A historical guide to Pierro Chardonnay 2002-2025

The following tasting is to guide those customers who have cellared the Pierro Chardonnay over the last 20 or so years. It will provide a guide on whether to open the bottle, what to expect and context on the vintage. The tasting hosted 15 September 2026 with Ray Jordan, Mike Peterkin and Erin Larkin. Pierro Chardonnay under screw cap, cellared correctly (constant 14–16°C), ages beautifully for over 20 years. All wines under screw cap, cellared in the Pierro cellar, colour consistent unless noted. Notes below written by Nic Peterkin.

N = Nose   P = Palate   V = Vintage conditions

2002  93–95 Points – Drink

N: Marzipan, caramel, grass, apple pie, opening up to honey and butterscotch.

P: Freshness, acidity, line; lacks a little length. Luscious mouthfeel — still fresh, lovely, clean; aged very well.

V: A dry winter was followed by early-summer rainfall and cooler-than-average temperatures across the growing season. Harvest was earlier than average.

2003  92–96 Points – Drink

N: Riper peach characters, stone fruits — very much the Pierro style on the nose. Intense but less complex than 2002, showing more development.

P: Full of flavour, round and moreish.

V: A warm, early season characterised by rapid flavour and sugar development. Most varieties reached ideal ripeness at the same time, placing considerable pressure on picking. Harvest dates were earlier than average.

2004  94–95 Points – Drink

N: Complex, lifted, vanilla, butterscotch.

P: Intensity, fruit sweetness and freshness; length lingers on the late palate, giving you the “mmmm, more” moment.

V: An uncharacteristically cool start to the growing season was followed by warmer temperatures in spring and early summer. Heatwave events in January sped up the timing of the vintage, and harvest was early and compressed.

2005  98–99 Points – Drink/Hold

N: Slightly subdued on the nose to begin, but incredible subtle complexity opens up — straw, fresh flowers, floral, hints of beeswax.

P: Perfect, seamless balance, elegance, flavour front to back. All class.

V: Classic Margaret River vintage. Even ripening across the growing season produced whites with exceptional flavour. Scattered rain events in March required careful vineyard management. Harvest dates were on average.

2006  94–96 Points – Drink/Hold

N: A different nose to the rest — Granny Smith, toffee apple, apple pie, lemon and lime.

P: Beautiful line and acidity, with a texture distinct from the other wines in the bracket. A very cold vintage with tight acidity.

V: The coldest Margaret River vintage on record. Unseasonably wet and cool summer conditions delayed ripening and lowered yields; wet weather before harvest increased disease pressure. Harvest dates were 2–3 weeks later than average.

2007  92–95 Points – Drink

N: Ripe stone fruits, pineapple, honey — less complexity than the others.

P: Riper, sweeter, viscous; lacks the line and length of the others in the bracket. Still fresh, but lacks their elegance.

V: A drier-than-average winter was followed by a dry start to spring that sped up flowering. Harvest dates were 1–2 weeks earlier than usual — the earliest start to harvest in Margaret River viticultural history until 2015/2020/2024.

2008  97–99 Points – Drink

N: Wow — complex, beautiful Pierro-esque terroir; you could just smell this wine and be content. Honey, hay, straw, beeswax, florals, butterscotch, vanilla, stone fruit, apple.

P: The nose leads into something exciting. Balance, power, intensity, texture, length and line — but composed. The finish brings you back to the beginning. This is class: inspirational and aspirational, world-class Chardonnay.

V: Classic Margaret River vintage. Mild weather, even ripening and low disease pressure allowed excellent fruit quality. Yield was slightly down on 2007. Harvest dates were on average.

2009  93–96 Points – Drink

N: Subdued — lemon, lime, green apple, beeswax, chalk.

P: Texture, freshness, flavour; reminds me of St Aubin Burgundies — purity. No new oak, because of the GFC. Really interesting to see Pierro without new oak — you see the vineyard and the purity, though you lose the lift the oak gives. “Purity” is the word that comes to mind; happy to see the wine like this and see the contrast.

V: One of the standout vintages of the period, particularly for white wines. Good winter and spring rainfall was followed by a dry, warm summer with relatively few extreme heat events — a classic Indian summer that allowed fruit to ripen steadily.

2010  98–99 Points – Drink/Hold

N: Subtle but with real lift — elegant and alluring. Light butter on toast with a touch of honey. Very complex, leading into the wine.

P: Silky, balanced, soft, delicate — so much to like. Possibly a little warm on the finish, but in a way that gives you a cuddle. Erin Larkin and Ray Jordan's highlight of the vertical.

V: Dry and warm conditions during berry development from late November onwards provided near-perfect ripening conditions. Comparatively cooler weather in January/February delayed harvest.

2011  96–97 Points – Drink/Hold

N: Vanilla, lift, butterscotch, nectarine skin.

P: Subtle, length, line, beautiful.

V: The growing season was initially cool and dry through late winter; spring was wet and was followed by a warm, dry summer. Harvest dates were earlier than average.

2012  94–96 Points – Drink

N: Lemon, lime, butterscotch, grasses and floral notes.

P: Fruit sweetness and a little more texture, but lacking the line and length of the classic Pierro style.

V: A standout, classic Margaret River vintage. Settled, warm conditions brought harvest forward by 2–3 weeks on average for both whites and reds. Disease pressure was minimal.

2013  94–96 Points – Drink/Hold

N: Marzipan, vanilla, apple, apple pie.

P: Honey, cereal bran, textural notes.

V: Consistent, good growing conditions through spring and summer led to good fruit set and even ripening. Some hot days from early January to late February led to intense fruit flavours. Harvest timing was on average, with very little disease pressure.

2014  96–97 Points – Drink/Hold

N: Green apple, cut grass, lift, apple, kaffir lime, butterscotch, lemon curd.

P: Fresh acidity, lovely and pure — intensity, flavour, full texture, finishing a little warm.

V: Excellent growing conditions led up to this vintage. Some spring storms affected flowering, lowering crop levels. Harvest timing was on average.

2015  96–98 Points – Drink/Hold

N: Subtle but complex and elegant — beeswax, straw, hay, butterscotch, apple.

P: Delicate balance of fruit and spice; texture, length, line and balance.

V: A lower-yielding year characterised by cool conditions and rain during spring and early summer, affecting flowering and berry development. One of the earliest white-wine vintages on record to date.

2016  94–97 Points – Drink

N: Takes a little time to open up — marzipan, subtle complexity.

P: A pleasure to drink; lightness with power, freshness and elegance — length, line, acidity, texture.

V: Good early winter rains were followed by a dry spring with warmer-than-average temperatures. Summer was generally fine, with slightly above-average temperatures in January and February; cooler conditions in March slowed ripening.

2017  94–95 Points – Drink

N: Floral lift, stone fruits, lime and lemon.

P: Yummy, fruit sweetness, round — lacks the finesse of 2015/2016, but kept coming back to it. An enjoyable drink.

V: Similar to 2019. Higher-than-average winter rainfall and a cool spring delayed budburst. Warm summer conditions were followed by moderate rain in February, presenting some disease pressure.

2018  98–99 Points – Drink/Hold

N: Pierro-esque aromas, terroir, white peach, stone fruit — complex.

P: Balanced, perfect — texture, line, length. Reflective of the year. Not the top of the tasting for me, but it's the average, the classic Pierro style — one I'd point to when telling drinkers what to expect.

V: Recognised as one of the best-ever Margaret River vintages. Heavy winter rains were followed by a modest spring; a long Indian summer with very few significantly hot days resulted in perfect harvest conditions and fruit quality. Harvest timing was on average.

2019  94–96 Points – Hold

N: Soil, earth, coolness — aromatically different, less ripeness, more coolness. Wet stone, chalk, etc.

P: Less intense, elegant, pretty; lovely and fresh. Stone and texture — quite similar to 2017.

V: A comparatively late and long season. Mild, cooler spring and summer conditions were followed by a rain event in January, delaying harvest by 2–3 weeks. Minor rainfall and high humidity in March presented some disease pressure. Very similar in style to 2017.

2020  97–99 Points – Drink/Hold

N: Power, intensity, flavour — honey, blossom, lanolin, Geraldton wax.

P: Flavour intensity, silky, a very powerful, beautiful wine — length and line. Pure power.

V: One of the earliest and lowest-yielding vintages on record. A wet winter with 30% above-average rainfall was followed by a warmer-than-average spring. High summer temperatures caused one of the earliest harvest starts on record.

2021  94–96 Points – Hold

N: A hint of orange blossom, orange rind, mandarin, honey.

P: A tickle of burnt-honey bitterness; intense, flavourful, elegant, pretty, yummy and fresh — not reflective of the cold year. An awesome wine from this vintage.

V: A challenging season with unusually high spring rainfall, followed by warm, dry conditions through early summer. Significant rain during February and the resultant humidity increased disease pressure across the region.

2022  95–97 Points – Drink/Hold

N: Floral lift, soft, less complex, incredible intensity — peaches and white nectarine.

P: Beautiful, elegant, fresh, lovely — a classic Pierro Chardonnay.

V: Steady winter rains were followed by a wet and cloudy spring that continued through to late November, delaying the season by three weeks. Dry, clear summer conditions followed; early white harvests were around a week later than usual.

2023  98–99 Points – Hold

N: Tension — lime, lemon, lemon skin, lemon flowers, apple flower, green apple, fresh flowers; so much going on.

P: The 2023 has the hallmarks of an incredible vintage — tension waiting to jump off the edge of flavour, power and time. Elegant, delicate and composed. An incredible vintage; one of the best going, and likely to end up the best of the Pierro vintages. Just needs a bit more time.

V: One of the best Margaret River vintages in the last 50 years. Winter temperatures were lower than average and budburst was delayed by 2–3 weeks on average. Mild temperatures and dry conditions through December and January allowed very even ripening.