“Australian Wines with a French Accent”

April 2010

By Franz Scheurer

The Pannell Family are pleased to invite you to their Spring Release Tastings to be held in Applecross, Wednesday 12^th of May 2010 and Dalkeith foreshore Thursday 13^th of May 2010 (please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for your private invitation). A highlight of the ‘Autumn Tasting’ will be the opening of five vintages of the Picardy Shiraz for your review.

Remember on the night, each order placed will go in the draw to win a magnum of 2003 Shiraz.

The Pannell family’s notes on the 2008 vintage:

The weather in 2008 was very kind to our grapes. It was predominantly dry, with near perfect ripening temperatures, resulting in small berries. This is exactly what we were looking for to achieve a good skin to juice ratio in the fermenters for our red wines. Vigorous crop thinning helped us achieve the desired yield per hectare as well as flavours and baumé levels (the measure of sugar content).

We believe that 2008 wines from Picardy are the best wines for each variety that we have released so far.

2008 PICARDY PINOT NOIR 
Unmistakably Pinot Noir and already very approachable. In 2008 the percentage of the 777 clone used was doubled from 15% to 30% and the result is a beautifully integrated and elegant wine.

Bright crimson colour, not even a hint of the expected strawberries on the nose; rather you get cranberries and redcurrant with a hint of coffee. On the palate it showcases a whole spice cupboard with nutmeg, cumin, coriander seeds and ginger to the fore and gorgeous, forest floor undertones. The wine is a lot more layered than first impressions suggest, it grows on you and with every sip you discover another layer of spice.

Bill and Dan believe it to be the best Picardy Pinot Noir they have released so far.

Drink from 2010-2014

2008 PICARDY SHIRAZ 
Shiraz from the Pemberton area is very different to Shiraz from the Barossa or the McLaren Vale. It’s much less forceful and a lot more elegant; more Northern Rhone like.

Aromas of juniper berries, grains of star anise and cloves underpin the spicy nose, with a strong, black plum undertone. In the mouth, the first thing you notice is layered texture, changing as the wine warms up on the palate. It changes from alluring, quite light and peppery with soft tannins to almost chewable with grainy tannins. The spice notes are confirmed with a hint of white chocolate and freshly cut cedar. It finishes long with the spice slowly receding and the dark plum supplying the final note. I would expect this to easily cellar and improve for 10 years.

Drink from 2010-2020

 
2008 PICARDY MERLOT, CABERNET SAUVIGNON, CABERNET FRANC
This Merlot dominant Bordeaux blend brings an instant smile to my face: it’s gorgeous; it’s what you expect from this type of blend and more.

A slight greenness hits the nose first and then hints of arnica root, Chinese master stock and a whiff of toasted marshmallows. On the palate the savouriness is confirmed with almost meaty notes. The variety’s typical green capsicum flavours are there but very much in the background and the flavour of roasted hazelnuts battles it out with lovage and allspice. This wine will get even better with age and I can’t wait to revisit it in 5 years time.

Drink from 2010-2017

2008 PICARDY CHARDONNAY
Bright, fruit forward and exuberant, but still rather tight on first impression. This is the first Australian Chardonnay that reminds me of Louis Latour’s Corton Charlemagne, as this wine will reach a maturity unlike most of its competitors. It will reach a plateau of perfection and stay there for years, rather than change drastically each year; the exact attributes of a Grand Cru Burgundy.

Grapefruit, orange zest and butterscotch on the nose. It will tickle every sense you have once it reaches the mouth with an almost effervescent quality at first, which settles down into integrated buttery notes and citrus flavours with a hint of dried figs. As it warms up it develops undertones of musk with a hint of liquorice. It is integrated and ready to drink now but will reward a couple of year’s patience with balance and harmony.

 
2007 PICARDY TETE DE CUVEE - PINOT NOIR
The Tête de Cuvée is a pinotphile’s wine. It’s deep, dark and mysterious and easily one of Australia’s best Pinot Noirs, but will not immediately give up its secrets. It’s shy, closed and slow to open up to its full potential in the glass, and will require patience to develop. Resist the urge to drink it too young and cellar for at least 5 years for best results (the 2002 is currently drinking superbly). Made in the style of France’s great Burgundies it has complexity from many different clones and it will benefit from contact with oxygen.

Aromas of dried stone fruit, leather and tar animate the nose with dark berries and woody, earthy undertones. On the palate it is immediately mouth-filling, yet never hot, and as it washes over your tastebuds you remember a meadow in autumn, a walk through the forest at dusk and kicking up dead leaves on a stroll in the countryside in winter. This is a beautiful expression of Pinot Noir and the longer it’s in the glass the better it gets.

Drink from 2010-2025

(This wine has nearly sold out)

 
PANNELL FAMILY 2006 SHIRAZ CABERNET
The latter part of the 2006 vintage was very cool and damp, and the Pannells had problems ripening and obtaining the structure in the Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon that they would have liked. This has produced a wine which did not quite meet the Picardy quality standards so it has been declassified and is offered to the mailing list at $10 per bottle. But don’t be mistaken, this is still a very good wine for the price – indeed better than many Shiraz cabernet blends at twice the amount! It’s a great early drinking blend. The aromas are of dark plum, raspberry, leather and subtle spice. Medium bodied, the palate offers plum, raspberry, white pepper, cassis and cedary notes – all of which have a pleasant underlying sweetness, which is bonus for this cool vintage. Tannins are gentle and a little grainy and acidity is well controlled. Not a heavyweight, but a delicious friendly style for the winter months, and at a fabulous price! Great with a beef roast or hearty stew.

*Bill and Sandra, when at Moss Wood, similarly declassified the 1978 Cabernet Sauvignon which became the 1978 Moss Wood Dry Red. This wine went on to become known as one of the best value for money wines released from Western Australia.