The 2025 Chardonnay Tiers Vineyard 1.5m leads with toasty spices and a hint of freshly picked curry leaf. The fruit here leads with concentrated and phenolic grip, both attributes that I appreciate. This is a more savoury expression of this vineyard—recognisable still and true to its Tiers DNA, but certainly more savoury. I like it very, very much. And this may be the first vintage of this wine that I would say would drink well early—usually I feel very strongly about waiting up to five years from harvest. 13.6% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
Brian Croser says that 2025 was a bit of a unicorn vintage. When I asked why, he explained, “Because it was the hottest, driest and earliest vintage of my 56-vintage career.”
The 2025 Chardonnay Tiers Vineyard 1.5m was harvested on March 6, 2025, from a season with a heat summation of 1,620 degrees Celsius days. The wine was fermented in French oak barriques, one-third of which were new, and it did not undergo malolactic fermentation. It spent seven months on the lees and seven months in total in barrique before being bottled in November 2025. It has a pH of 2.91 and a total acidity of 7.95 grams per litre.