Impressive all round balance with some good aging potential – 93 points | Angus Hushson | Wine Pilot – Tapanappa Adelaide Hills Shiraz 2018
This more generous vintage of Tapanappa Shiraz from 2018 delivers layers of dark cherry, fennel seed and cocoa aromas with fine oak well integrated. There is an excellent mix of power and subtlety to follow, flavours of fruit pastille and …
Compact and understated – 91 points | Angus Hushson | Wine Pilot – Tapanappa Adelaide Hills Shiraz 2017
This controlled and well pitched Adelaide Hills Shiraz delivers ample blackberry, mulberry and liquorice aromas with a strong undercurrent of clove and allspice complexity. Compact and understated, it’s quite seamless now, the spicy aged complexity rising up in a plush …
“Builds effortlessly to a sustained long finish.”- 95 Points | Ray Jordan | Wine Pilot – Tapanappa Foggy Hill Pinot Noir 2022
This vineyard was planted on the Fleurieu Peninsula by Brian Croser 20 years ago and it quickly established a reputation for high class Pinot Noir. The 2022 was the outcome of a low cropping, cool vintage, which is reflected in …
“Light bodied yet powerful and intense with excellent concentration”- 96 Points | Ray Jordan | Wine Pilot – Tapanappa ‘Definitus’ Pinot Noir 2021
This patch of Dijon clones sits in shallow soils on an ironstone ridge that generally means lower crops and earlier ripening. A combination of chalky limestone with an ever so slightly ferruginous character seems to come straight from the soils …
Almost painfully intense and mouth-watering | 97 points | James Halliday’s Top 100 – Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard 1.5M Chardonnay 2022
From a small area planted 1979, then replanted with Dijon clones on a very close 1.5m spacing, the fruiting wire only 50cm above ground level. The yellow grapefruit is almost painfully intense and mouth-watering, the finish hypnotic.
“An utterly gorgeous Pinot with an exciting future.”- 95 Points | Ken Gargett | Wine Pilot – Tapanappa ‘Definitus’ Pinot Noir 2021
Brian Croser’s flagship Pinot Noir, comes from just ten rows of Dijon clones, 777 and 115, planted in the Foggy Hill Vineyard on the Fleurieu Peninsula. The name might sound a bit like a spell from Harry Potter (who among
“Early complexity, which should only increase over time.”- 94 Points | Ken Gargett | Wine Pilot – Tapanappa Foggy Hill Pinot Noir 2022
Brian Croser is one of Australia’s most innovative and legendary winemakers, a reputation forged over decades. At the Foggy Hill Vineyard on the Fleurieu Peninsula, he has turned his hand to Pinot Noir. This example is from the fine 2022
“With layers of fine tannin and a great sense of restrained power.” | Max Allen | Australian Financial Review – Tapanappa Definitus Pinot Noir 2021
A quite different beast to the ’22 pinot noir: more subtle, refined fragrance, less fruity, more structural, with layers of fine tannin and a great sense of restrained power.…
“A joy to drink now but will drink well and develop for a decade at least.”| Max Allen | Australian Financial Review – Tapanappa Foggy Hill Pinot Noir 2022
Like the chardonnay, this deceptively fresh, juicy and youthful pinot is a joy to drink now – all snappy cherry fruit – but will drink well and develop for a decade at least.…
Scintillating chardonnay, so pure, fresh and intense | Max Allen | Australia Financial Review- Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay 2022
Scintillating chardonnay, so pure, fresh and intense, with crystalline focus and thrilling presence. Ravishing now, in its youth, but will mature beautifully over many years.…
“Though bold, it’s very elegant, well balanced and finishes clean.” – WineWorthWritingAbout | 2017 Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard Merlot Cabernet Franc
Dark, impenetrable ruby and purple with a complex and savoury edged nose of violets, cassis, grilled cherry and plum, dried oregano, hints of mint tea, fig leaf, roasted meat, cedar, tobacco, graphite and a lift of sumac. Lots going on!…
‘Sublime conditions’: how La Nina paid off for a top Aussie wine label by Max Allen
Two decades after embarking on a passion project atop a foggy hill, Brian Croser is pouring wines that show the benefits of cooler vintages. From the upcoming Young Rich issue, out on October 27.
Halliday Wine Companion Top 100 Wineries 2023 selected by Campbell Mattinson: NUMBER 29
The inaugural Halliday Wine Companion Top 100 Wineries selected by Campbell Mattinson is a celebration of the best wineries of right now. Below is the list of wineries ranked from 26 to 50 from across Australia.
It was a cool vintage but there’s plenty of weight to this release. There are ample twiggy spice notes too, or variations thereof, which is interesting given that the grapes were completely destemmed. Mace, green but fragrant herbs, and plum notes that …
This is an outstanding release. The combination of attractive strawberry and spice characters with firm tannins and exceptional length is enough to get any pinot lover’s heart racing. The flavours here really do soar on and on. Assertive tannin feels totally uncompromised, …
Lovely vinosity, complexity and mineral length.| 95 points | Andrew Caillard MW | The Vintage Journal – Tapanappa Definitus Pinot Noir 2022
Medium deep colour. Perfumed strawberry pastille hint chinotto aromas with savoury notes. Well concentrated strawberry pastille, cola, touch apricot flavours and supple textures. Finishes slinky and long. Lovely vinosity, complexity and mineral length.
Classical in shape and style with very appealing fruit complexity and length.| 95 points | Andrew Caillard MW | The Vintage Journal – Tapanappa Foggy Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022
Medium deep colour. Pure strawberry, red cherry, touch herb garden/ dried roses aromas and flavours. Supple and fresh with lovely inky density and some underlying vanilla notes. Finishes chalky and minerally. Classical in shape and style with very appealing fruit …
Brian Croser’s Foggy Hill Vineyard in the Fleurieu Peninsula, south of McLaren Vale is one of South Australia’s most isolated vineyards. At its highest point at Parawa, it is possible to look over towards Encounter Bay where Matthew Flinders on …
All beautifully built, melting but lively | 96 Points | Kasia Sobiesiak | The Wine Front- Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay 2022
This is like the regular Tapanappa Chardonnay but better, but more. Cinnamon scroll laced with creamy, lightly sour icing, melting white chocolate praline with a refreshing minty nuance. It has a solid base of peaches and apples. Satin-like confident cool …
It’s lively and very long finish. | 96 Points | Gary Walsh | The Wine Front- Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay 2022
A little struck match, grapefruit, lemon oil, apple and lime, cinnamon pasty dough, white chocolate and mint, so much presence and power, with bitter lemon and zinging acidity, and zesty tang. Biscuits too, on its lively and very long finish, …
A great deal of savoury and fresh, vibrant and bursting with life. | 95 points | Kasia Sobiesiak- Tapanappa Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay 2022
Gunflint. Ka-pow! This is pushing with such amazing energy to start. Zesty grapefruit, lemon pith and nectarines, all sitting on the just-underripe edge, zingy and zippy. A hint of cinnamon-dusted green apple, fresh dough and lavender with pink grapefruit. It …
Needs a little time to settle, but really good. | 94 points | Gary Walsh – Tapanappa Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay 2022
Matchstick, grapefruit and white nectarine, bit of cinnamon spice. Classic Hills Chardonnay with flinty texture, but also rich and cashew creamy, ribs of acidity, lively and zesty, a bit breathy with struck match at present, but pleasantly so for the …
Discover Tapanappa and enjoy wines personally selected by Brian Croser. 3 Wines delivered to your door every 3 months. You will also receive 15% discount on all Tapanappa wine purchases online and at our Cellar Door.
Our wine club membership offer access to our premium award-winning wines for Tapanappa, DAOSA, and Terre à Terre range, along with exclusive benefits and regular shipments.
Tapanappa is the ongoing mission of celebrated winemaker Brian Croser and his family to make world-class wines from the most distinguished sites in South Australia.
The winery and cellar door sit at the foot of the oldest vineyard in the
This 2018 Definitus special bottling of Foggy Hill Pinot Noir has intense cerise colour.
The aroma is of complex, ripe dark fruits, black and blueberries, faint cassis and hints of floral notes. The flavours are rich, ripe and dense with plum to compliment the characteristic Foggy Hill earthy, spicey complexity.
The tannins are fine but pervasive and the warm year 2018 Foggy Hill “Definitus” will benefit from a decade or longer of bottle age.
2014 Tapanappa Foggy Hill Pinot Noir is the product of a slightly warmer than average vintage from the very cool Foggy Hill Parawa site.2014 vintage was defined by the poor fruit set and low yields in an otherwise perfect growing season for Pinot Noir.The colour is dense by Pinot Noir standards reflecting the sunny vintage effect on berry pigmentation and the effect of plucking the leaves from around bunches before veraison.The fruit aroma is of spicy, sappy, ripe cherries with the floral notes that contribute to Pinot’s “peacock’s tail”. 2014 has contributed one of the most aromatic Foggy Hill Pinot Noirs yet.The palate similarly has intense fruit flavours that persist reflecting the aromas but with very definite tannin structure that provides a savoury finish.2014 Tapanappa Foggy Hill Pinot Noir is “a pure expression of the unique Parawa, Fleurieu Peninsula terroir”.
Intense carmine colour typical of Shiraz but still vaguely translucent. The aroma is of blackberry and spiced plums, some anise with hints of fine leather. This is a big wine in structure and flavour with determined tannins to backup the sumptuous sweet fruit middle.
This 2017 Shiraz is a wine for the ages, worthy of decades in the cellar.
It is the pure expression of the unique Shining Rock Vineyard terroir.
2018 Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay is a ripe fruit expression of the unique Piccadilly Valley terroir from a warm vintage.Pale lemon in colour, 2018 Tapanappa Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay has a ripe peach and fig aroma and flavours to match. The subtle complexity of marzipan and vanilla oakcomplements the fresh fruit.The hallmark Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay texture is followed by a long after taste with a slight savoury quince finish. The Piccadilly Valley has clearly confirmed its status ashome to “distinguished sites” and the 2018 Tapanappa Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay “is an exquisite expression of a unique Australian terroir.”
Tapanappa Foggy Hill Vineyard 2020 Pinot Noir MAGNUM
2020 Foggy Hill Pinot Noir is a low-crop, cool vintage expression of the Foggy Hill terroir.The wine is translucent with a purple-red hue. The aroma is floral with dark plum and blueberry fruits and the faint spice of stalks.There is an exotic Chinse 5 spice aroma and the oak provides a complexing char note and all of this is reflected in the flavour of the wine. The flavours are rich and complex and the tannins noticeable but refined.
2020 Tapanappa Foggy Hill Pinot Noir is the reflection of the perfectly ripe fruit from which it was made and is a “typical expression of the unique Foggy Hill terroir.”
This 2018 Definitus special bottling of Foggy Hill Pinot Noir has intense cerise colour. The aroma is of complex, ripe dark fruits, black and blueberries, faint cassis and hints of floral notes. The flavours are rich, ripe and dense with plum to compliment the characteristic Foggy Hill earthy, spicey complexity. The tannins are fine but pervasive and the warm year 2018 Foggy Hill “Definitus” will benefit from a decade or longer of bottle age.
Members Only – Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard 2014 Cabernet Shiraz
Tapanappa 2014 Cabernet Shiraz is an intense cool year wine with vibrant Cabernet cassis fruit and refined but determined tannins. It is a juicy wine with loads of primary varietal fruit.The colour is medium density, purple edged and very bright, the aroma is of cedar and spicy Cabernet and the dusty terroir nuances of the Whalebone Vineyard. The Shiraz plays a role in filling out the middle palate. The core of the wine is sweet but the finish is of gentle savoury tannin. 2014 Tapanappa Cabernet Shiraz is a keeper!
Tapanappa 2012 Cabernet Shiraz is a big ripe wine reflecting the small crop, warm and early 2012 vintage.
The colour is deep and purple edged, the aroma is an amalgam of black currant Cabernet, spicy anise Shiraz and the earthy, smokey terroir character of the Whalebone Vineyard. The core of the wine is sweet but the finish is of gentle savoury tannin.
This wine is a pure expression of the unique Whalebone Vineyard terroir.
Members Only – Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard 1.5M Chardonnay 2017
2017 Tiers 1.5m Chardonnay is a pristine and exquisite expression of the Tiers unique terroir from a great vintage.Pale green gold in colour, 2017 Tiers 1.5m Chardonnay has fresh ripe stone fruit aromas and flavours. The subtle complexity of yeast lees and oak complements the fresh fruit.The hallmark Tiers Chardonnay texture is followed by a long after taste with a slight savoury quince finish.The 14 year-old Tiers 1.5m Vineyard has clearly confirmed its status as a “distinguished site” and the 2017 Tapanappa Tiers 1.5M Chardonnay “is a pure expression of a unique Australian terroir.”
The colour of the 2022 Tapanappa Eden Valley Riesling is pale green-yellow. Typical of Eden Valley Riesling, the 2022 Tapanappa Riesling is jasmine floral with a hint of anise. The bath-powder aroma also has an edge of delicate tea rose.
The palate weight is fine and delicate and despite the late picking, almost austere, with a slight talcum dryness and a mouth-watering acid finish.
Tapanappa 2022 Eden Valley Riesling is reflection of the Riesling variety grown in a perfectly suited terroir of a “distinguished site” vineyard.
Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard 2006 Cabernet Shiraz MAGNUM
The Whalebone Vineyard terroir exerts its strength in the Cabernet Shiraz blend as a combination of smokey Eucalypt, anise and fresh earth aromas and flavours.The Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard 2006 Cabernet Shiraz has the fruit sweet core of ripe mulberry and blackberry provided by Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz in the slightly warmer than average 2006 vintage. The Cabernet Franc provides a floral aroma note and silky tannin texture and has much greater influence than the 10% component suggests. The 2006 vintage is notable for its definite but fine-grained tannins.Dishes based on spring lamb lightly roasted with thyme or rare pigeon breast naturally balance and amplify the structure and flavour of Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard 2006 Cabernet Shiraz.
2022 Tiers 1.5M Chardonnay stands alongside its older sibling, the 2022 Tiers Old Block, as an equal but with the subtle differences of its close spaced, French clone, earlier ripening habit. Both wines are truly outstanding vintage examples of the Tiers special terroir.
The 2022 Tiers 1.5M is a buttercup green-yellow colour, very similar to its older vine sibling. The aroma is more of white peach than nectarine and with the slight brioche and cinnamon-vanilla complexity of the yeast and oak. The flavour is intense and very fruit ripe and fresh. The aroma is dominated by the intensity of the Chardonnay fruit. The flavour is intense reflecting the aroma with exceptional length of flavour. The trade-mark Tiers fruit sweetness and texture is offset by the acid and grapefruit finishing cut of the Tiers Vineyard.
The late ripening of a small crop in cool, dry and sunny conditions, has defined a “near perfect” expression of Chardonnay from the unique and distinguished Tiers 1.5M Vineyard terroir.
2022 Tiers 1.5M Chardonnay is “a very special vintage of a unique wine defined by the truly distinguished Tiers Vineyard terroir”.
Of the past three wonderful vintages in Tiers Vineyard, 2022 was the coolest.
The colour is pale lemon green. The aroma is of perfectly ripe Chardonnay fruit, ripe nectarine with a hint of flint smoke, yeast cashew and oak spice. The flavour is intense and fresh with fruit sweetness and a substantial texture.
The edge of acid and the slight astringency and bitterness of the grapefruit finish, perfectly offset the fruit sweetness and texture that are the hallmarks of Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay.
Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard 2018 Merlot Cabernet Franc
2018 Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard Merlot-Cabernet Franc has an intense dark garnet colour with a purple edge. The aromas are leafy and floral from the Cabernet Franc and rich plum pudding from the Merlot. The slight mint and fresh earth of the Whalebone terroir is melded with the cedar of the oak and the olive aroma of the tannin.The flavours reflect the aroma and the fruit is immediately sweet and ripe, graduating to a refined tannin and balanced acid finish.This is a ripe complex wine, with intensity as well as strength and is a “true expression of the unique Whalebone Vineyard terroir” from a warm vintage.
2018 Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard Cabernet-Shiraz has an intense dark garnet colour with a purple edge. The aromas are mulberry and cassis ripe fruit from the Cabernet Sauvignon and slight anise and leather from the Shiraz. The mint and fresh earth of the Whalebone terroir is melded with the cedar of the oak and the olive aroma of the tannin.The flavours reflect the aroma and the fruit flavour is immediately sweet and ripe, graduating to a refined tannin and balanced acid finish.This is a ripe complex wine, with intensity and strength and is a “true expression of the unique Whalebone Vineyard terroir” from a warm vintage.
The late ripening of a small crop in perfect cool, dry and sunny conditions, has again defined a very special Chardonnay, equally from Pat and Ted’s and Mount Bonython Shed Block vineyards in the distinguished Piccadilly Valley terroir. The 2022 Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay has distinctive apple, nectarine and floral aromas and the flavours are intense and the texture significant.The colour is lemon with a green sheen. The aroma is very fresh and delicate, and the flavours are of sweet fruit balanced against a significant acid and grapefruit finish.This is a very special wine, the product of a cool late vintage.
Members Only – Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard 2016 Merlot Cabernet Franc
Although 2016 Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard Cabernet Franc-Merlot is from the warmest vintage at Wrattonbully, it is fresh, elegant and ethereal. The aroma is dominated by the floral and spice of Cabernet Franc, red berries and only a hint of Merlot’s plum pudding richness.The varietal complexity is underpinned by an earthy, smoky Eucalypt bouquet typical of the Whalebone terroir. The flavours are fresh and lively with an underlying varietal complexity.Despite the warmth of the 2016 vintage the Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard Cabernet Franc-Merlot has the elegance and finesse expected of this right bank varietal blend. The tannins are fine and grainy providing a savoury and long finish.
2020 Tapanappa Shining Rock Shiraz is a true expression of the cool climate of Shiraz.
Powerfully fresh and vibrant, the aroma is of blackberry puree edged with exotic Chinese spices, a unique varietal expression. Subtle star anise and polished leather add complexity to the aroma.
The flavour is instantly of fresh berry fruit with a sweet core but a savoury finish and a determined tannin.
These are the aromas and flavours of Shiraz grown in a cool and highly suited terroir.
Tapanappa Foggy Hill Vineyard 2014 Pinot Noir MAGNUM
2014 Tapanappa Foggy Hill Pinot Noir is the product of a slightly warmer than average vintage from the very cool Foggy Hill Parawa site.2014 vintage was defined by the poor fruit set and low yields in an otherwise perfect growing season for Pinot Noir.The colour is dense by Pinot Noir standards reflecting the sunny vintage effect on berry pigmentation and the effect of plucking the leaves from around bunches before veraison.The fruit aroma is of spicy, sappy, ripe cherries with the floral notes that contribute to Pinot’s “peacock’s tail”. 2014 has contributed one of the most aromatic Foggy Hill Pinot Noirs yet.The palate similarly has intense fruit flavours that persist reflecting the aromas but with very definite tannin structure that provides a savoury finish.2014 Tapanappa Foggy Hill Pinot Noir is “a pure expression of the unique Parawa, Fleurieu Peninsula terroir”.
2019 Definitus Foggy Hill Pinot Noir is an “intense expression of the unique Definitus Foggy Hill vineyard site”.The wine is translucent with a deep carmine hue. The aroma is of ripe plums and blue berry fruits with the faint spice of stalks. The oak provides a complexing but muted Chinese 5 spice bouquet and all of this is reflected in the flavour of the wine. At a modest alcohol of 13.0%, the flavours are expressed without the interference of alcohol. The flavours are rich, ripe and lively and the tannins firm but rounded.2019 Tapanappa Definitus Pinot Noir is the reflection of the perfectly ripe fruit from which it was made and is a “typical expression of the unique Foggy Hill terroir.”
Members Only – Tapanappa Foggy Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir 2009
Tapanappa 2009 Foggy Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir is of medium colour intensity and is cerise in hue. The aromas are initially delicate and ethereal hinting at roses and their freshly cut stalks. More complex aromas emerge of dark chocolate and mocha and preserved cherries with a hint of anise. The flavours are sweet spicy and delicate and are poised against the tannin and acid in a savoury and linear structure. The alcohol remains unnoticed against the delicate but exotic water born flavours, the significant tannins and acid, beyond which the flavours are persistent.This the third exciting wine of the new Pinot Noir terroir at Maylands Farm at Parawa at the apex of the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia. The style of the 2009 Foggy Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir is a more natural reflection of the terroir in a cooler year compared to the opulent 2008.
Members Only – Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard 1.5M Chardonnay 2016
2016 Tapanappa Tiers 1.5M Chardonnay ripened early and fully because of the very warm growing season and the unique early ripening effect of the Dijon Chardonnay clones on de-vigorating rootstocks on close spacing and close proximity to the warm ground at night.Riper honey and fig characters complement the typical Tiers Vineyard peach flavour and aroma and significant texture. The Tiers 1.5M Chardonnay is softer and richer than the old Tiers Chardonnay from across the road. The wine finishes with a grapefruit and quince nuance again typical of The Tiers 1.5M Vineyard terroir expression.The 13 year-old Tiers 1.5M Vineyard has clearly confirmed its status as a “distinguished site” and the 2016 Tapanappa Tiers 1.5M Chardonnay “is a pure expression of a unique Australian terroir.”
Members Only – Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard Cabernet Shiraz 2005
The Whalebone Vineyard terroir exerts its strength in the Cabernet Shiraz blend as a combination of smoky Eucalyptus, anise and fresh earth aromas and flavours. The Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard 2005 Cabernet Shiraz has the fruit sweet core of ripe mulberry and blackberry provided by Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz in the warm 2005 vintage. The Cabernet Franc provides a floral aroma note and silky tannin texture and has a much greater influence than the 10% component suggests.Dishes based on spring lamb lightly roasted with thyme or rare pigeon breast naturally balance and amplify the structure and flavour of Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard 2005 Cabernet Shiraz.
Intense carmine colour typical of Shiraz but still vaguely translucent. The aroma is of blackberry and spiced plums, some anise with hints of fine leather. This is a big wine in structure and flavour with determined tannins to backup the sumptuous sweet fruit middle.
This 2017 Shiraz is a wine for the ages, worthy of decades in the cellar.
It is the pure expression of the unique Shining Rock Vineyard terroir.
