Recognition

Stylish and complex, the wine shows blackcurrant, sweet cherry, cedar, clove and rich floral
aromas on the nose. The concentrated palate delivers silky-smooth mouthfeel and plush texture,
splendidly framed by layers of polished tannins, finishing gracefully long and satisfying. At …

Some (15%) whole bunches placed on bottom of fermentation tub, topped with destemmed, crushed must. Inoculated, 16-day fermentation followed by 5 days on skins. Matured 10 months in French barrique. 220 dozen made. The 2020 vintage was cooler than average, …

52/24/24% cabernet sauvignon/merlot/cabernet franc, each fermented separately. Matured for 20 months in new French barriques before blending; 420 dozen made. Poor flowering and fruit set in 2020 resulted in a Whalebone Vineyard crop of just 1t/ha. It was decided to …

From Brian Croser’s Parawa vineyard at the southern corner of the Fleurieu Peninsula, air and sea-conditioned by the energized Southern Ocean and especially so during the cooler than average 2020 growing season, which has brought to this wine a delightfully …

The sharp-minded, deliberate and controversial Brian Croser has been a forceful and polarising advocate of Australia’s fine wine …

Medium to deep ruby colour with purple tinges. The bouquet is oaky and pungent, with some camphor and mint-eucalypt forest overtones, the palate a bit rasping and astringent when first poured, with the flavours turning to polished leather, red fruits …

A rarity, I guess. There is just this single release from Tapanappa’s Whalebone Vineyard in 2020 as there was just 8 tonnes of grapes harvested due to crap flowering. Who’d want to be a grapegrower, eh? It’s a whole vineyard …

Deep crimson in colour followed by a compact and concentrated unashamedly claret stye with structure, fruit focus and longevity keys to its success. Robust blackberry, blackcurrant fruits to start well supported by spicy oak, then building with mulberry and graphite …

The chardonnay vines on the Tiers Vineyard in the Piccadilly Valley are all now well over 30 years old though some were planted in the late 1970s.

This is an intense glide of beautiful chardonnay flavour. It had me hooked …

Medium yellow colour, with a very rich, multi-faceted bouquet of buttered toast, roast hazelnut and candle wax. The wine is intense and mouthfilling, soft and rounded, with a slight impression of sweetness balanced by harmonious acid and tannin on the …

A most tender nose unites an overtone of jasmine with gentle notes of hazelnut and a citric note of creaminess. The palate shows concentration immediately and quite some punch – that is accompanied by equally pronounced freshness. The mid-palate has …

A lovely sense of smokiness precedes the hazelnut notions on the nose. A touch of ripe yellow plum adds an irresistible sense of juiciness. The palate then unites exquisite, soaring freshness with absolute linearity and concentration. A toasty sense of …

As a pioneer of Australian cool-climate viticulture, Brian Croser was the first to plant Chardonnay in the Adelaide Hills – now his latest vintage is out.

Few people can claim pioneer status in the 21^st century but Brian Croser …

Hand-picked fruit, chilled in trays, whole-berry pressed, fermented in French oak barriques (one-third new). Matured in barrel on full lees. From a year of frost and fire comes, according to Brian Croser, a ‘miracle’. The 2020 offers a celebration not …

This young chardonnay vineyard, just 13 years old, is starting to fully express itself. It’s a little racy in a chablis kind of way, sporting brisk acidity and keen, juicy fruit. Opens with aromas of lemon blossom, all lemony clean …

Quite delicate, but complex nose, hint of smoke, chalk, toast, and stone fruit. Palate has some creaminess, vanilla oak, toast, smoke, some warmth, along with peach and pear fruit, then some apple freshness. Good. Layered, youthful. Lively and chalky.…

This parcel has performed so impressively in 2020, with trademark white-peach aromas and a subtle lemon-cream edge. The oak is so well integrated here. There’s impressive seamlessness on the palate with citrus-nuanced stone fruit carrying so long and fresh. Thrilling …

This offers the same blend of lemon and white peach seen in the old-vine Tiers Chardonnay from this vintage, with greater oak influence reading in the wine for now. The intensity is impressive, with acidity driving a vivid, powerful palate. …

Light yellow colour. The nose is reductive, smoky matchstick, a kiss of oak too, in balance. Small flowers, quite lovely fruit-driven aromas. The palate is soft and round and refined, tapering a bit towards the back. The acid is a trifle firm, …

I haven’t read the press notes on this wine but 2020 in the Adelaide Hills was an interesting time, no doubt. There’s plenty of fruit power here. And texture. And form. It feels powerful and well honed and, indeed, has a …

The chardonnay vines on the Tiers Vineyard in the Piccadilly Valley are all now well over 30 years old though some were planted in the late 1970s. This is an intense glide of beautiful chardonnay flavour. It had me hooked …

Bright ripe-peach and lemon aromas on offer here, framed in some spiced, hazelnut-like oak and nougat. The palate has quite punchy, fresh stone-fruit flavors and acidity holds the finish taut. Drink now. Screw cap. 

92 Points…

Tough vintage, to say the least, and yet out if it you get something as beautiful as this classy chardonnay from the Piccadilly Valley. Lot of white peach and nectarine characters with a pristine purity. Crisp fine minerally acidity and …

A beautiful piece of wine machinery. Precision is everything here. That, and purity. Nectarine, lemon curd, flint, cream and cedar characters. It’s pure, focused and long; it’s scintillating. Drink this now and it’s spectacular but its best days remain ahead.…