Recognition

It feels Grinchish, but I’d rather drink the 1.5m Chardonnay now. That’s because, as this vertical showed, Tiers needs a good five years to show its best, not one. Especially from a vintage that was cool (1093C vs the …

The close-planted 1.5m block on the Tiers vineyard is now twenty years old and is clearly hitting its straps. In the early days, an element was missing in the spotty-labelled 1.5m Chardonnay wines that reminds us what vine age does …

There is a big jump in RRP for this entree to the Tapanappa Chardonnay range, but when crops are low and demand is high, it makes a lot of sense. This Piccadilly Chardonnay comes from ‘Pat and Ted’s Vineyard on …

Pale crimson in the glass, the swill itself deft, dignified. This poise, together with tight bright fruit, leads the trajectory for this remarkable wine from the cool and late ripening ’23 vintage. The wine is well-lit and the bouquet carries …

At the highest point of the Fleurieu Peninsula, half-way between Victor Harbour and Cape Jervis, lies the Foggy Hill Vineyard. Its Pinot Noir is quite exceptional from year to year. Even in very cool years like 2023, the vineyard produces …

2023 was a cooler vintage than some on the Fleurieu Peninsula, indeed the coolest of four such years for the Foggy Hill vineyard. The cooler year led the team to forego any whole bunches in the ferment. The wine spent …

This was an exceptionally cool vintage. Despite that, the colour is light but with a glowing intensity and vibrancy. The nose reveals that distinctive spicy character with savoury and slightly limestone-like characters. The palate is still tightly coiled with fine …

One whiff and this Tapanappa Foggy Hill showcases its pinosity. From a cooler, low cropping year, give it some time to show its best.

Let it breathe to witness red berries, briar, black tea, tilled earth, compost and cola gradually …

The fourth consecutive cool vintage, and the coolest of the last four too. I have a weather station in my back yard, and I like to look at the data, and in this way, I feel a sort of kinship …

Lovely figgy note gently wafting from the glass here. Add to that ripe stonefruit, pear – it’s like a summer salad in a glass. 
Bracing acidity running the full length of the wine. Citrus, stonefruit – a herbal/ floral note …

Melon, a harder edge of Stonefruit kernel, fig and spice. 

Initial entry is gentle and textural, leading to an expansive mid-palate through the finish. Burst of energetic tangy-lime acidity closes the wine out. 

It’s cool year credentials and moderate 12.5% …

From a close-planted, lower-to-ground trellised plot in the Tiers Vineyard, Piccadilly, Adelaide Hills. An intense wine, concentrated and surprisingly rich given the season. Scents of salted cashew, ripe apple, ginger, clove, fennel and green mango, the palate an echo of …

This pure-fruited wine needs time to show its best. It tastes of pear, flint, peach and riverstones, with hay, lemon and cedarwood about the edges. It shows both power and control, but for the moment, it seems backward and a …

From the Tiers Vineyard planted in 1979. A third of the barrels used are new French oak. The cooler year renders a wine of tension and torsion, precision and finesse. It’s heavily perfumed, an invitation to drink lustily, with green …

Lovely figgy note gently wafting from the glass here. Add to that ripe stonefruit, pear – it’s like a summer salad in a glass.

Bracing acidity running the full length of the wine. Citrus, stonefruit – a herbal/ floral note …

Tapanappa Piccadilly Valley Tiers Vineyard (Alt. 450m) Chardonnay 2023, $110.

About as much going on as a chardonnay can provide and all of it good. Somewhat lighter than exxy chardonnays are renowned, and better for it. Alas, few will discover …

Enticing citrus, orchard fruit and grilled cashew notes flow and swirl around the simmering acidity and fine creamy texture and propel towards the enchanting, long finish.…

Inviting, with quince, candied lemon and fresh pineapple juice leading to a palate of apple, white peach, vanilla and coconut.…

There’s a cooling aspect to this, with its jasmine and seaspray notes, but its core is nutty and peachy, and while it feels measured it also has a presence. This is a fine chardonnay. Stonefruit, pear and salted nut characters …

Planted in 1979, the Tiers Vineyard is purportedly the first to have been planted in the Piccadilly Valley since the 19th century. It’s a revered site with a history of producing hugely successful Chardonnay wines made by powerhouse Australian wine …

If Tiers 1.5m Chardonnay hails from the “new” block of French Bernard clones planted in 2003, fruit for this Tiers Chardonnay is off the “old” block, the original block established in 1979. A cool vintage and low yields bring good …

The Adelaide Hills 2023 vintage was the coolest of the four consecutive cool vintages since 2020. To quote winemaker, Brian Croser, the ’23 Chardonnays are far from “overt.” I find that re-assuring, the vintage speaks and it’s beautifully fine with …

Bright green-gold hues introduce an immediately engaging and open young Chardonnay. Captures the Adelaide Hills archetypal Chardonnay beautifully in delicious citrus and stone fruits – bright and energetic – aided by juicy, filigree fine acidity that drives the wine long. …

Naturally, there is a close relationship between this wine and the preceding one. The 1.5m comes from younger vines, but both were made from hand-picked grapes that were chilled to 2°C, and air-bag pressed before fermentation in French barriques, one …