Deep red colour with a tinge of purple and a floral, lifted boquet showing some earthy, minty and forest-floor nuances. Dried flowers. Chewy tannins, a trace of Vegemite from oak and development and (possibly) lees contact. The wine is full-bodied and dense, generous in fleshy extract, with an amplitude of ripe, supple tannins. The back-palate is lovely and rich. A superb wine.
95 points.
A savoury and structured vintage for Foggy Hill true to a slightly warmer vintage, a wine of beetroot character, sour morello cherries and sweet and sour notes, with robust tannins and good persistence. A more rustic season for Foggy Hill.
92
Wonderfully pure and impeccably balanced. Effortlessly contrasts the richness of fig and white peach fruit, underscored by classy cashew nut French oak, and ties it all off seamlessly with lemon and lime zest and the crunchy malic acidity of this high site, accenting the mineral texture of 1,600 million year old geology.
96 points
This is a strongly built wine destined for the long haul. The bouquet has rasp- berry, herb and mint, while the palate is deep, firm and has an ironstone-like character. Its abundant tannin will help it live and develop long-term.
92
After losing control of Petaluma Wines to Lion Nathan (now Lion Co) early this century, founder Brian Croser established Tapanappa Wines, based on existing vineyards in the Piccadilly Valley (Adelaide Hills) and Wrattonbully, near Coonawarra. In 2003, Croser planted a pinot vineyard at Parawa, “the highest point of the Fleurieu Peninsula halfway between Victoria Harbour and Cape Jervis”, he writes. Eleven years and several vintages later, the vineyard at last produced a pinot of stunning quality, revealing the unique power, elegance, firm-but-fine structure, and earthy richness of this great variety.
Leesy, introvert nose, and pretty austere palate. Good concentration of fruit buried in here but it's certainly not coming out to play yet. Quite chewy on the end still, and bone dry. It's almost like the contrapuntal riposte to the cliché Oz Chardy of old.
16.5+
Veteran respected winemaker Brian Croser says the Tapanappa Eden Valley Single Vineyard Riesling 2015 was vintaged in the "fastidious fashion" that he and Con Moshos have "developed over the past three decades". Winemaker Moshos "identified the 50-year-old Bartholomeus Vineyard in Eden Valley as a distinguished riesling site" in keeping with Tapanappa's distinguished site philosophy, though it is not owned by Tapanappa. From fruit late harvested in mid April, the wine "reflects the austere granitic soil, cool climate terroir of Eden Valley and is floral and bone dry". Only 300 dozen were made and while it is a refreshing, bright young wine now, it is likely to develop further with say, four or five years in the cellar.
The greatness of Tiers shines, even in vines just 10 years of age. I love its lemon blossom fragrance, white peach concentration, tense magic acidity and seamless French oak, but most of all I love its fine, mineral, flinty texture.
95 points.
“This vineyard is really starting to express its character, and the warmest vintage yet is loaded with personality. It holds itself with persistence and poise, at once fragrant and fruity and simultaneously savoury and structured, with fine, drying tannins reflective of a warm season in a cool site.
94 points”
Brian Croser certainly doesn't need any introduction to those who worship Bacchus, as his name is synonymous with Australian fine wine. Tapanappa began its life in 2002 with a partnership between Brian and Ann Croser and Bollinger of Champagne and the Cazes family of Lynch Bages in Pauillac, Bordeaux; no denying the pedigree involved here.
The Tiers vineyard was planted in 1979, the first vineyard planted in the Adelaide Hills region in the 20th century. It's certainly a special site, producing wines that consistently rank among the finest examples of the variety in this country. 2014 was a cool vintage in the Adelaide Hills and it is immediately apparent after the first sip that this is a wine of great restraint and elegance.
