Recognition

Still very fresh with an array of sweet elkather, chocolate and darker plums. Some light peppery nuances, too. There are meaty notes on the nose such as beef stock and bouillon. Very nicely developed. The palate is softened off, showing …

In its 7th edition, the respected UK publication Wine Behind the Label moved to an online format. The latest release  also named Tapanappa winemaker Brian Croser as star winemaker for the southern hemisphere.

The results were:

• Europe: Ernest Loosen

Just a short note on this one. A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Shiraz and 10% Cabernet Franc from the Whalebone Vineyard in Wrattonbully. On the nose, milk chocolate, blackcurrants, mulberries, iodine and a touch of tomato leaf and …

The 2004 vintage of Tapanappa’s Merlot was limited to just 150 cases, and comes from a cool vintage where the grapes were harvested a week later than normal. The nose has very full fruit, with red plums and a touch …

This release from the Brian Croser/Jean-Michel Cazes/Bollinger venture is plump with juicy plums, cherries, currants, spice and cocoa. Fresh and crisp, the oak is finely woven in, adding to the wine’s complexity and length.…

Medium red-purple, not star-bright; a very attractive mix of sweet red and black fruits with seamless quality oak and fine, ripe tannins. Rating 95 Drink 2014…

deep opaque purple with a crimson rim and an equally youthful, opulent, lifted nose with plum with red and blue berries and liquorice. Class in a glass, the palate is rich with velvety tannins, saturated with sweetly ripe fruit balanced …

Brian Croser is the man who founded pioneering winery, Petaluma, the first in the Adelaide Hills. He is known as Australia’s original ?terroirist? for his unrelenting pursuit of his countryman, Dr AC Kelly’s vision of 1867 that ?in the great …

Ripe but restrained, showing some hints of leathery maturity, but still with plenty of freshness to the broad-shouldered blackcurrant and blackberry flesh. Lovely texture, fine-grained, almost dusty tannins and plenty of life still ahead of it. S+…

Brian Croser rose to prominence in the mid-1970s when he left his position as chief winemaker with Hardys to begin the celebrated wine science course at Riverina College in New South Wales. At the same time he also founded an …

A pricey but very impressive South Australian offering from Brian Croser of Petaluma fame. High quality fruit strikes you from the first mouthful-cranberries, plums and blackcurrants ? and it has good structure and fine tannins.…

If you’ve got a special occasion coming up you’d want a wine like this. If you haven’t, buy it anyway and put it in the cellar as the legendary Brian Croser is responsible.

This is a grand wine with its …

This French-Australian collaboration has turned out a soft, easy-to-drink Merlot with notable complexity. Cassis and black cherry fruit is backed with shadings of cedar and vanilla and eased along by a creamy texture and supple tannins. Without any track record, …

Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard was a real winner. With intense colours, the 2004 merlot shows aromas of ripe plum with the smoky eucalypt and anise edge. The

flavour offers rich, ripe fruit without being sweet, with firm tannins for a savoury …

The texture and harmony set this apart, despite a vegetal edge. Supple, almost sumptuous, this starts with more herb and red pepper notes than ripe cherry flavours, but it balances nicely as the finish rolls on. Drink now through 2012. …

…

Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard Cabernet Shiraz

Despite the fanfare, I didn’t like the first release of this wine from the 2003 vintage. The new project of Australian wine legend Brian Croser, it had come from mature vines at Wrattonbully in South …

…

Beautifully defined fruit, perfect poise and serious structure. Wrattonbully’s potential as a red wine region has attracted some heavy hitters and this wine is the strongest affirmation of that faith.…

…

A more sumptuous wine than the grippy, edgy, energetic 2003, this 2004 is finely tuned, more relaxed and self-assured and, in truth, far more delicious! Tapanappa is fast-tracking at an impressive rate into the top echelons of the Aus wine …

Tapanappa 2004 Whalebone Vineyard Cabernet Shiraz

5 stars, rating 95 points

A big wine with a lovely range of cabernet aromas, from mint and herbs to abundant dark fruit. It’s concentrated and lingering, powerfully built and here for the long …

Meaning ‘Stick to the path’ in aboriginal language, Tapanappa is a super-premium Australian label, launched by one of the great names of Australian winemaking, Brian Croser (left). Croser found fame as owner and winemaker at Petaluma, one of Australia’s icon …

Tapanappa (Australia) Whalebone Vineyard Cabernet Shiraz 2004

Tapanappa’s Whalebone Vineyard of 30-year-old vines lies just north of Coonawarra in the Wrattonbully region. This blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (70%), Shiraz (20%) and Cabernet Franc (10%) spends 18 months in all new …