Pierro Chardonnay 2024
The Wine
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.
98 Pts Ray Jordan 'From one of Margaret River’s great chardonnay producers, this is yet another brilliant example of the style that has made Pierro so admired. You wouldn’t guess it came from a warm year—it’s delicate and fine, with a pristine brightness. The nose shows light grapefruit, citrus, a touch of butterscotch, and a subtle mealy note in the background. The palate has real zing, with lively, pristine acidity driving through to a sustained finish. A chalky, minerally edge adds to the linear feel and precision. Another outstanding Pierro chardonnay.'
The Details
Variety - Chardonnay
Country - Australia
Region - West Australia
Sub Region - Margaret River
Extra - Cork
Year - 2024
Volume - 750ml
About the Wine Maker 
Pierrot, the original sad clown, is a much loved character of European pantomime. Forever chasing an impossible dream, Pierrot is in love...
The wines of Piero are the culmination of passion, innovation, location, climate and time. Wherever Piero wines are enjoyed around the world today they invariably impart a tangible trace of their idyllic place of origin – warm southern climes, ancient soils, healthful vines and years of skilled hands-on viticulture and winemaking. For over four decades, Piero have striven to fuse these elements to produce superior wines of singular extraction, character and elegance. The quest for heightened quality continues with each passing vintage.
Pierro was the original high-density vineyard planting in Margaret River and also one of the first in Australia. Vine density ranges from 4,000 to 5,500 vines per hectare, compared to a conventional Australian vineyard of 1,900 per hectare. This was to make the vines more competitive, balance their fruit yield and promote flavour intensity.
The soils are moderately deep laterite gravel with interspersed granite, over ancient base rock with friable pink clay merging into a shattered rock layer. These granite soils are some of the most open, warm and well drained of our viticultural soils, allowing great root penetration and exploration.
The winery and winemaker are inextricably linked to the relatively short but remarkable history of Margaret River wine and today form an integral part of that narrative.
A medical practitioner as well as a fully qualified viticulturalist and winemaker, Mike juggled the two demanding vocations for 25 years. Only recently did he finish up with his duties as a country doctor to devote his energies full-time to perfecting his wines. Yet in some ways it was the a mixture of the two callings that lead to the birth of Pierro, which today is among the most acclaimed small wineries in Australia.
After graduation in medicine from the University of Western Australia in 1973 at the age of 24, Mike Peterkin decided that his love of wine and winemaking could not be ignored any longer. As if a degree in medicine wasn't enough, he attended South Australia's respected Roseworthy Agricultural College in 1976 and 1977 and gained a Diploma in Oenology.
From 1978 to 1981, he made wines at Enterprise Wines at Clare, Cullen Wines at Margaret River and Alkoomi in Western Australia's great southern region. But he had not forsaken medicine and in 1982 completed a postgraduate degree in obstetrics, gynecology and postgraduate work in anaesthetics.
Through it all he harboured a deep desire to one day produce fine wines from his own vineyard be that where it may. Margaret River was a particular interest due to some very promising wines starting to emerge from this little-known south-west corner of his home state.
