What exactly is it about Pemberton that polarises opinions? My views on the region’s practices and potential have certainly helped alienate me from most of the region’s winemaking community this year, so it is with considerable interest that I read the press release which accompanies the first chardonnay from the Smithbrook vineyard released under Brian Croser’s supervision. Allow me to quote directly: ‘Despite my stated belief that Pemberton is uniquely suited to the Bordeaux varieties, Chardonnay does well in the Pemberton environment albeit warmer than ideal for the most exquisite expression of the variety’. Then it gets even more interesting: ‘What Pemberton, and the South West for that matter, does to Chardonnay is create a wine of exaggerated fruit characters and particularly from this clone and soil type.’ Agree with him or not, Croser always makes good copy!
