As ever with Tiers, this needs a few years to see its full potential (as this vertical showed). And this 2022 release feels achingly young. Too young for now. On the first pass against the rest of the wines in this bracket, I wasn’t impressed tbh. ‘Unbalanced’ said my note. But I came back an hour later and wanted a bottle of this in the cellar instead. The structure marks this as a superstar, with a chewiness that reminded me of the 2014 vintage (which was also a late vintage, FWIW). Interestingly, compared to the other wines in this bracket it smells like a much riper, more voluminous Chardonnay – there are these hints of orange and toast on the nose that is so different (and bigger). Robust. But the palate is so very tight, with the cool year (fruit picked two weeks later than normal) giving this such chewiness, with the Riesling-like pH of 2.97 saying that. At the moment the oak (1/3rd new) isn’t integrated either. sitting alongside that fruit power. But I can’t deny that all the elements are there for it to be great, and the persistence was arguably a step above anything in this quintet. My score then is almost a placeholder. Best drinking: Give it two years for a start. Then drink over a decade. 18.5/20, 94/100+. 13.8%, $110. Would I buy it? I’d love a bottle for the cellar.
18.5/20, 94/100
