The 2025 Picardy Chardonnay is a new release from Pemberton in Western Australia, grown on a north-facing gravel slope thirty-five kilometres from the Southern Ocean and made from Dijon clones the family brought back from Burgundy.
Bill Pannell and his wife Sandra planted Moss Wood in Margaret River in 1969 and helped establish that region's reputation. With Moss Wood secure, he sold it. In 1993 he and his son Dan started again at Pemberton, three hundred kilometres south, this time targeting Burgundian varieties. Pannell travelled repeatedly to France, at one point holding an interest in a Burgundian estate, and imported clones selected on the quality of wine they produced rather than the size of the crop they carried. The vines are close planted so the roots compete, trained low to capture the heat the gravel releases overnight, dry grown and hand picked. Dan has made the wines alongside his father since the first vintage in 1996, and three generations of the family now live on the property.
Matured in French oak with partial malolactic conversion. White peach, nectarine and citrus blossom lead, with jasmine, roasted cashew and a flinty edge behind them. The palate is medium-bodied and silky, held straight by natural acidity, carrying ripe stone fruit and lemon zest over restrained oak and creamy lees. The finish is long and savoury. Old World in intent rather than imitation.
Ben's Recommendation:
At Wine More Cellars, this is the Australian Chardonnay we recommend to people who normally buy white Burgundy. Serve at 10–12°C. Drink now or cellar for six to ten years. Excellent with roast chicken, scallops, grilled white fish, creamy pasta or soft cheeses.
