15 of Picardy’s Finest
Picardy’s Recent Record…
2020 Tête de Cuvée
”This may well be the finest Pinot Noir ever made in WA”
- Ray Jordan WA Business News September 2023
2021 Tête de Cuvée
”So, here’s the thing. The ’20 Tete was the wine Bill Pannell was waiting for most of his life. It was a wonderful wine. But the ’21 comes along and delivers a wine of equal class and refinement,”
- Ray Jordan WA Wine Review 2024
The Pinot Noirs from 2022 (New Release), the almost sold out 2021, and the long sold out 2020!
- (Respectively 96 Points Aaron Brasher, 95 Points Ray Jordan, & 96 points Ray Jordan)
The Chardonnays from 2023 (New Release) and the almost sold out 2022
- (Both 96 Points Ray Jordan)
The Shiraz from 2022 (New Release) and the almost sold out 2021
- (The 2021, 97 Points Ray Jordan)
Hosted by Dan Pannell
Lunch: Noon, 15 Wines & 5 courses $145
Masterclass: 4-6pm, 15 Wines with Nibbles $60
Dinner: 6:30pm, 15 Wines & 5 courses $145
Sunday October 20th
Context on Picardy Pinot Noir:
“The pinots in particular are consistently WA’s finest and
have proved that world class pinot can be made in this region.”
Ray Jordan
"A vanguard producer for West Australia when it comes to pinot noir."
Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
“In the 2-3 Lamont’s masked lineups of Australia’s finest pinot noirs each year, the Picardy Pinot Noirs, as a reasonably priced wildcard entrant, invariably is ranked in the top 10 of these 20-wine tastings. The majority of these wines are between $70 and $140.”
John Jens
“A few years later I was in Burgundy. Becky Wasserman was helping me
with an exhibition I had planned and one night she invited me to a dinner with some Burgundian wine makers. During the evening among some great wines one wine stood out to my very uneducated palate. Now that smells and tastes like a Pinot. It’s a bloody Aussie Pinot someone said, and the guy who made it is over there. It turned out Bill Pannell came over most years to show his wines to his Burgundian
mates.”
Milton Wordley
“To those who maintain that we can’t produce good Pinot in WA, I would
ask “why not?” The climate is as cool as the Mornington Peninsula
and our soils are (in my humble opinion) substantially superior to theirs.”
Bill Pannell
The Wine List & Menu
1st Course
Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2024, Our Price $29 (New Release)
Boisé 2021, Our Price $30
“The value here is phenomenal and a wine like this from Bordeaux would be five times the price. Pale in colour, it immediately delivers layer after layer of melon, guava and dried herb aromas wrapped up in a gentle blanket of nutty barrel ferment. Oak is a little heavy right now but that will come back in time. There is then a powerful, tight core of flavour, with vibrant acidity cutting through a deliciously creamy texture to draw out a long and sustained finish. Supreme balance overall shows this wine is built to last.”
94 Points Angus Hughson, Wine Pilot
“While Picardy quite rightly gets considerable praise for its wonderful pinots, this little guy always fascinates me. It’s the classic Bordeaux blend treated a little like they do in that region with oak maturation. There’s a creamy stone fruit richness but an edgier lemon pith nuance that balances the finish. Long finish after a deliciously textural middle palate.”
94 Points Ray Jordan, Wine Pilot
Asparagus, pomegranate, orange, Parmesan
2nd Course
Chardonnay 2023, Our Price $54 (New Release)
Lovely, lifted and complex aromas of grapefruit pith, just-ripe white stone fruit, white flowers and a lick of struck match. The palate is powerful, textured and mouth-filling, with plenty of nectarine and peach at the core, along with citrus, grilled nuts and mineral tang. Long, layered and a delicious example of chardonnay. Plenty of life ahead of it
96 Points Aaron Brasher, The Real Review (June 2024)
Chardonnay 2022, Our Price $53
This was still very tight at the time of tasting but as it breathed it opened up to reveal all that intensity and power in a deeply concentrated and supremely elegant palate. It's a fine style with an opening of lemon butter and subtle minerality. The palate has a controlled chalky character which contributes to its tight linear feel. It's from a number of different clones which have been co-fermented. Has a juicy crunchy crystalline palate feel.
96 Points Ray Jordan, rayjordanwine.com
Roasted baby carrots, white romesco, Jamon bits
3rd Course
Pannell Family Pinot Noir 2022, Our Price $34
A most pretty wine showing delightfully friendly primary red fruit characters on the nose and then into the palate. Floral notes merge with cherry and spicy slightly earthy notes. The palate is light-bodied and deliciously fruit-driven, displaying bright fruit characters. The palate is balanced with excellent tannin and oak harnessing the fruit, building relentlessly to a long finish.
93 Points, Ray Jordan, rayjordanwine.com.au
Pinot Noir 2022, Our Price $65
From this very low yielding vintage comes a classic release from Picardy, no doubt among one of its best as the clonal mix increases. What really stands out is the exceptional purity of fruit with generous aromas of dark cherry, stalky spice from 25% whole bunch (up from the usual 20%), with a dusting of damp soil, lavender and potpourri. The palate is beautifully composed with a dense core of red berry fruit underpinned by significant yet lacy tannins though to a long, savoury finish. It’s still young and brooding so definitely needs some years to fully flesh out. It’s also quite internationally styled and you’d be hard pressed to place it in Australia.
94 Points, Angus Hughson, Wine Pilot
Pinot Noir 2021, Our Price $65
Such an elegant and most beautifully pretty wine that is classically pinot in character and structure. The cooler year has held it tight and fine, yet the deeper fruit intensity emerges. The nose is a merging of cherry and spicy raspberry with a chalky limestone dusty overlay. The structure is still quite firm with chalky tannins running the show but in perfect balance. Seamlessly brought together and a wine that will benefit from extended cellaring.
95 Points Ray Jordan, rayjordanwine.com
Pinot Noir 2022, Our Price $61 (New Release)
Lifted and complex aromas of dark cherry, bramble, sap, spice, dried herbs and an earth underbrush lift. The palate delivers power, concentration and real pinosity. Lashings of red and blue fruits team seamlessly with firm, granular tannins and acidity that has real purpose and drive. Complex, layered and built for the long haul
96 Points Aaron Brasher, The Real Review (June 2024)
Tête de Cuvée 2021, Our Price $105
So, here’s the thing. The ’20 Tete was the wine Bill Pannell was waiting for most of his life. It was a wonderful wine. But the ’21 comes along and delivers a wine of equal class and refinement, but in a slightly prettier more seductive and alluring form, a product of this cooler year. Complex weave of aromas with a truffle-like subtle earth merging seamlessly with the primary dark cherry and light raspberry primary fruit characters. The palate has a deep fruit intensity, but the fine-grained oak and slightly chalky tannins pull it back to focus with precision to a long linear palate. So much promise here.
97 Points Ray Jordan, rayjordanwine.com
Tête de Cuvée 2020, Our Price $105
My oh my. I thought the 2018 was the best yet from Picardy, but this one might have just pipped it. Let me try it in another year before I get off the fence. This is power, precision and poise. A seductive perfumed aroma of cherry and raspberry and a vanillin spicy character emerging. Has a chalky minerality that threads carefully through the seamlessly structured palate carrying it to an endless finish. Just beautiful.
98 Points Ray Jordan, rayjordanwine.com
Duck rillette croquettes, salsa verde
4th Course
Shiraz 2022, Our Price $35 (New Release)
Shiraz 2021, Our Price $34
A beautifully perfumed and aromatic shiraz that sits a little closer to the syrah style in structure and weight. No matter, it has a little viognier and malbec which contribute to the initial burst on the nose. The palate is velvety smooth and integrated with a fine chalky tannin influence on the supple fruit. Gets about 18% new oak and seems to have a slightly higher toast which adds immeasurably to the finished wine.
97 Points Ray Jordan, rayjordanwine.com
Angus a la minute, black garlic butter, leafy greens
5th Course
Merlot Cabernet 2020, Our Price $30 (New Release)
Merlot Cabernet 2019 Our Price $30
This slightly more restrained vintage has contributed to a pretty and delightfully elegant wine. Has an engaging mix of light plum, cherry and licorice. On the finish a little chalky minerality adds that final tick. Love the oak and tannin integration which have contributed to the medium weight frit to create a thoroughly beautiful expression of these three varieties.
94 Points Ray Jordan, rayjordanwine.com
Merlimont 2018, Our Price $43
24 months in seasoned French oak. WA is fortunate, in that there has been a (long) string of excellent vintages, (each carrying its own attributes) over the past couple of decades. 2018 will perhaps go down as one of the greatest among them, for its seemingly unending ability to produce perfectly ripe, powerful and balanced grapes, and therefore wines. This is absolutely no exception to that, and may go down as one of the greatest Merlimonts yet. Soft, zen and perfectly ripe fruit has tannins that seem to be seamlessly countersunk; the acid a current of electricity that brings light, and the oak an invisible structure that holds it all in shape. Again, the texture is the standout here, smooth, rolling… viscous, even.
Tasting Note by Erin Larkin, Picardy.com.au
