There's not another cellar door within cooee, so there will be no visitors due to ease of proximity.
Through traffic? Pretty much zero, as it's in a small township and off the main road.
And while many cellar doors feature a wide range of wine varieties, not in this case . . . six sparkling wines - yes six - form the overwhelming bulk of options, with just a couple of table wines.
But then again, Peter Went, of Pierre's Wines, has always done things his own way at his little Branxton winery, and he's not going to change any time soon.
"Nothing beats time with sparkling wine," he says.
"I am tasting my wines all the time and I don't care how long it takes, I won't release them to the public until they're ready. And I'll only disgorge so many at a time. They need to be recently disgorged to get that creamy mousse we all love."
As you've probably guessed by now, he's a sparkling wine tragic. He also has a background in science - so ask him about the chemistry of making bubbles and he's in his element.
All his sparklings, ranging in price from $60 to $120, are made in the methode traditionelle way. This is the method used in Champagne where wines are fermented individually in the bottle, which is much more time consuming, labour intensive and costly. His only nod to modern day convenience is a new-fangled riddling machine that turns the bottles every couple of hours.
Such is his patience, for example, that one of his releases, the 2015 Pinot Noir Chardonnay ($120) spent eight years gaining complexity before it was released. His accountant would be having heart palpitations.
But there's no denying it's a dazzling wine. And it would want to be. His wife Anne is the daughter of a Burgundy winemaker, so she's a tough marker.
"Anne's dad actually came out here to make wine for Penfold's out of the Dalwood Estate which went on to become Wyndham Estate," he explained as he pointed to an old black and white picture of him on the cellar door wall.
"In fact I bought this property from him."
But the question remains: how does he exist out on his own, on a quiet country town side street?
"I get a lot of repeat customers, many from Sydney," he said. "I don't get many people drive past, but those who come here are serious about their wines and happy to buy.
"When it comes time to sell, I know I'm selling a wine I'm happy with . . . that's important to me."
If table wines are more your go, he also offers riesling and a shiraz from Hilltops, a rose from Tumbarumba - he gets the fruit for his sparkling wine from there too - and Coonawarra cabernet. All were very good, the cabernet exceptional.
But for bubbles lovers in particular, it's a must visit.
WINE REVIEWS
Sparkling opener
Pierre's Blanc de Blanc
Methode Traditionelle, 2022
$60
One hundred per cent chardonnay fruit, this is one of Pierre's biggest selling sparkling wines. Like all of his bubbles, there is a distinct creaminess to the palate, and a soft, generous mousse. A zero dosage wine, the flavours tend towards apple, green mostly but with sweeter red apple highlights too, and citrus crispness. Ten per cent of the wine was oak matured bringing further texture. A good starter for any gathering.
Complex character
Pierre's Pinot Noir
Chardonnay Semillon 2022
$60
Made in the Methode traditionelle method, this is a blend of 50 per cent pinot noir, 25 per cent chardonnay - both from Tumbarumba - and 25 per cent Hunter Valley semillon. A faint pink in colour, the pinot offers strawberry and raspberry, the chardonnay green apple and citrus before the semillon comes in with some zing on the finish, adding to the overall length. Complex and rewarding.
Softly stunning
Pierre's Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
$50
The fruit for this wine comes from Coonawarra - and the '21 vintage was a beauty. It shows because the richness of flavour is obvious from the start. The flavours are pretty typical, blackcurrant and blackberry, but the standout feature is the softness of the wine - it has a lovely mouthfeel. This is the result of hand-plunging six times daily. The tannins are very fine and ripe. This wine has a long life in front of it.
