Picardy Tete De Cuvee Pinot Noir 2023

Accolades

98 Points – Ray Jordan

This is the best of the best from the panel and a wonderful testament to the endless pursuit of great pinot in Australia. In fact, great pinot anywhere. It’s a wine that combines all the essential elements of pinot. It’s elegant, it’s refined, yet ultimately it is still powerful and defined. Red fruits and earthy characters on the nose, a little savouriness, and a touch of lifted florals. The palate is quite firm and still reasonably tight, but with that warm fleshiness around it, it’s sustained through to a very long, purposeful finish. This wine just got better and better the longer it was opened, so there’s a message there.

Tasting Notes

• Appearance: Youthful red with excellent depth and brightness.
• Aromatics: Red fruits, ripe pomegranate, cherry and blackberry are joined by lifted floral perfume.
• Savoury complexity: Freshly turned earth, black tea, dried mint, smoky notes and gentle forest-floor characters provide contrast to the fruit.
• Spice: Blood orange zest, paprika, exotic spice and subtle cedar add further layers.
• Palate: Medium-bodied, concentrated and tightly controlled, with soft red fruit surrounding a firm structural core.
• Texture: Warm and fleshy through the middle, balanced by earthy, finely grained tannins.
• Freshness: Sappy acidity and sweet-and-sour fruit characters bring energy and definition.
• Finish: Exceptionally long and purposeful, with lingering red fruit, earth, spice and fine tannin.
• Development in the glass: Initially reserved, but increasingly expressive and complex with extended air.

Wine Details

• Vintage: 2023
• Variety: 100% Pinot Noir
• Region: Pemberton, Western Australia
• Vineyard: Picardy’s single estate vineyard
• Aspect: Gentle north-facing slope
• Altitude: Approximately 250 metres
• Distance from the Southern Ocean: Approximately 35 kilometres
• Soil: Deep, well-drained gravelly loam with ironstone influence
• Viticulture: Unirrigated, cane-pruned and hand-picked
• Number of Pinot Noir clones: 11
• High-density block: 0.1 hectares planted at 10,000 vines per hectare
• Additional fruit: Selected from the main Picardy Pinot Noir block
• Maximum yield: Below 5 tonnes per hectare
• Cold maceration: Longer than Picardy’s standard Pinot Noir program
• Whole bunches: 30%
• Oak maturation: 10 months
• Barrel age: New to four-year-old oak
• Filtration: Very lightly filtered
• Alcohol: 13.5%
• Bottle size: 750ml
• Serving temperature: Approximately 14 to 16°C
• Decanting: At least 60 minutes when young
• Cellaring: Ray Jordan recommends up to 14 years from release

Food Pairing 

• Roast duck: Pinot Noir’s acidity and red fruit are natural partners for rich duck meat and crisp skin.
• Duck breast with cherry sauce: Cherry and red fruit in the sauce reflect the wine’s fruit while its acidity balances the richness.
• Mushroom risotto: Earthy mushrooms complement the wine’s forest-floor, tea and savoury characters.
• Roast quail: A refined pairing that will not overwhelm the wine’s floral perfume and fine structure.
• Lamb loin: Particularly good with herbs, mushrooms or a light red wine sauce.
• Pork tenderloin: Try it with roasted apple, fennel or earthy root vegetables.
• Salmon: Pinot Noir has enough freshness to work with grilled or roasted salmon, particularly when served with mushrooms or beetroot.
• Beetroot and goat cheese: The earthy sweetness of beetroot and tangy cheese suit the wine’s red fruit and savoury edge.
• Truffle dishes: Truffle naturally reflects the mature, earthy complexity Pinot Noir can develop.
• Soft washed-rind cheese: The wine’s acidity and savoury characters balance a creamy, aromatic cheese.

How We Store This Cork-Sealed Wine

You might not think about how your wine was stored before it reached you, but we do. How a cork-sealed bottle is stored can influence how well it retains its freshness, character and ageing potential.

Why Should Cork-Sealed Wine Be Stored on Its Side?

Storing wine on its side keeps the wine in contact with the cork, helping it remain moist, swollen and tightly sealed.

If a natural cork dries out and begins to shrink, unwanted air may gradually enter the bottle. This can cause the wine to age prematurely, lose its freshness and fruit character, or eventually become oxidised.

Temperature stability is also important. Regular temperature changes can cause the wine, bottle and closure to expand and contract, placing additional pressure on the seal. Keeping the bottle lying down in a temperature-stable environment helps protect the wine and allows it to develop as the winemaker intended.

Why Do Retailers Often Store Wine Upright?

Upright bottles are easier to display, allow customers to see the labels and require less specialised storage space. They are also quicker and easier for retailers to organise and pick from shelves.

For wines that sell quickly, a short period standing upright is unlikely to be a major concern. However, premium, limited-release and cellar-worthy wines may remain in storage for much longer. When you are spending good money on a special bottle, its storage history matters.

Proper horizontal storage requires more space and is less convenient for the retailer, which is why it is not always prioritised.

The Partners in Wine WA Difference

Every wine sealed under natural cork is stored lying down in our temperature-stable environment from the time it arrives until it leaves for its new home.

It takes up more room and requires greater care, but we believe it is worth doing properly. Whether you plan to open the bottle this weekend or keep it for a special occasion, you can be confident that it has been carefully stored while in our possession.

It is one of the small but important differences that comes from buying your wine from a specialist Western Australian wine retailer.

One qualification: I would only use this wording when you know the bottle has a natural cork. For DIAM, synthetic cork or other alternative closures, we may want to adjust the language slightly.