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This is the first time I have tasted the 2023 Definitus Pinot Noir Foggy Hill, and it leads with the clarity and singularity of the 2023 Pinot Noir Foggy Hill Vineyard. Here, the wine has more depth and layers to it, but it has the same freshness and character. This is excellent. 13.6% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. The grapes were harvested on April 18, 2023, from a season with a heat summation of 1,261 degrees Celsius days. The fruit was fermented without whole bunches, with a 16-day fermentation followed by five days of post-fermentation maceration. The wine was aged for eight months in French oak barriques, one-third of which were new, before being bottled in December 2023. It has a pH of 3.56 and 5.8 grams per liter of total acidity. These details are drawn from notes provided by Tapanappa.

94 Points

The 2025 Pinot Noir Foggy Hill Vineyard is floral and fresh, spicy and textural. I like the middle palate here; although the fruit has ripeness, the encasement of tannin provides freshness and space here, and the fruit feels quite verdant. It’s al dente and good. 14.2% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. The grapes were harvested on February 27, 2025, from a season with a heat summation of 1,702 degrees Celsius days. The fruit was fermented without whole bunches, with a 20-day fermentation and no post-fermentation maceration. The wine was aged for eight months in French oak barriques, one-third of which were new, before being bottled in December 2025. It has a pH of 3.47pH and 6.6 grams per liter of total acidity.

Strawberry, raspberry, a spicy cinnamon and nutty top note, cedar and mint, porcini mushroom. It’s medium-bodied, quite sappy and earthy, a fine ‘mineral’ feel to acidity, sweet red fruit, a light dusty grip to tannin carries on a spiced strawberry and orange peel finish of good length.

93+ points.

Very trim and taut, racy in a way, lean in its fruit personality, grippy in tannin and shy in perfume. Red cherry, tart cranberry drink, truffle, toasted almonds, some bitter herbs and a crunch of likewise bitter, peppery caraway seeds that finish the wine. Minerality, a general mix of stony qualities and quartz-y things, sits under, and pleasingly so. Time should help this loosen up a little from its stern place at present. You can see the potential and kudos for making a vin de garde style. 2028-2035+

93+ points

This is structured and Very Serious Pinot Noir. Tannin quality is paramount, granitic, mineral-charred, firm and fruit hangs in sheets off it – blueberry, violet florals, dark cherry, red currants. There’s mint and sage leaf, salt bush and caraway seed also in play here and lending complexity to the wine. It’s compact, energetic, trim. There’s a sense that the wine is reluctant right now, but a flourish is to come. To stutter, Serious.

93+ Points

If one may begin with the bottom line, this is the best Definitus Pinot Noir I have seen. Indeed, I’m not sure I can recall seeing a better Pinot made by Brian Croser. Given what he has achieved over what has already become a legendary career, that would certainly be saying something. Loved the 2022, but for me, this eclipses it. The fruit for Definitus comes from a block that is harvested separately, even though it is located in the centre of the Foggy Hill slope. It was planted in 2003 to clones 115 and 777, which the team believe gives greater fruit intensity and colour than they achieve in the rest of the vineyard. This is the sixth release of this wine. No ‘whole fruit’ was used, thanks to the cooler vintage. Maturation was for eight months in barriques. Pale russet with an ochre rim, it offers such an alluring nose with notes of red cherries, leaf litter, truffles, cranberries, smoked meats, spices, bay leaves and animal skins. Just love this nose. The wine is seamless in structure, and there is a seductive and creamy texture. It is impeccably balanced and very, very long, finishing with silky tannins and a flicker of good acidity. For me, a stunning Pinot Noir for enjoying over the next fifteen to twenty years.

97 Points

2025 was a warmer vintage on the Fleurieu Peninsula, though for Pinot Noir, that is something which is not always to the advantage of the variety. Fortunately, it seems to have overcome that potential handicap. A vintage, perhaps, where generosity trumps elegance. 2,300 dozen made. Winemaker, Brian Croser, notes this vintage as “the driest, warmest and earliest” of his 56-year winemaking career. Fermentation saw no “whole fruit”. The team used their own growing yeast strain with daily hand plunging. Pressing was into barriques, 1/3rd of them new, followed by maturation for eight months. A Pinot Noir that is generous indeed, the colour is a deep crimson, with a russet rim. This comes very much from the savoury end of the spectrum and we have notes of cold tea, mushrooms, animal flesh, leather, delicatessen meats and hints of Balsamic. Well focused and balanced, there is a fine line of acidity running the full journey through to sleek tannins. A lovely lingering finish and the wine should continue to provide pleasure for the next six to ten years.

94 Point

Love the brilliant colour of this wine from a very cool vintage. Aromas reveal dark cherry, a touch of liqueur chocolate and an intriguing black olive nuance. The palate is deeply textured with tremendous power and length. Chalky tannins offset the plush fruit beautifully, carrying the medium-bodied palate through to a long, sustained finish. A wine of structure, poise and considerable cellaring potential.

96 Points

The 2025 vintage was notably warm, yet this wine displays remarkable elegance and restraint, more in keeping with a cooler season. Bright crimson with subtle purple hues, it opens with musky red berries, delicate floral notes and a hint of mushroom complexity. The palate is bright, finely textured and quietly powerful, with precise acidity carrying effortlessly through to a long finish. A wine of shape, focus and impressive refinement.

95 Points

A release defined by its very cool vintage and its subsequent minuscule yields. It’s light on its feet, with burgeoning savoury tannins that steer and deliver the bright red fruit – cranberry, wild strawberry, underripe red plum and raspberry – through the long finish. A purity here, a cleansing quality, in part thanks to the beautiful acids, which offer a refracted sense of light, juxtaposing spice, clove, cinnamon and anise. True beauty here.

96 Points

In 2003, the Croser family removed 1.3 hectares of the original Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay that was planted in 1979 in the Piccadilly Valley as the first Adelaide Hills vineyard. The area was replanted with the French Bernard clones 76 and 95 on rootstocks, on very close 1.5 metre row spacing with the fruiting wire at only 0.5 metres above the ground. This unique vineyard section produces earlier ripening, fuller flavoured Chardonnay than the old vine Chardonnay on its own roots, across the centre road in Tiers Vineyard.

Brilliant pale straw colour with green-toned edges and a watery hue. Refined yet amplified in their intensity are aromas of white peach and nectarine, which are married to roasted almond, biscuity nougat and gun flint notes. Rich, concentrated and texturally voluminous yet showing impressive freshness, the mid-weighted palate is graced with nectarine, white peach, dried honey and biscuity oak flavours. Infusions of mineral flint, citrusy nougat and almond sit in the background. Lively yet perfectly balanced acidity with a long, flinty-edged finish that picks up a gentle creaminess texture-wise.
Drink over the next 6-8 years.

96 Points

Located in the Piccadilly Valley within the Adelaide Hills region, Brian Croser’s Tiers vineyard was planted in 1979, making it the first in the region. It is perfectly suited to Chardonnay, being a closely matched homo-clime of Burgundy, especially the southern end of the Cotes de Beaune, where the great wines of Montrachet and Meursault are grown. Fermented in French oak barriques (one third new) the wine was then aged on full lees until November 2025.

Brilliant pale straw colour with green-tinted edges and a watery hue. Elevated nectarine and pear scents intermix with roasted almond, subtle biscuity nougat, faint lemon butter and gun flint notes. Showing a touch more elegance and restraint than the 2025 Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard 1.5m Chardonnay, the palate is finely detailed with pear and nectarine fruits which meld into a subtle dried honey, roasted almond, citrusy nougat and mineral flint backdrop. Showing good mid-palate flesh, chalky mineral-infused acidity lends a tense feel across the long, flinty finish.
Drink over the next 6-8 years.

96 Points

The 2025 Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay, like the 1.5 Tiers before it, is savoury, spicy, a little reductive and very open already. The complexity and depth here echoes through the long finish, and the warmth of the season appears to have made all of the layers and facets of this wine available for assessment early. I love the savoury direction, because it does not come at the expense of pure fruit or freshness of acidity.

It was harvested on March 6, 2025, from a season with a heat summation of 1,620 degrees Celsius days. The wine was fermented in French oak barriques, one-third of which were new, and it did not undergo malolactic fermentation. It spent seven months on the lees and seven months in total in barrique before being bottled in November 2025. It has 13.7% alcohol, a pH of 2.9 and eight grams per litre of total acidity. These details are drawn from notes provided by Tapanappa.

The 2025 Chardonnay Tiers Vineyard 1.5m leads with toasty spices and a hint of freshly picked curry leaf. The fruit here leads with concentrated and phenolic grip, both attributes that I appreciate. This is a more savoury expression of this vineyard—recognisable still and true to its Tiers DNA, but certainly more savoury. I like it very, very much. And this may be the first vintage of this wine that I would say would drink well early—usually I feel very strongly about waiting up to five years from harvest. 13.6% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

Brian Croser says that 2025 was a bit of a unicorn vintage. When I asked why, he explained, “Because it was the hottest, driest and earliest vintage of my 56-vintage career.”

The 2025 Chardonnay Tiers Vineyard 1.5m was harvested on March 6, 2025, from a season with a heat summation of 1,620 degrees Celsius days. The wine was fermented in French oak barriques, one-third of which were new, and it did not undergo malolactic fermentation. It spent seven months on the lees and seven months in total in barrique before being bottled in November 2025. It has a pH of 2.91 and a total acidity of 7.95 grams per litre.

The 2025 Chardonnay hails from Pat and Ted’s vineyard (Brian Croser’s parents), and interestingly, this vineyard houses the OF clone, the clone that Brian originally planted in the Tiers vineyard. Aromatically, the wine is fleshy and open, fresh and fulsome. The fruit is open-weave and bright, the acidity saline, and the overall impact is one of texture, youth and concentration. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

The 2025 Chardonnay had a heat summation of 1,620 degrees Celsius days. The harvest occurred between March 5 and 11, 2025. It was fermented in French oak barrels, including one-third new, with no malolactic fermentation. The wine spent seven months on the lees and a total of seven months in barriques before bottling in November 2025. It has a pH of 2.95 and a total acidity of eight grams per liter.

94 Points

The fruit flavours feel ripe, there’s complexity aplenty, flint notes make the nose feel especially lively and the push of fruit through the finish has plenty of extras. This is an excellent chardonnay at the least; if not outstanding. It tastes of nectarine, grapefruit, sweet citrus, flint and nougat and from start to finish it really sings. Texture-wise it’s really quite beautiful too. Super wine.

96 Points

Quite the potency to this chardonnay, so too a distinct saline minerality. Scents and flavours of toffee apple, lemongrass, preserved lemon and green apple juice with dashes of sugared almond and flinty, stony notes. Lots going on here and, while concentrated and somewhat power-packed, this has a levity and finesse that helps the wine glide along confidently. Serious white wine territory. 95 Points

This is upper-class stuff. This has a silky, rich texture but sits at medium weight, a sheen of saline minerality, a light pucker of chalk and pumice stone, green apple, light brioche notes, faint candied citrus characters and a very lengthy trail of sweet spice and a dash of coconut bun happening, too. Through all of this, a zesty core of brine and lemony zing, refreshing things aptly. A lot going on in this larger-than-life wine, offering a full experience. And very good for it. 96 Points

Lifted and highly aromatic aromas of grapefruit pith, struck match, white flower, melon skin, grilled nuts, a whiff of nougat and just-ripe white stone fruit. Fabulously complex and evocative stuff. Fine, focused and layered, with a drive of pithy citrus, texured phenolics, stone fruit, some classy, integrated oak and real precision, line and length. Benchmark Aussie chardonnay. 96 Points

Fabulously complex aromas of grapefruit pith, melon rind, just-ripe white stone fruit, cashew nut, nougat and white flowers. Fine, focused and tightly coiled, it has restrained concentration and power, but with precise oak, grip and acid cut. Length is impressive and it’s built for the long haul. 96 Points