit more. If you missed the 2007 LTCf, all the more reason for trying this. After experiencing some difficulties during flowering which affected yield a little, the 2008 vintage proved ideal in Margaret River. Summer was warm and dry and the drift into autumn was accompanied by cooler weather, which slowed down the ripening of the cabernet so that picking took place in ideal conditions.
The LTCf is well established in the Pierro portfolio offering a soft, approachable red while you wait for the Reserve Cabernet to be ready. At the time of the sixth release of this classic Bordeaux blend - cabernet sauvignon (54%) and merlot (33%), as ever, with a little touch of cabernet franc (11%) and petit verdot (2%) – it is made in a way that is coming to be recognised as traditional. Individual parcels are given different treatment in the winery: 17% was fermented on skins and given extended skin contact. 43% was fermented in open fermenters and given seven days skin contact. while 40% was given11 days in closed fermenters. After this the wine was racked into French oak where it was matured for 12 months. The 2008 Pierro LTCf has lively fragrances, rich and concentrated blackcurrant, dark cherry and mulberry flavours, a pleasing ripeness, an elegance and tightness on the mid-palate, fleshy, velvety texture, and gentle, fine, harmonious tannins. While this will be immensely appealing as a young red, it could be cellared in the short term.
In November 2010 in his Top 100 of Australia’s best wines James Halliday wrote: The LTCf is code for “a little touch of cabernet franc” to accompany 54% cabernet sauvignon, 33% merlot and 2% petit verdot. Crystal clear crimson-red; an elegant wine, no more than medium-bodied, but with excellent texture and structure to its panoply of blackcurrant fruit; quality French oak and fine tannins add to the appeal. 95 Points Drink: now-2023 with roast lamb
2010 Pierro Semillon Sauvignon Blanc LTC
The name 'LTC' is so clearly etched in the history of Pierro and the Margaret River wine industry, that the front label of this wine now refers to it as merely as the LTC. It was once the 'Les Trois Cuvées' - for the three varieties found in the blend Semillon Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay : some insist that LTC refers to the 'little touch of chardonnay', a term that is used on the back label.
Mike Peterkin had pioneered the semillon sauvignon blanc blend in Margaret River while at Cullen in 1979,1980and 1981 and had success with the first wine. The 1979 Cullen Semillon Sauvignon Blanc won the trophy at the Perth Show for the best full-bodied dry white. As Mike had recognised the potential of the blend, it is not surprising that one-third of the Pierro vineyard was planted to those varieties in 1980.
The LTC has evolved over time in keeping with Mike Peterkin's idea of making a wine that, while delicious when young, has the weight, complexity and structure to evolve with time in the bottle. Today, the winemaking involves blending as many as ten different components to achieve the finished wine: the Sauvignon is fermented in stainless steel; some of the Semillon is barrel fermented; the Chardonnay is sometimes fermented in stainless steel and sometimes in oak; some components undergo the malolactic fermentation; different yeasts are used for different batches; some parcels are fermented at temperatures that are warmer or cooler than the norm. All this enhances its ability to age so that, with some bottle development, the 'LTC' gains complexity and a richer, creamier, more viscous texture.
Margaret River has had an amazing string of white wine vintages and so, once again, there are no question marks about the quality of the harvest. The 2010 Pierro 'LTC' has restrained aromatics, some lemon citrus notes and dried herb complexities while the palate is subtle and delicate showing fruit purity and delicious tanginess. There is tight structure with power building in the glass before a finish featuring refreshing, zesty natural acidity.
2010 Fire Gully Semillon Sauvignon Blanc
One of the reasons that Margaret River is such a great tourist destination is the beauty of its landscape. The view of the Fire Gully vineyard from Mike Peterkin’s home is achingly picturesque with natural bushland, glittering dams and rows of immaculately tended vines. It’s part of the hidden charm of Margaret River.
Mike Peterkin had pioneered the Semillon Sauvignon Blanc blend while at Cullen in 1979 and 1980 and had success with the first wine: the 1979 Cullen Semillon Sauvignon Blanc won the trophy at the Perth Show for the best full-bodied dry white.
The Fire Gully property is one of the most beautiful and unique localities in Willyabrup. Ellis and Marg Butcher and their family are original pioneers of the district, and planted the vineyard in 1988. The Taoist symbols for Fire and Valley have been chosen for the label to represent the warmth, strength, fertility and abundance that this very special site has to offer.
This is a delicious drink now example of Margaret River’s popular white blend. From a terrific vintage for the region, this wine has intense aromatics; vibrant grassy and ripe tropical fruit flavours and clean crisp acidity. It has impressive weight and power, great concentration and depth of flavour. It is the perfect quaffing wine to be sipped gently by itself on a summer’s day or consumed with lunchtime salads or with delicate, light Thai dishes.
2009 Fire Gully Chardonnay
The whites at Pierro and Fire Gully continue to enjoy a reputation as being among Margaret River's finest, especially the chardonnay. The string of marvellous vintages in the regions has certainly helped their profile both for quality and consistency. The single vineyard 2009 Fire Gully once more shows Mike Peterkin's modern approach to winemaking and the tightness of structure and leaness that you'd expect from a classy Margaret River chardonnay. It is sourced from the picturesque (check it out at www.firegully.com.au) Fire Gully vineyard from vines which were planted in 1988. Half was fermented and aged in stainless steel to retain freshness and fruity aromatics while the other half was fermented and aged in French barriques to provide structure, complexity and mouthfeel.
The 2009 Fire Gully Chardonnay is bright, fresh and vibrant showing hints of cedary oak, intense white peach, melon and nectarine flavours, a pleasantly viscous mid-palate, and tangy crisp natural acidity on a long, dry finish.
It is a subtle, delicate white and can be enjoyed now for its freshness and vibrant fruit flavours especially with similarly delicate dishes, perhaps chicken stir-fries or salads. However, it has the complexity, finesse and bright acidity to age in the short-term when it will show best against bolder, spicier dishes.
2008 Fire Gully Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot
Since the Margaret River region is now recognised as Australia’s best for producing high-end Cabernet Merlot, it goes without saying that there are some very fine examples of this classic Bordeaux blend to be found in the area. Added to this, the vineyards of the Willyabrup sub-region are arguably the best on the Cape for this style. The Fire Gully property is set in the heart of Willyabrup, adjacent to Moss Wood, long recognised as one of the region’s best cabernet producers. The vines that produce the Fire Gully CSM are now 20 years and are producing superb quality fruit. The resulting wines match it with the best in the region and bear all the hallmarks of a great Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot.
The 2008 Fire Gully Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot is beautifully perfumed with dark fruit and spicy oak aromas; has rich, ripe, concentrated black cherry and dark plum flavours with fine, lacy tannins. It is a powerful, dense red with substantial weight, generous silky texture, a tight structure and good length.
Although it has more than a touch of the Fire Gully approachability the 2008 Cabernet has the brooding power of an outstanding Margaret River vintage, the tight structure of cabernet sauvignon and the richness of the variety in this region. It will benefit from even short term cellaring, demands robust meat dishes to bring out it’s best and will improve with five years or more in the bottle.
2008 Fire Gully Shiraz Viognier It's a little bit tricky. Do we announce a new wine for the Fire Gully stable or an upgrade for an established favourite? For the first time, Mike Peterkin has had some Viognier available from the Fire Gully vineyard and so he's able to add a small amount to the Shiraz. He's delighted with the results. The Shiraz viognier blend – originally a Cote Rotie specialty – has become one of the most popular wine styles in Australia in the last decade or so. Co- fermentation of the Shiraz with 9.7% Viognier gives the wine more pronounced perfume and improves its texture. Mike Peterkin believes both have happened to the latest release: the 2008 Fire Gully Shiraz Viognier. It has lively wild herb and mulberry aromas, ripe plummy flavours, silky smooth viscosity and soft approachability: fresh, succulent and excellent current drinking. As usual, this estate-grown red is made from the two mature Shiraz blocks at Fire Gully - the older planted in 1992 and the other in 1997. In making the wine, Mike Peterkin uses open fermenters, and mature oak to maximise the fruitiness of the wine and make it more suitable for immediate consumption. An ideal accompaniment to beef, lamb and pasta dishes. This wine will start to be at its best in 2011 and then reward careful cellaring for a further 4 years. Serve at room temperature. Ideal cellaring temperature is a constant 14- 16 degrees Celsius.
2008 Pierro Pinot Noir This is the third very good Pierro Pinot Noir in a row with terrific wines coming from the 2005 and 2007 vintages. It is at least as good as the 2007 and possible a better wine thanks to a crackingly good harvest. This is all helped by the fact that the close planted estate pinot vines are now 28 years old. Although Burgundian vineyards are traditionally close planted, this has not been a feature of Australian plantings of the variety. Mike Peterkin believes that there's a significant concentration of flavour associated with close planting. The work of the vineyard team in tannin ripeness, which has been refined by research at Pierro in recent years, comes through in the finished wine. Traditional Burgundian methods still drive Pierro's pinot production. The grapes are hand-picked and, with the inclusion of some whole bunches, placed in open fermenters and punched down every four hours during daylight hours. After fermentation, the wine is pressed and run straight into barrel where it spent 12 months in oak before being bottled and allowed to age for an additional year before release. The 2008 Pierro Pinot has briary, brambly aromas, is soft, round and gentle with ripe mulberry, red cherry and blackberry flavours, velvety texture and fine, silky tannins. It has weight and concentration, is bright, even vibrant in the mid-palate, and is delightful current drinking, although it can be cellared, at least, in the short term. It'll be just perfect with Chinese roast duck served with some rich, earthy mushrooms and Asian vegetables or the classic Peking duck dishes.
2007 Pierro Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot
The last two vintages (2005 and 2007) have shown just how much the Pierro reds have benefited from the estate's mature vines (22 years old in 2007). As well as this, Mike Peterkin has been experimenting with tannin management andworking to encourage the development of flavour compounds in grapes early in the season and conserving them in the heat of summer. He believes that the combination of these two factors have enabled Pierro to achieve fully ripe tannins without excessive alcohols and so produce reds that have 'finesse and elegance with full flavour'. The components of the wine – 83.9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11.4% Merlot, 3.8 % Cabernet Franc, and0.8% Petit Verdot and 0.1% Malbec– are identified in the vineyard and monitored in the barrel.
As Peter Forrestal said recently “ Having lavished praise on the quality of the whites, I can’t help feeling that the reds are underrated. They’ve been pretty impressive for quite some time , but have been in the shadow of the whites. The red blocks on the vineyard are now 25 years old and show this maturity in increased concentration of flavour. The line up of the Pierro Reserve Cabernet Merlots at the 25th anniversary tasting suggests that the reds will soon attract increased attention. The 2004 is soft , round and generous, with blackcurrant, dark plum and briar flavours, velvety texture and substantial though well - integrated tannins while the 2005 has amazing power, richness and concentration and brambly, cassis flavours. Good though these are, the 2007 is a step up – the best red from the property: opulent, lush and seductive with ripe rich redcurrant, blackberry and bramble flavours, seamlessly integrating fruit, oak and tannin, wonderful velvety texture and a long lingering finish. Power and finesse.”
Peter Forrestal is a Perth –based wine writer who has a weekly wine column in the Sunday Times Magazine and contributes regularly to national and international publications including Gourmet Traveller Wine, the Qantas Magazine and Money Magazine. He is chairman of judges of Fine Wine Partners / GT Wine Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards and Gourmet Traveller Wine’s Winemaker of the Year. He has written 15 books on wine. In 2009, he was named WCA’s Australian Wine Communicator of the Year.
2005 Pierro Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Reserve The 2005 vintage for reds was certainly one of the best experienced in Margaret River and not surprisingly, Pierro’s top red is a classic cabernet blend of the finest quality. In recent years the Pierro reds have shown the benefit of mature vines (20 years of age) and the improved viticultural know –how that has come with the experience of Mike Peterkin and the team at Pierro and the experimentation in which they have engaged in recent years. This work has been concerned with encouraging the development of flavour compounds in grapes early in the season and conserving those compounds in the heat of summer. In Mike Peterkin’s view, this has enabled Pierro to achieve depth of flavour and fully ripe tannins in its reds without excessive alcohols. ‘Finesse and elegance are possible with full flavour’ he comments. The 2005 Pierro Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Reserve is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (66%), Merlot (24%), Cabernet Franc (6%), Petit Verdot and Malbec (both 2%), selected for the reserve wine in the vineyard. The reserve barrels are monitored over the 18 months which the wine spends in oak and their quality is confirmed before the wine is blended. The 2005 Pierro Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Reserve has gently brooding fragrances, rich, concentrated, briary, blackcurrant flavours, smooth texture, tight structure and fine ripe tannins and acidity with excellent integration of fruit and oak. The 2004 was more approachable and softer than the 2005, which will need time to show its best. There is an austerity that is classically cabernet, a restraint that is the Pierro hallmark, and a tightness that suggests it will benefit from further time in the bottle. It is likely to be at its best from ten years of age.
2008 Pierro Chardonnay Although yields were down for this vintage – as a result of rain, wind and hail during the flowering of the vines in October 2007 – near perfect weather in January and February saved the day. Constant warm weather before vintage with no rain and therefore no disease pressure resulted in an excellent chardonnay harvest at Pierro. Technical Details Tasting Notes.
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