2022 PIERRO CHARDONNAY
History
In the words of Jeremy Oliver, “Pierro is one of the few Australian wineries that could claim to have established a trend that many others have followed. Since the mid 1980’s Mike Peterkin has crafted a chardonnay of not only monumental power, but of simultaneously smooth and silky delivery”. The Pierro ‘style’ was first made in 1986 and refined with every subsequent vintage. Mike had initially intended to specialise in Riesling on his Willyabrup plot, so it was a tad fortuitous that Chardonnay became Pierro's most famous wine. His vine supplier had been let down on a large order of Chardonnay rootstock, approximately 5000 cuttings, and offered them to Mike at a cut price. In order to help out his friend he agreed to take them. It was an inspired decision. Today the Pierro is regarded as one of the finest Chardonnays in the region. Seeing as Margaret River is indisputably Australia!s premier Chardonnay producing region, this is a major honour.
Vineyard
Today there are five distinct blocks of Chardonnay on the property in Willyabrup, with the average vine age reaching 30 years. 90% of the Pierro Chardonnay is the Gin-Gin clone which has proven itself to produce the best quality wine and one that has been particularly successful in Margaret River. Each block features unique high-density narrow rows on rocky soil that slope down to the Willyabrup Brook and are orientated to the west and north. The vineyards are managed to maximise fruit, leaf and cane exposure to sunlight; minimise wind damage in the spring and to heighten flavour development in the summer ripening period.
Winemaking
Each parcel is hand-picked, chilled, hand-sorted and gently whole bunch pressed. There are multiple picks for this wine. With the first batches being picked for aromatic complexity and acidity and the latter picked for flavour and body. All juice is settled and then fermented in French barriques. The wine goes through a full malolactic fermentation which helps achieve superior texture, mouth feel and a more refined, persistent flavour. Lees are stirred fortnightly by hand in barrel over a period of 12 months prior to blending, settling and bottling. The result is a world class white which is well entrenched in the top Chardonnay’s of Australia.
Tasting Notes
This is a wine of great finesse yet impressive power, tight structure yet generosity of flavour. Ripe melony, peachy characters yet noticeable restraint and subtlety. An unctuous mouth-feel yet with taut, fine acidity on the finish. It will start to be at its best about June 2024 and will continue to mature gracefully for another 10 years. An ideal accompaniment to seafood and white meat dishes. Ideal cellaring temperature is a constant 14-16 degrees celsius.
Favoured Listening
Delibes’ Flower Duet
Harmony; delicate elegance balanced perfectly with richness, depth and hidden power. Long lingering finish that leaves one feeling delightfully pensive and soothed.
2022 Pierro Chardonnay
Another sensational Peterkin chardonnay that displays the winery and vineyard DNA of richness and texture. It's a powerful statement from this vintage which produced fruit of great intensity. It shows on the palate, but then the use of oak holds it in, and the crunchy, slightly chalky cracked seashell acidity brings it even closer. Very long palate is keenly defined. A beauty.
98/100 - Ray Jordan - WA Wine Review 2024
According to Pierro’s website, the music to play while tasting this wine is Delibes’ Flower duet from the opera Lakmé, described, in part, as “balanced perfectly with richness, depth and hidden power. Long lingering finish that leaves one feeling delightfully pensive and soothed.” Reads like a tasting note for the wine. Yet who sings the duet is important – my favourite recording is the incomparable Dame Joan Sutherland and Jane Berbié. Like the Dame, this wine is powerful, rich and precise. It’s full-bodied and layered with ripe stone fruit, nutty, creamy lees and spicy oak, and yet, the super-tight acid line seems to corral all those overt flavours into submission driving to a long, resounding finish while allowing moreish, savoury aspects to rise – lemon-lime freshness cleansing the palate. Impressive.
95/100 - Jane Faulkner - Halliday Wine Companion
Wonderful to lift such a lightweight bottle!
Peach, pear and fennel, spiced butter cashews, flinty top note, a little saline with it.Lively acidity and chalky dusty texture, creamy with some tropical accents, and a lime-laced finish of excellent length. Such regal carriage and delivery of bold Chardonnay flavour.
95/100 - Gary Walsh - The Wine Front
2021 Pierro Chardonnay
Hailing from one of the most scenic wine regions in the world where earth and water collide, this Margaret River chardonnay sits in the top handful of producers. Most Margaret River chardonnays are based on the Gin Gin clone which is thought to trace its origins back to Meursault.
It’s a decadently styled wine with alluring aromas of brioche, button mushrooms, golden delicious apples and cigarbox spice. On the palate, intense flavours wash across—honeyed stone fruits, freshly baked sourdough and crème patissière are tailed by saline flavours that delight. Year after year, it’s clear that this is not only one of Margaret River’s best wines but also Australia’s.
96/100 - Gabrielle Poy - The Real Review
2021 Pierro Chardonnay
"Cooler season has resulted in this distinctly linear almost Burgundy-like expression of Margaret River Chardonnay. It's one of the tightest Pierro Chardonnays that I can recall, but I suspect it will age to reveal some of those beautiful vineyard qualities. Chalky minerality with a little butterscotch and sauvery notes turning the screws to tighten a focussed finish. Beautifully integrated palate."
97/100 - Ray Jordan - WA Wine Review 2023
2020 Pierro Chardonnay
SIMPLY STUNNING
"The intensity of this super chardonnay was evident the moment I screwed the top off. Wow. This captures so much of the character of this excellent, small Margaret River vintage. It’s delicate, yet it has so much power driving through the palate. Butterscotch and white peach with an edge of nectarine work in harmony. The oak treatment is excellent, providing such control. Mike Peterkin has been making great chardonnay for years, but this one might just be the best yet. "
98/100 - Ray Jordan - The West Australian2020 Pierro Chardonnay
"I’d say the best Margaret River Chardonnay wines combine richness of flavour and power, with fresh acidity. Well, that’s what you have here. All the stone fruit, ripe pear, nougat, hazelnut and spice, with subtle struck match, and maybe a sizzle of grapefruit. It has a slippery glycerol feel, but pulls tight and flinty, a spiced honey biscuit thing happening too, oatmeal, and a crisp long finish of superb length. Lovely. Powerful, But kind of calm too. And soothing."
96/100 - Gary Walsh - The Wine Front
“Pierro chardonnay is one of my go-to recommendations for 'fine' examples of Australian chardonnay, mostly unswerving in its personality, expression of the grape, power and presence in the glass.”
Mike Bennie - The Wine Front“Pierro chardonnay is the role model for so many of Australia’s more opulent and hedonistically proportioned chardonnays and is a stunning expression of Margaret River Chardonnay”
Jeremy Oliver