Recently JS Humphrey published a fantastic article on 'The Wine Front' on the state of Australian Chardonnay. With a team, he tasted 30 of the best Australian Chardonnay's reviewed on 'The Wine Front' and wrote his thoughts on the current scene in Australia. We have reprinted a small selection of his notes below relating to Pierro. Please see the article link above for more information.
The Australian premium Chardonnay scene is currently a dynamic one. This is reflected in the presence of the newer producers of premium Chardonnay included in the current Review line-up – such as Granjoux, Gentle Folk Wine and Place of Changing Winds. It is also reflected in the activities of many of the established producers of premium Chardonnay in the Review line-up and Chardonnay producers, winemakers and their teams more generally who restlessly continue to make small changes to their viticultural and winemaking practices in their ongoing, perhaps never-ending, quest to make better Chardonnays for consumers.
The Review Tasting line-up
The 2023 Review tasting line-up consisted of the following thirty wines:
Pierro VR Reserve Chardonnay 2020 GW 97
Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2021 GW 97
Giaconda Estate Vineyard Chardonnay 2021 GW 97+
Bannockburn SRH Chardonnay 2021 CM 96
Granjoux Chardonnay 2021 CM 96
Penfolds Reserve Bin A Chardonnay 2021 (DWWA Winner)
Ashton Hills Reserve Chardonnay 2022 CM 96
Giant Steps Tarraford Chardonnay 2022 CM 96
Giant Steps Applejack Chardonnay 2022 CM 96
Murdoch Hill ‘The Rocket’ Chardonnay 2022 MB 96
Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay 2022 GW 96
Montalto ‘The Eleven’ Chardonnay 2022 CM 96
Gentle Folk Piccadilly Chardonnay 2022 MB 96
Tolpuddle Vineyard Chardonnay 2022 MB 96
Bannockburn SRH Chardonnay 2022 CM 97
By Farr Chardonnay 2022 CM 96
Bodega Chacra Chardonnay 2022 GW 96
Savaterre Chardonnay 2022 GW 97
Sorrenberg Chardonnay 2022 MB 97
Cobaw Ridge Chardonnay 2022 MB 96+
Sentio Beechworth Single Vineyard Chardonnay 2022 CM 96
McHenry Hohnen Burnside Chardonnay 2022 GW 96
Giaconda Estate Vineyard Chardonnay 2022 GW 97+
Place of Changing Winds Larderdark Chardonnay 2022 MB 96
Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay 2022 CM 96
Stella Bella Luminosa Chardonnay 2022 (DWWA Winner)
Tapanappa Tiers Chardonnay 2023 GW 96
Tapanappa Tiers 1.5M Chardonnay 2023 GW 96
Cullen Kevin John Chardonnay 2023 GW 96
Bubb + Pooley Chardonnay 2023 GW 96
In terms of regional distribution, the Review tasting line-up featured:
Seven (7) Chardonnays from the Adelaide Hills (the Ashton Hills Reserve, the Murdoch Hill ‘Rocket’, the Gentle Folk Piccadilly, the two Tapanappa Tiers, the Tapanappa Tiers 1.5M and the Penfolds Bin A Reserve),
Six (6) Chardonnays from the Margaret River (the Pierro VR, the Leeuwin Estate Art Series, the Stella Bella Luminosa, the McHenry Hohnen Burnside, the Vasse Felix Heytesbury and the Cullen Kevin John);
Six (6) Chardonnays from Beechworth (the two Giacondas, the Granjoux, the Sorrenberg, the Savaterre and the Sentio);
Three (3) Chardonnays from Geelong (the two Bannockburn SRH’s and the By Farr);
Two (2) Chardonnays from the Yarra Valley (the Tarraford and Applejack from Giant Steps);
Two (2) Chardonnays from Macedon (the Cobaw Ridge and the Place of Changing Winds);
Two (2) Chardonnays from Tasmania (the Tolpuddle and the Bubb + Pooley) and
One (1) Chardonnay from each of Argentina (the Bodega Chacra) and the Mornington Peninsula (the Montalto ‘Eleven’).
Tasting Results
The results of the tasting were as follows:
97 – 97+ Giaconda Estate Vineyard Chardonnay 2021, Cullen Kevin John Chardonnay 2023, Giaconda Estate Vineyard Chardonnay 2022, Pierro VR Reserve Chardonnay 2020, Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2021, Murdoch Hill ‘The Rocket’ Chardonnay 2022 and Granjoux Chardonnay 2021.
96 – 96+ Sorrenberg Chardonnay 2022, Savaterre Chardonnay 2022, Tolpuddle Chardonnay 2022, By Farr Chardonnay 2022, Tapanappa Tiers Chardonnay 2023, Montalto ‘The Eleven Chardonnay 2022, Tapanappa Tiers Chardonnay 2022, Bannockburn SRH Chardonnay 2022, Gentle Folk Piccadilly Chardonnay 2022, McHenry Hohnen Burnside Chardonnay 2022, Sentio Beechworth Single Vineyard Chardonnay 2022, Place of Changing Winds Larderdark Chardonnay 2022, Bodega Chacra Chardonnay 2021.
95+ – 96 Penfold’s Reserve Bin A Chardonnay 2021, Giant Steps Applejack Chardonnay 2022, Cobaw Ridge Chardonnay 2022, Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay 2022, Giant Steps Tarraford Chardonnay 2022, Bannockburn SRS Chardonnay 2021, Stella Bella Luminosa Chardonnay 2022, Tapanappa Tiers 1.5M Chardonnay 2023, Bubb + Pooley Chardonnay 2023, Ashton Hills Reserve Chardonnay 2022.
As you would expect, the Chardonnays in the top group all showed very well on the day. In a tasting such as this, it only takes one poor(/er) score from a Panel member to make a difference in the group of wines in which a particular Chardonnay finishes. To finish in the top group a wine must score consistently highly. As might be expected there can be and were some reasonable variations in the scoring of individual wines between Panel members.
The 2020 Pierro VR Reserve Chardonnay is another very special expression of Wilyabrup Chardonnay. All the intensity the Gingin clone is famous for with lemon and lime citrus, white stonefruit and notes of brioche, nougat and spice. Lovely texture and it seemed that just as the richness started to build, it was gone as the wine gripped the palate and powered through to a very long finish. One of Michael Peterkin’s best.
The Margaret River
‘Many roads lead to Rome’ – or so it seems when it comes to premium Chardonnay from the Margaret River. The Chardonnay Master™ favoured each of the 2020 Pierro VR Reserve Chardonnay and the 2021 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay with 97-point ratings. Though the ratings were similar, there were important differences in the vinification of the two wines.
The Pierro wine used hand-picked fruit which was whole bunch pressed with the juice fermented in French oak barriques using a mix of natural and cultured yeasts and was allowed to undergo a full malolactic fermentation. The Pierro had 12 months in 100% new French oak during which regular bâtonnage was undertaken. The wine was then bottled and cellared until release.
The LEAS on the other hand used fruit that was both hand and machine picked. Destemmed fruit was held on skins and combined with components of whole bunch pressed parcels. After racking and settling the juice was inoculated with yeast and is always fermented using 100% new French oak barriques with malolactic fermentation being prevented. After 11 months in barrel the various components were blended, fined and bottled. Again, the wine was the cellared until release.
In summary, the quality of the Australian Chardonnays in the Review line-up this year was collectively a small but discernible ‘step up’ and was at an all-time high.
This is just a small summary and selection of the entire article, with the key pieces that relate to Pierro. Please read the JS Humphry's full article on the wine front HERE.
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