Recognition

Pale and crystal bright lemon hue. Dried papaya, grapefruit pith and yellow floral aromatics. Good intensity of lime fruit, hints of tropical lift and a seaspray minerality. There’s a textural element that suggests sweetness but the ample acidity and astutely …

The punchy, youthful single-vineyard 2024 Chardonnay 1.5M is sure to impress with its combination of raw power and subtlety. Waves of peach skin and nectarine aromas are complemented by white flowers and a creamy cashew nut complexity. Compact and surprisingly …

The more sophisticated and reserved 2024 Chardonnay Tiers is a little shy and tightly coiled right now, offering up pristine aromas of melon and pear topped by fine oatmeal tones and spicy oak, with just a touch of smoky reduction. …

Here we have the pinnacle Chardonnay release from the first vineyard planted in the Piccadilly Valley since the 19th century. Restrained power is the term that comes to mind here. It’s tight and focussed, yielding enough aromatic presence to get …

Named on account of the 1.5 metre spacing between vine rows. Fresh, tightly wound and elegant aromas of white peach and cedar kick things off, followed by green apple, Meyer lemon, peach blossom, nectarine pulp and cinnamon. There’s a taut …

High quality cedar oak sits confidently here, melding with fresh cut nectarine, quince, peach skin, kumquat and red apple with some savoury cashew cream beneath. There’s a lot of impact aromatically thanks to good concentration and balance. The palate is …

The original Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay planted in 1979 in the Piccadilly Valley was the first Adelaide Hills vineyard to unknown clones. 2024, though slightly warmer, was yet another cooler vintage in the run since 2020. Modest cropping of 4 tonnes …

2024, though slightly warmer continued a run of cool vintages. French oak barriques (1/3 new) for fermentation (2 months through Autumn). Barrel aged on full lees until October 2024, before racking off and then a November bottling.

Pale lemon colour …

The Piccadilly Valley is ‘entry’ level for this exquisite range of Chardonnay. 2024 another cool vintage like the 4 before it, but marginally warmer with a modest crop of 4 tonnes per hectare on the 30 year old vines.

Medium-light …

Quite a bold and brassy chardonnay defined with spicy, cedary oak over peach and nectarine, red apple, grapefruit and banana notes, with touches of toffee apple in there, too. The richness feels apt and balanced, though one could suggest that …

Fruit is picked from a close-planted block that was planted in ’03. This is wonderful chardonnay – all finesse, tension, filigreed minerality, light, savoury undertones and pristine, bright green pear, nectarine and pink grapefruit freshness. Touches of nougat, sea spray …

From the first Croser vineyard, planted ’79. A potent and rich chardonnay of distinguished power and presence. It’s set at a riper pace but feels supremely balanced and delivers emphatic notions of quality. Rich pear notes, dried and fresh, honeyed …

Pretty aromas of just-ripe white stone fruit, white flowers, grilled nuts, nougat, sweet spice, honey and green melon. The palate has lovely weight and texture, creamy, nutty and mouth-filling, with a core of nectarine, grapefruit and pithy, mineral acidty. Long, …

Bright and vibrant in the glass. The aromas are lifted and layered, cashew nut, white stone fruit, nougat, melon skin and white flowers. Powerful and mouth-filling in flavour, but with fabulous balance and purity. There’s a seamlessness to the palate, …

Complex and layered aromas of cashew nut, just-ripe white stone fruit, wheat puff, white flowers and grapefruit pith. Fine, focused and layered in flavour. There’s a drive of stone fruit, melon and a nutty creaminess. Pithy, crunchy acidity then kicks …

The 2024 Chardonnay Tiers Vineyard 1.5m is floral and fine, creamy and detailed. The wine shows pressed white flowers, jasmine tea, something creamy like crushed hazelnuts and white chocolate, Golden Delicious apples and saffron. The Bernard clones 76 and 95 …

The 2024 Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay always ratchets up the fruit power and intensity from all other Chardonnays, both at Tapanappa and in the Adelaide Hills region at large. This usually gives us a thundering display of concentration and phenolic drive, …

Another superb Tiers Chardonnay highlighting the beauty achieved with the grape in the Adelaide Hills. Adjectives get a real work out with this wine. Ripe fruit is noted and while the alcohol suggests it might be bigger – 14.1% abv …

The use of 1.5m informs the drinker that a part of the vineyard has been close-planted – a 1.5 metre spacing between rows of vines – a fact that can excite some because of the suggestion of higher quality, amongst …

A refined, concentrated Chardonnay from another cool year in the Adelaide Hills, one of five consecutive cool vintages in a row. A cool site in a cool year brings its own form of elegance, one that is both harmonious and …

Concentrated aromatic with white florals and citrus blossom, mangosteen, splice, fresh fig, pear, yellow and white peaches, sugar melon, banana ester, sweet pickled ginger, almonds, cashews, creme brûlée. Generous and open!
In the mouth it’s immediately delicious, generous and welcoming …

Tapanappa = great wine and from the fifth successive cool vintage, this Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay doesn’t disappoint.Fermented in French oak (33% new) and on full lees prior to bottling, the interest factor is plentiful.

It opens with custard powder, …

Wow! This is something. I know many prefer the Tiers Chardonnay, but for the last two years I have leaned towards this 1.5m and I don’t apologise for it. Elegance and purity seep through this wine’s veins and I …

Concentrated and focused, let this Tapanappa Tiers Chardonnay breathe for now or give it some bottle age and it will pay you back in spades. A few days of tasting proved that. An excellent wine as ever, but it’s tightly …