2020 PIERRO CABERNET SAUVIGNON MERLOT 'RESERVE'
2020 Pierro Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Reserve
Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot
Vineyard
Grown in one of the best Margaret River vintages in a generation. Parcels of fruit are handpicked from the north facing slopes of Pierro property in Willyabrup. Each block features unique high-density narrow rows on rocky soil that slope down to the Willyabrup Brook. All vines are mature (over 30 years old), low yielding, with the canopy pruned so the fruit rests close to the earth. This leads to a lower quantity of higher quality, balanced fruit on each vine rich in concentration and flavour. All vineyard parcels are situated within 3km of the coast and are influenced by the maritime climate and fresh, pure ocean sea breezes prevalent during the growing season.
Winemaking
The fruit for this wine is handpicked over a 10 day period between late March and early April. All grapes are handpicked, chilled then both bunch and berry sorted by hand. What remains is a black caviar appearence to the resulting berries. The grapes are fermented in open fermenters, plunged by hand three times per day, with a portion left to macerate for between 30-40 days to enhance structure and flavour. 70% of the wine is matured in new French oak for a period of 18 months which has resulted in additional complexity and structure as well as helping soften the tannins. This is a 10 barrel blend of the best quality red fruit that Pierro grows from the oldest Cabernet vines on the property.
Varietal content
This wine was vintaged from four different varieties, each making a distinctive contribution.
Cabernet Sauvignon - provides power and longevity 86%
Merlot - adds richness and opulance 7%
Cabernet Franc- fragrance and delicacy 6%Malbec - 1%
Tasting Notes
A smooth, rich fullbodied red wine. With flavours of blackberry, mulberry, blackcurrant, plum and spice. Graceful and sophisticated fine tannins providing both incredible structure and length. Best served with Margaret River beef cooked over coals.
Favoured Listening
Chopin Concerto No.1 Second Movement
For the love of this glorious piece of music more than anything else .
2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Reserve
"A bright ruby fading slightly at the rim. Blackberry, bresaola and dry herbs on the nose. Medium in body but carrying an impeccable core of concentrated and red fruits. The tannins and acidity bring a seamless structure to the palate, from them are hung notes of dry spices and meaty undertones. A wine of finesse and class that is easily enjoyed now but you will reap rewards with cellaring."
95/100 - Stuart Knox - The Real Review
2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Reserve
Such a stylish and elegant expression of the '19 vintage. The extra time in bottle has been so important for this vintage, as it has allowed the wine to really knit together and begin to release its riches. Gets a boost with the acidity of the petit verdot and the perfumes of the cab franc. Beautiful palate structure and texture with an effortlessly long and languid finish.
95/100 - Ray Jordan, WA Wine Review 2024
2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Reserve
A beautifully modulated wine highlighting the fineness and elegance of the Pierro style. Never showy or loud. They are distinctive. All the best regional and varietal components are neatly combined and flow across the just medium-bodied palate. It's fragrant, the tannins are fine yet shapely and the pomegranate-like acidity keeps the length going. Screw cap. 14% alc.
95/100 - Jane Faulkner- Halliday Wine Companion
2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Reserve
The Cabernet wines from Pierro, though identifiably from Margaret River, are much lighter and more graceful than many from the region, and maybe even have more in common with Cabernet from the Yarra Valley, in terms of weight and style. Just a thought.
Medium-bodied, all red fruits, with perfume and tasteful spiced biscuit and cedar oak. It's gentle and refined, tannin sits neatly inside the wine, and they offer a baby finger grip if you swish the wine around your mouth a little. There's some cocoa and bay leaf in the mix, cool acidity, and the finish is very long and composed. It's a beautiful wine.
95+/100, Gary Walsh - The Wine Front
2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Reserve
" What a beautifully structured and elegantly poised Cabernet this wine is. Cabernet is the dominant variety but important contributions come from 15 per cent Merlot and small amounts of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, petit Verdot. Opens with a leafy red fruit and violet perfume but then the palate delivers effortlessly with brightness and energy. Dry chalky tannins complete with wine."
97/100 - Ray Jordan - WA Wine Review
2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Reserve
Mea Culpa. I most often think of Pierro as a Chardonnay producer, first and foremost, which is kind of counter-intuitive given they are situated in the heart of Willyabrup.
Nice style of wine here. Not showy, not overly tannic, more a smooth ride of ripe red fruits, biscuit oak, a little wafer of choc-mint. Medium-bodied, good flavour, mainly in the red fruit zone, a light honey sheen and glycerol feel, even flow and easy charm, yet a bit more than that too. Finish is good, nice and long, with an under-stated but confident feel. Excellent. More your subtle claret style, I reckon.
94/100 - Gary Walsh - The Wine Front
2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Reserve
Pierro’s Michael Peterkin rows his own boat, as the style of his flagship red consistently indicates. Compare it with Moss Wood, Cullen or Leeuwin Estate and it appears to have little resemblance. The colour is relatively light, medium-depth ruby with the faintest tint of purple, while the bouquet is mellow and complex, subtle and well-rounded, with great harmony of mossy undergrowth aromas with cedar, tobacco and mellow red and blue fruits. There’s a delicious fruit sweetness at the heart of the wine, the tannins fine and supple, perfectly judged to cleanse and dry the finish and add to its prodigious length. It’s great drinking now, and for many years to come. A beautiful wine.
97/100 - Huon Hooke - The Real Review