Regions

Margaret River

Chenin Blanc

Each year, Peterkin produces one of the most interesting takes on chenin blanc. In this case, it went through both barrel and amphora after wild fermentation, then received fortnightly lees stirring. The result is a wine that retains the beautiful aromatics of chenin with a slightly citrusy melon and apple tropical character, but then builds in a texture which combines...

Margaret River

Pinot Noir

This is Peterkin’s first crack at making pinot noir, following the inspiration of working a vintage in Burgundy. I have to say, it’s a mighty good first-up effort. Mind you, his father, Mike, has been dabbling in pinot for many years with vines that are now 45 years old. It follows a reasonably typical approach, with some whole bunch fermentation...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

Peterkin has gone to Karridale, well to the south of Margaret River, to source fruit essential for creating a wine of brightness, tension, and clean natural acidity. After hand picking and whole bunch pressing, the free-run juice was fermented in a mix of new barriques and amphora. The result is a wine that displays delicacy, yet with deeply intense flavours...

Margaret River

Red Blend

I was fascinated to see what Peterkin would do with this blend of Portuguese varieties — touriga nacional, tinta cão, and sousão, from the 2023 vintage. To say I was not disappointed is an understatement. It is a brilliant wine loaded with rich, vibrant fruit, displaying slightly spicy plummy notes and dark chocolate richness. There’s energy and life coursing through...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

After hand-picking, the wine was pressed gently as whole bunches, and in the end, only free-run juice was fermented, contributing to its fineness and delicate poise. It was fermented in a mix of quartz amphora of different sizes and shapes, along with some barriques. A small portion of the wine, about 30 per cent, was fermented in new oak. The...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This 30-year-old vineyard, smack bang in the middle of Willyabrup, has always produced some of my favourite Margaret River chardonnays. After hand-picking, whole bunch pressing, and capturing the free-run juice, it was fermented in a mix of quartz amphora of different shapes and sizes and barriques. It all adds up to a wine with tremendous energy, a degree of tension,...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This is a most interesting wine, largely because of the winemaking approach. To start with Boya means stones in Noongar, the language of the Wadandi people. The fruit is handpicked, whole bunch pressed to French oak barriques with wild fermentation on full solids. That’s pretty straight forward. Now the next stage. The barrels are topped with granite stones and then...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This intriguing chardonnay comes from hand-picked fruit, wild fermented with full solids in oak barriques. Stones collected from the coast and the barrels are rolled, so granite rocks gently macerate and stir up lees and add extra surface area, increasing the texture derived from lees contact. The wine shows tremendous complexity and distinction, with a minerally, sea-spray character and a...

Margaret River

Chenin Blanc

Here’s a chenin blanc with a little bit of panache, made by wild fermentation in barrel with granite stones. That adds plenty of intrigue and complexity, from the initial take on the nose through to the crisp, minerally palate. Slightly nutty, with light stone fruit notes. The palate is textured but retains that linear precision from the natural acidity of...

Geographe

Tempranillo

Oh gosh, I do love this wine. It’s largely tempranillo with a small amount of cabernet adding structure. A hands-on approach has been adopted with handpicking, hand plunging and wild yeasts. It’s bright and fruity with vibrant red fruit characters emerging on the nose and palate. Has that subtle black fruit underlay with touches of savouriness and a little lift...

Geographe

Tempranillo

From the 52 Stones vineyard in Ferguson Valley, this tempranillo was wild-yeast fermented with whole berries and hand-plunged throughout. After gentle pressing, it matured in older French oak for nine months, again topped with stones to maintain fullness. The wine is fruity, juicy, and supple, with classic dried herb and raspberry notes. Smooth and approachable, it’s evocative of Spain and...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This is a most elegant and stylish expression of this small powerful vintage. Comes from the Rosa Park and Paganin vineyards and is 100% cabernet sauvignon. The same hands-on approach of other wines has been adopted here and the result is a beautifully integrated and expressive palate. There is a deep intensity here with a graphite, bay leaf and blackcurrant...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

A bold, expressive cabernet sauvignon. Grapes were hand-picked and wild-fermented, then matured in French oak barrels. The wine displays deep blackcurrant and cassis notes, complemented by cedar, tobacco, and a touch of dark chocolate. Firm yet velvety tannins provide structure and balance. Amazing how this has moved into a new zone with an extra year. A classic cabernet sauvignon that...

Great Southern

Riesling

An excellent riesling from this wonderful year. It’s taken from the Hayview Vineyard near Mount Barker. Lively aromas of lemon and lime with a slightly sherbet-like character. The palate is deeply intense on its linear lines to the very long finish. Has a nice crisp limestone chalky character. Crunchy and zingy in the mouth.

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Rose

The guys obviously had a bit of fun with this light to medium bodied rose. Pale onion skin colour with aromas of rose petal and light strawberry. There is texture here that comes from the use of old oak and topping with chardonnay yeast lees. The palate has a distinctive grapefruit character which extends with a fine lingering acidity to...

Margaret River

Pinot Noir

This is the palest of pale rosé styles, with just a faint hint of onion-skin blush. The wine was whole-bunch pressed and wild fermented in seasoned oak, then matured on chardonnay lees for about four months. The result is a rosé that offers more depth than a typical style, textured with complexity and some weight, yet delivered with fine elegance...

Margaret River

Pinot Noir

The colour is as pale as a pompon blonde, with just the faintest copper and onion-skin blush. It’s become one of my favourite rosés, and I think whole-bunch pressing and wild fermentation in seasoned oak have been the key. Sure, it gets just a little skin contact, but that’s the textural influence that sets this apart and shows that even...

Geographe

Tempranillo

Goodall and Jarvis get the fruit from Ferguson Valley, a region that has proved highly successful for this famous Spanish variety. Everything has been designed to enhance its soft plushness and supple fruit qualities. Wild yeast ferments, hand plunging and gentle pressing, with maturation in French oak barriques, have created a wine of medium weight but tremendous fruit flavour. It’s...

Geographe

Red Varietal

This delicious red blend of tempranillo and vermentino screams out to be drunk in the next year, while its youthful and vibrant, juicy red fruit characters are so dominant. The vermentino component went through carbonic maceration, which has brought out some lively fruit characters. It was matured in stainless steel, and it's more about enhancing the textural mouthfeel. Designed to...

Pemberton

Arneis

From the Riversdale Vineyard at Frankland River comes this mighty impressive arneis. The use of partial barrel fermentation has taken a largely fruit driven wine into another level of complexity. You still have that red apple and pear character but there is a slightly toasty infusion that adds tremendously to the final picture. Even the guys in Piedmont, which is...

Pemberton

Pinot Noir

This is an excellent pinot noir from an excellent season at Pemberton. It comes from the Channybearup Vineyard, which produces some outstanding fruit for Cherubino. The oak maturation, as the name suggests, was in foudre for about eight months. Aromas are quite beautiful, with a sour cherry and raspberry combination, then a palate that is medium-weight but with excellent structure....

Great Southern

Riesling

Now this is quite an interesting take on traditional Aussie rieslings. After hand-picking and whole bunch pressing it was partially barrel fermented. After that, there was little intervention, and the result is a pure expression of variety and vineyard. With a textured, flavoursome palate retaining its linear focus. Distinct lemon pitch aromas lift.

Great Southern

Red Blend

This is a blend of shiraz, counoise, mataro, and grenache from vineyards in the Great Southern. It was a coolish year, but in the Great Southern it allowed the fruit to ripen fully, producing some exquisite medium-bodied, generous wines offering delightful, perfumed aromas and supple, perfectly integrated palates. This is a prime example, and the combination of these four varieties...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

The sandy loam soils of this mature vineyard play out a significant point of difference from other chardonnays in the region. It was all naturally fermented in barriques of which 20% was new and then went through with regular lees stirring and 10 months in oak. It’s alive with energy from the first burst on the nose. Layered with flavours...

Margaret River

Rose

Peterkin has grabbed Burgundy by the scruff of the neck with the use of dominant pinot and about 15% chardonnay and then given this his own tweak and spin. The result is mighty good. The varieties were treated separately with wild ferments in oak. I love its delicacy but at the same time its texture and flavour with a pomegranate...

Margaret River

Rose

The indelible Nic Peterkin stamp is all over this thoroughly captivating rose style. It’s made from 40-year-old pinot nor and 20% chardonnay from Margaret River. Pressed as whole bunches and then fermented in a combination of French barriques and clay amphora. The chardonnay and pinot were fermented and matured separately until being brought together. Aromas of cranberry and pomegranate with...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

As the name suggests the fruit was sourced smack bang in the middle of Metricup in Margaret River. This is about as classically conformist as a Nick Peterkin wine can be. It was all naturally fermented in barriques after which regular lees stirring came into play. It is an engaging wine with notes of lemon curd lemon and sea spray...

Margaret River

Chenin Blanc

From a cool year Peterkin has managed to coax so much from the fruit for this impressive cabernet. The colour is deep for a start and the nose reveals fruit characters in the cherry and plummy spectrum rather than the usual varietal blackcurrant. The palate comes to life with a chalky oyster shell minerality combining with the dark fruit flavours....

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

Loads of dark fruit from this warmer vintage are captured with a deft touch to present with life and vibrancy. The nose displays a complex weave of dark fruits. The palate is quite plush and textured with layers of dark chocolate, rich dense fruits and a little leaf. Firm chalky tannins and well managed oak hold the core through to...

Margaret River

Chenin Blanc

The approach Peterkin takes lifts this chenin blanc into another zone of complexity and interest. Some of the fruit was handpicked and de-stemmed as part of wild fermentation in older French barriques and small amount in amphorae. The texture comes from the regular lees stirring. A heady floral minerally mix on the nose and a palate that displays muted fruit...

Margaret River

Chenin Blanc

If you love chenin blanc you are going to love this take on the variety. Natural fermentation in barriques and amphorae. It then had regular lees stirring which is reflected in the palate texture. The process takes much of the varietal tropical fruit characters out, but then you get other notes of vanilla bean, cashew and subtle savoury characters. And...

Margaret River

Red Blend

The blend is the Portuguese varieties touriga nacional, tinto cao and sousou. Peterkin has taken a deft approach to gently coax the delightful fragrances and flavours from these varieties. So many things happening on the nose with spicy, cloves and light plum with a subtle chocolate coating. It’s such a vibrant high energy wine with bright fruit flavours lifting from...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

A lot of things happening in the making of this super chardonnay. Initially fermented in a mix of quartz amphorae, which provides some complex influences on the fruit. Then about 20% was fermented in new oak. There is a lancing minerally pristine character here with the intricate weave of stone fruit, lime and a tickle of flint. But you go...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

Provides a striking difference from the Barrels of Metricup, as a result of the more typical gravelly loam soils of the vineyard. After handpicking it was fermented in 50% amphorae and the rest in barriques of which 30% was new. Only partial malolactic fermentation with regular lees stirring providing the textural input. A bracing and linear thread runs deep through...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This really shows some vibrant juicy sweet red fruit character which is a product of the vintage. The tannins have a firm astringency on the finish. There's a raspberry red cordial character here with vibrant high energy fruit flavours. A very pretty wine of lifted perfumes. Minerally graphite and perfumed. It also contains a small but important amount of malbec...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

A stylish and poised cabernet from a year that was kind to most cabernet regions. The texture has been built in with 100%-barrel fermentation and 23 months in a 50/50 split of new and one-year-old French barriques. Blackcurrant and cracked seashell graphite character control the nose. The palate is still quite firm held by the chalky tannins are fine and...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

The potential here is almost unlimited. In fact, it may well become the best Leeuwin cabernet yet. It's a stylish and brilliant expression of variety, location and vintage. Perfumed red and black fruits with a violet lift. Just a trace of bay leaf and a little seashell minerality. The palate is elegantly structured but there are firm fine bony tannins...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This is yet another release that shows the continual transformation of Leeuwin cabernets into now some of the very best in the region. It was a terrific year for producing fruit of exceptional varietal expression and intensity, and real balance. This is largely cabernet but again, a tiny percentage of malbec plays an important role. It's had about 50% new...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This sits on the very top shelf of the best Art Series cabernets released by Leeuwin. Of course, the season was marvellous, being slightly cooler and quite long, and it certainly suited this slightly more southern vineyard. It's allowed good, slow, well-developed ripening without going over the top. And it's contributed to a wine of real varietal energy and definition....

Margaret River

Chardonnay

White Wine of the Year 2024 It would not surprise me if this is lauded as the greatest Leeuwin chardonnay yet. You would get no argument from me. There is elegance and power here. A subtle layered wine. It was a year of great concentration and power. Has that pear and lime character which is part of the DNA. The...