With Petaluma’s recent purchase of 51% of the state-of-the-art 60 ha Smithbrook Vineyard, chief executive Brian Croser is set to challenge the entrenched local wisdom that the new Pemberton-Majimup region of WA is destined to become a specialist grower of chardonnay and pinot noir. Croser is set to use the 1998 vintage as trial to see which varieties perform best at Smithbrook at cropping levels sustainable for high quality wine and says he would not be at all surprised the later varieties of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and shiraz won out. Although Petaluma’s intention is to persevere with the chardonnay and pinot noir sold under the Smithbrook brand, the company may yet establish a parallel brand using Bordeaux varieties. It has also to determine the fate of the 650 tonnes produced by the vineyard which to this point have been sold to other makers. ‘Pemberton ripens a month earlier than Piccadilly (Adelaide Hills) and two weeks earlier than the Yarra Valley’, he says. ‘Although heat summation figures suggest a climate cooler than Coonawarra, its early start to the season means it’s not necessarily a cool climate for chardonnay and pinot noir which are harvested in February and early March.’ There are currently around 580 ha of vines at Pemberton, located roughly midway between the Margaret River and Great Southern areas. Its largest maker is presently the Salitage brand owned by John Horgan, while its largest vineyard is a 94 ha development owned by BRL Hardy. Smithbrook, the region’s third-largest vineyard, was initially established by the founder of Moss Wood, Bill Pannel, backed by a Sydney-based consortium whose other vineyard holdings include the Domaine de la Pousse d’Or in Burgundy. Petaluma’s takeover values the vineyard and surrounding land in the 107 ha property at $4.5 million. It retains an option to increase its ownership to 70%. Pemberton is blessed with reliable rainfall and free draining, ironstone and gravel soils of low fertility and has become an important grape supplier to wine makers based in other regions, several outside WA. The ripe, juicy flavours of its fruit is commonly deployed to beef up and add complexity to WA multi-regional blends or wines made elsewhere using the permissible 15% of fruit permitted from other regions under present Australian labelling regulations. Croser agrees with the view that Pemberton’s progress in a crowded quality market has been retarded by high cropping levels and the youth of its vines, although the chardonnays of both Salitage and Smithbrook have shown considerable potential as forward, faster-developing styles. Newly-released chardonnay and some promising pinot noir from smaller vineyards like Batista, Bronze Wing Estate and Picardy have given a considerable boost to the region’s profile. Expact Brian Croser’s arrival at Smithbrook and his anticipated future role as a regional champion, not to mention the fact that Len Evans is once again on Petaluma’s payroll, should ensure that Pemberton becomes as well known as the other more established premium WA regions. ‘Pemberton is as still unproven’, he says. ‘We haven’t seen what it’s capable of. The best is yet to come.’
