Blended of 40% Semillon, 40% Sauvignon and 20% Chardonnay, which is a little atypical/richer than the norm due to a larger proportion of Chardonnay this vintage, the 2009 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc L.T.C. reveals pretty floral, orange blossom, honeydew melon and passion fruit aromas. Crisp, clean and with good intensity, there's some silkiness on the medium to full bodied palate and a long finish. Drink it now to 2016+. Pierro's Dr. Mike Peterkin informed me that he produces this wine in a style built to age. It is mostly stainless steel fermented with a small proportion of oak influence. From the early days, Mike set out to produce his flagship Chardonnay in a dogmatically Burgundian style, right down to naturally occurring malolactic. Funny thing was that malolactic bacteria isn't indigenous to the region, so he had to have a culture specially flown-in back in 1986 to introduce to his winery. Today the wine remains 100% barrel fermented, employing about 50% new French oak barriques and 50% one year. Bucking the recent trend in this region, it still (spontaneously) goes through 100% malolactic. Pierro does not currently have a USA importer but exports to most other major markets.

The 2008 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc L.T.C. is a more typical composition: 50% Semillon, 40% Sauvignon and 10% Chardonnay. With notes of waxy lemon, key lime, guava and a touch of toasted almond plus a little honeycomb and straw, it has great tension in the medium bodied mouth revealing crisp acidity and some minerality in the long finish. Drinking now, I anticipate that this vintage will evolve more of that pleasant honeyed/straw character over the coming 3-5 years and drink to 2017+. Pierro's Dr. Mike Peterkin informed me that he produces this wine in a style built to age. It is mostly stainless steel fermented with a small proportion of oak influence. From the early days, Mike set out to produce his flagship Chardonnay in a dogmatically Burgundian style, right down to naturally occurring malolactic. Funny thing was that malolactic bacteria isn't indigenous to the region, so he had to have a culture specially flown-in back in 1986 to introduce to his winery. Today the wine remains 100% barrel fermented, employing about 50% new French oak barriques and 50% one year. Bucking the recent trend in this region, it still (spontaneously) goes through 100% malolactic. Pierro does not currently have a USA importer but exports to most other major markets.

Blended of 50% Semillon, 40% Sauvignon and 10% Chardonnay and weighing in at a relatively modest alcohol of around 12.5%, the 2006 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc L.T.C. has lovely lemon zest and hay aromas plus some lemon curd and kumquat. Light to medium bodied, the palate is very crisp with good intensity. This backward vintage is still a little primary but is showing some evolvement with a touch of lanolin and honey-nut character in the long finish. Drink it now to 2016+. Pierro's Dr. Mike Peterkin informed me that he produces this wine in a style built to age. It is mostly stainless steel fermented with a small proportion of oak influence. From the early days, Mike set out to produce his flagship Chardonnay in a dogmatically Burgundian style, right down to naturally occurring malolactic. Funny thing was that malolactic bacteria isn't indigenous to the region, so he had to have a culture specially flown-in back in 1986 to introduce to his winery. Today, the wine remains 100% barrel fermented, employing about 50% new French oak barriques and 50% one year. Bucking the recent trend in this region, it still (spontaneously) goes through 100% malolactic. Pierro does not currently have a USA importer but exports to most other major markets.

The 2005 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc L.T.C. is today 17 years old and is showing none of the creaks or slips that older wine (especially made from Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc can show). It is grassy, taut and chalky on the nose. In the mouth, the wine is creamy and super fresh, with a nice bitter nut/almond skin phenolic curve through the finish. This is a really cool wine—they should do a museum release. It is spiny, taut, tense and linear, in a good way. This still has time to go, probably quite a lot given how it is looking today.