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Tapanappa News, Articles & Reviews

2018 Vintage Report - Another hot one

Submitted by Brian Croser on the 14th of May 2018

I am over above average temperature vintages.

One of the great paradoxes of winemaking is that to make the best wines from our established suite of noble varieties, choose a cool region, look for the warmest site in the region and hope for vintages that are above average in temperature.

The best wines from cool regions are made in the vintages that are warmer and drier than average.

Well, vintage 2018 answered the description warmer and drier than average by an uncomfortably large margin.

More Global Chardonnay Masters success

Author: 
The Drinks Business
Source: 
Global Chardonnay Masters
Review Date: 
December 2017

The 2016 Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay has just taken out gold at The Drinks Business 2017 International Chardonnay Masters.

This continues a fantastic run, having picked up Master Chardonnay in 2015, Gold in 2016 and another Gold for 2017.

About the competition:

The Global Masters is a series of blind tasting competitions, drawing in entries from across the world. One of the key elements to its success is the quality and the dedication of the judges involved.

“CHARDONNAY, GLORIOUS (2016 TAPANAPPA) CHARDONNAY”

Author: 
Andrew Graham
Source: 
Australian Wine Review
Review Date: 
31st October 2017

Life is so much easier when you have a great vineyard.

That’s not to say that winemaking is easy, in any way. But it certainly helps when you start with the best materials. Further, when you have one of the most celebrated sites in the country (the Tiers Vineyard) and you’re one of the most distinguished winemakers (Brian Croser), then fine wine tends to just happen more naturally (in theory).

For evidence look at this 2016 Tapanappa Chardonnay trio. Despite a year that Croser describes as ‘uncharted territory for me even after 47 vintages’ with one of the warmest growing seasons on record (heat summation of 1539C days compared to the last 12 years average of 1235C days), these three wines are superb.

3 of the top 5 Chardonnays in the Hills

Author: 
Huon Hooke
Source: 
HuonHooke.com

Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay 2016
96/100
Bright, medium to light yellow colour and it has a lovely nougat, toasted almond and toasted cashew bouquet, while the palate is intense and refreshingly crisp, with concentrated lemon and citrus fruit and tremendous refinement. The wine is superbly intense and sustained, the flavours lingering long after the wine has gone. It's tight and needs more time to realise its full potential.

Tiers Vineyard 1.5m Chardonnay 2016
93/100
Medium to light yellow colour, the bouquet toasty, smoky and roasted-hazelnutty. The palate is likewise very nutty and savoury, dry and quite strongly oak-touched, the aftertaste lingering long with a quite drying oak presence. There's a complexing touch of funky low-level sulfide, too.

Top drops

Author: 
Ray Jordan
Source: 
Sunday Times (Perth)
Review Date: 
8th October 2017

Out to impress
93/100
It’s a tight and firmish wine with slightly grippy, chalky tannins. Notes of spice and sour cherry.

“Purity” - 2015 Eden Valley Riesling

Source: 
Wine Companion Magazin
Review Date: 
August 2017

The first Tapanappa wine made from a vineyard that it doesn't own, from 50yo vines. Purity is its long suit on the bouquet and palate alike, with lemon/lime/Granny Smith apple the suite of aromas and flavours. It is developing slowly, and still needs time.
93 points

“delightfully ripe” - 2016 Piccadilly Chardonnay

Author: 
Tony Love
Source: 
The Advertiser
Review Date: 
4th October 2017

★★★★☆
One of three “Tapa” outings from Brian Croser’s Piccadilly vineyard and from one of the warmest years he’s ever seen (though without heatwave spikes). This wine is delightfully ripe in its stone fruit spectrum, with a roasted/grilled peach note and associated charry senses lifting from the glass as well, adding depth but neatly balanced by a refreshing acidity, offering palate tension and savoury, textural finishing length.
Lash out also on the elite Tapanappa Tiers 2016 Chardonnay at $79

“Best of the best” - 2016 Tiers Chardonnay

Author: 
Peter Chapman
Source: 
Queensland regional papers
Review Date: 
8th September 2017

The only negative about this beautiful Chardonnay is that Brian Croser only bottles 500 dozen. It sits at $79 a bottle but if you are into the best of the best get on the Tapanappa website today.

Rating: 96/100

“just a baby” - 2016 Foggy Hill Pinot Noir

Author: 
Huon Hooke
Source: 
HuonHooke.com
Review Date: 
3rd August 2017

This has a lovely red-cherry and cherry-liqueur like bouquet laced with spices and some subtle foresty characters - possibly whole-bunch derived. It's showing considerable complexity already. The wine is full in the mouth and quite firm, with abundant youthful tannins. It's just a baby and needs more time to soften and mellow out. An excellent pinot.
95 points
2019 - 2032

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