Essence

The wines of Pierro are the culmination of passion, innovation, location, climate and time. Wherever our 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, we have striven to fuse these elements to produce superior wines of singular extraction, character and elegance. Our quest for heightened quality continues with each passing vintage.

Location

We are fortunate in that our beautiful Willyabrup vineyard is located in what is widely regarded as amongst the finest wine grape growing terrain in the world. Located in the heart of Western Australia’s renowned Margaret River wine region, this far-flung locality has a viticultural pedigree second to none.

Surrounded by open water on three sides between capes Leeuwin and Naturaliste, the wine region is almost completely free of pollutants and contaminants. Year-round it is swept by pure, cool sea breezes, blowing in off the Indian and Southern Oceans. Mild, wet winters and sun-splashed summer seasons add to the viticultural equation.

Vineyard

Mike was anything but conventional when it came to establishing Pierro. In fact, in many areas of the vineyard he went completely against the customary methodology.

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.

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.

Irrigation at Pierro is different from other vineyards in Margaret River. Mike attempts to reproduce natural rainfall patterns when watering, giving the vines a good drink when they need it, rather than trickle or drip-feeding. This mimics a typical summer shower.

Soil, aspect, and a high number of vines per hectare are the critical factors for achieving high quality at Pierro. The vines all face the sun on the mid- to low slopes of the rolling gravel hills formed by the dissecting creek system. The vineyards are managed to maximise fruit, leaf and cane exposure to sunlight; minimise wind damage in the often blustery southern spring; and to heighten flavour development in the summer ripening period.

As it turned out, this lovely Margaret River vineyard, first planted in 1980, now produces a delightful array of wines, including of course one of the world’s most coveted chardonnays.

Founder

Mike emphasises the primacy of viticulture in determining wine quality. For him, winemaking involves team effort, with everything from pruning to hand-picking to bottling contributing to the character of the finished wine. Here is a man who doesn’t crush grapes; he hugs them into the bottle.

Mike also continues to develop the winery with state-of-the-art technology. The winemaking philosophy has always been to combine the traditional hand made techniques of the Old World with the modern technology of the New World. Therefore all the fruit is picked carefully by hand and then chilled before pressing to retain the fruit flavours and aromas. The fruit is then handled in the winery in small batches so each particular vineyard area can receive the attention it deserves.

The result of all this planning, design and hands-on innovation is amply expressed in the Pierro wines.

In the words of Jeremy Oliver, one of Australia’s most highly respected wine writers: “Pierro is one of the few Australian wineries that could claim to have established a trend that many others have followed. Since the mid-1980s Mike Peterkin has crafted a Chardonnay of not only monumental power, but of simultaneously smooth and silky delivery.”

“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.”