Recognition

Hay colour. Light ginger biscuit feels amid crunchy early season white nectarine, spilling into a fresh palate, lime-like citrus juices, with a tangy edge to season the ripe fruit flavours and delicate savoury finishing notes. Neatly crafted styling.

12.5% alc Drink now–2032

 » Read more about: “Neatly crafted styling.” 92 Points – SA Wine Guide 2025 | The Vintage Journal | Tapanappa Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay 2023  »

From the Hills pioneer Chardonnay vineyard in the Piccadilly Valley, immediately a class above, lovely ripe white stone fruit aromas, subtle creaminess and flaked white nuts, everything deliciously balanced and edged with underlying citrussy acidity, chardonnay fruit magic vital to the end of the day. 12.9% alc Drink now–2034

 » Read more about: “Everything deliciously balanced and edged” 95 Points – SA Wine Guide 2025 | The Vintage Journal | Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay 2023  »

A flashy and deeply brooding chardonnay with aromas of nectarines, peaches, Meyer lemons and gun smoke. The palate is medium-bodied with vivid acidity and a generous mouthfeel, giving notes of grapefruit pith, orange blossoms and chalk. Very complex with underlying freshness. Excellent. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

 » Read more about: “A flashy and deeply brooding chardonnay” TOP 100 WINES OF AUSTRALIA 2024| 96 Points – JamesSuckling.com | Tapanappa Tiers 1.5M Vineyard Chardonnay 2023  »

Fresh aromas of minerals, lemon peel, gun smoke and grapefruit. The palate is medium-bodied with focused acidity and a textural mouthfeel, giving notes of lime curd, orange blossoms, shortbread, flint and baking spices. Wonderfully balanced, with both power and vivid acidity. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

97 Points

 » Read more about: “Medium-bodied with focused acidity and a textural mouthfeel” 97 Points – JamesSuckling.com | Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay 2023  »

Same winemaking as the Merlot blend, but this wine soaks up the oak perfectly. It’s dark and oak framed, but the core of dark berry minty impact is bold enough to take out. It’s brooding, chocolatey, tannic, and somehow more lively and fresher than the Merlot Cab. I closed my eyes and picked it up as a three-year-old,

 » Read more about: “Just feels right”- 18/20 | Andrew Graham | OZ Wine Review – Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard Cab Shiraz 2019  »

A blend of 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Franc, which is standard fare for Bordeaux but an outlier blend in South Australia. 470 dozen produced. Spends 18 months in 50% new and 50% single-use oak, which has a lot of dominant barrel character. Hard to miss the oak, or this wine – it’s black and coffeed with thick dried fruit,

 » Read more about: “It will live forever.”- 17.5/20 | Andrew Graham | OZ Wine Review – Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard Merlot Cab Franc 2019  »

Appealing and complex nose of lemon, honey, melon and a touch of spiced peach with some hints of gunflint and oak spice. On the palate it has a lovely balance of freshness and focused fruit, with a refined and quite restrained style, beautifully integrated oak, and a touch of minerality. The finish is long,

 » Read more about: “Finely etched and very convincing” Master – Siobhan Turner MW| Global Chardonnay Master | Drink Business – Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay 2023  »

Hailing from Adelaide Hills’ oldest block of Chardonnay – which was planted in 1979 – is this outstanding white from the brilliant winemaker that is Brian Croser. Although rich in flavours, it’s light in texture, with a clean, citrusy sensation, and a surprisingly moderate 12.5% ABV. As for what you taste, it’s a moreish mix of hazelnuts,

 » Read more about: “Lingering, enlivening, but also age-worthy” Master – Patrick Schmitt MW | Global Chardonnay Master | Drink Business – Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard 1.5m Chardonnay 2023  »

‘A lot of pain’: The hangover looming from Australia’s budget-wine boom
Grapes rotting on vines; billions of bottles’ worth of wine sitting in tank farms:
many inland wine producers are facing an unpalatable truth.

By Luke Slattery • November 09, 2024 – 05.00am

Grapes rotting on vines; billions of bottles’ worth of wine sitting in tank farms: many inland wine producers are facing an unpalatable truth.

 » Read more about: ‘A lot of pain’: The hangover looming from Australia’s budget-wine boom  »

Medium-full red/brick-red colour; the bouquet is mellow, complex and loaded with charred roast-meat, dried mushroom and sousbois characters, earthy/dried-herb and leather nuances, traces of tobacco as well. The structure is firm and the tannins provide backbone and extend the length of the back-palate. Serious pinot noir, ageing gracefully.

 » Read more about: “Serious pinot noir, ageing gracefully.” 95 Points – Houn Hooke | The Real Review – Tapanappa Foggy Hill ‘Definitus’ Pinot Noir 2018  »

This is a site not owned by Tapanappa but kindred to the motif of high quality vineyards within Tapanappa’s stable. This is beautiful and distinctly ‘syrah’ in its medium weight, silky tannins, huge perfume and gentle, savoury elements. It smells like red berries, cherry, port jelly, game meat, white pepper and leafy herbal things. The palate similar,

 » Read more about: “Harmony is a great word here.”- 95 points | Mike Bennie | Halliday Wine Companion – Tapanappa B&V Vineyard Syrah 2021  »

Tapanappa Foggy Hill Vineyard Fleurieu Peninsula Pinot Noir 2023 scores 95 points from Mike Bennie. “A fine-boned, texturally-structured and firm Pinot 

Noir of dark cherry, raspberry and earthy undertones dashed with saltbush and spice. The grippy, minerally texture and fine sweep of elegant tannins create a beautifully balanced wine that delivers distinct sense of elegance in its understatement.

 » Read more about: “Fine architecture here and overall, poise and charm.”- 95 points | Mike Bennie | WBM Magazine – Tapanappa Foggy Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023  »

Brian Croser: Australia went through a huge expansion through the 1990s to 2005. A lot of that expansion occurred in the inland, highly irrigated areas, with fruit that was destined for the grocery
stores as branded commodity wine—your Jacob’s Creek and the like. A lot of overplanting happened
then, and we’re now bearing the consequences of that.

 » Read more about: The role of the vineyard in Australian fine wine  »

It feels Grinchish, but I’d rather drink the 1.5m Chardonnay now. That’s because, as this vertical showed, Tiers needs a good five years to show its best, not one. Especially from a vintage that was cool (1093C vs the average of 1135C measuring the Heat Degree Days scale) and a harvest that was late.

 » Read more about: “Greatness of elements, pulling together”- 94 points | Andrew Graham | OZ Wine Review – Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay 2023  »

The close-planted 1.5m block on the Tiers vineyard is now twenty years old and is clearly hitting its straps. In the early days, an element was missing in the spotty-labelled 1.5m Chardonnay wines that reminds us what vine age does to concentration and complexity. But now? Things are different.

Green gold colours are unmistakeably ‘Tiers’ in character.

 » Read more about: “Refined, never hard, just the right amount of modern whipped butter winemaking”- 95 points | Andrew Graham | OZ Wine Review – Tapanappa Tiers 1.5M Vineyard Chardonnay 2023  »

There is a big jump in RRP for this entree to the Tapanappa Chardonnay range, but when crops are low and demand is high, it makes a lot of sense. This Piccadilly Chardonnay comes from ‘Pat and Ted’s Vineyard on Mount Bonython’, which I don’t know much about as a vineyard source, but it clearly works.

 » Read more about: “A classy wine.”- 93 points | Andrew Graham | OZ Wine Review – Tapanappa Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay 2023  »

Pale crimson in the glass, the swill itself deft, dignified. This poise, together with tight bright fruit, leads the trajectory for this remarkable wine from the cool and late ripening ’23 vintage. The wine is well-lit and the bouquet carries noteworthy lift. Red cherry, plum and Christmas berries scatter throughout. Umami undertones, too, leaf litter,

 » Read more about: “If quiet elegance were a wine, this would be the embodiment.”- 95 points | Katrina Butlet | Halliday Wine Companion – Tapanappa Foggy Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023  »

At the highest point of the Fleurieu Peninsula, half-way between Victor Harbour and Cape Jervis, lies the Foggy Hill Vineyard. Its Pinot Noir is quite exceptional from year to year. Even in very cool years like 2023, the vineyard produces a Pinot of note. The ‘23 reflects the vintage in both its lifted florals, its delicacy and sinewy tannin structure.

 » Read more about: “Reflects the vintage in both its lifted florals, its delicacy and sinewy tannin structure.”- 92 points | Jeni Port | Wine Pilot – Tapanappa Foggy Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023  »

2023 was a cooler vintage than some on the Fleurieu Peninsula, indeed the coolest of four such years for the Foggy Hill vineyard. The cooler year led the team to forego any whole bunches in the ferment. The wine spent eight months maturing in barriques, one third new, before bottling. Winemaker Brian Croser has described this as a typical expression of the unique Foggy Hill terroir.

 » Read more about: “Good intensity, though it remains, at all times, immaculately balanced”- 95 points | Ken Gargett | Wine Pilot – Tapanappa Foggy Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023  »

This was an exceptionally cool vintage. Despite that, the colour is light but with a glowing intensity and vibrancy. The nose reveals that distinctive spicy character with savoury and slightly limestone-like characters. The palate is still tightly coiled with fine tannins and a chalky controlling acidity defining through to the long finish. Light-bodied, yes, but there is power and poise here that will support cellaring.

 » Read more about: “Light-bodied, yes, but there is power and poise”- 95 points | Ray Jordan | Wine Pilot – Tapanappa Foggy Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023  »

Sometimes, the early sell out of a wine is actually good news for drinkers. Take the Definitis ’21 Pinot Noir which quickly sold out leaving the door open for Tapanappa owner/ winemaker, Brian Croser, to dig deep into the cellar and re-release the 2018 Definitus. You’ve got to be happy with that. What a wine!

 » Read more about: “Complexity, texture and a touch of savouriness” 96 Points – Jeni Port | Wine Pilot – Tapanappa Foggy Hill ‘Definitus’ Pinot Noir 2018  »

The 2021 vintage of Definitus sold out so quickly that the team decided to release a little of their museum stocks of the 2018 alongside the 2023 Foggy Hill. Given only 430 dozen were made in the first place, you can understand how limited this is. This provides pinotphiles with a wonderful opportunity to compare and contrast the two wines – 2023 a cool year while 2018 was a warm one;

 » Read more about: “A savoury style with fine, sleek tannins, excellent balance, good intensity and serious length.” 96 Points – Ken Gargett | Wine Pilot – Tapanappa Foggy Hill ‘Definitus’ Pinot Noir 2018  »

This is a re-release of this wine from the excellent 2018 vintage. This was the second release of this wine which comes from a special and defined part of the vineyard. It’s an immensely powerful no-holds-barred Pinot loaded with blue and black fruits and coated with a fine dusting of spices. The palate has the faintest hint of leathery development but it’s offset by the still primary fruit characters.

 » Read more about: “An immensely powerful no-holds-barred Pinot” 97 Points – Ray Jordan | Wine Pilot – Tapanappa Foggy Hill ‘Definitus’ Pinot Noir 2018  »

This multi-layered 2018 Pinot Noir is in excellent condition at 6 years of age as it radiates with cherry pit, and dark earth are topped by gamey, spicy aged tones. Vibrant and energetic with ample gravel /iron stone with a strong Burgundian feel and a touch of green herbs and well matched by significant tannins support a long and sustained,

 » Read more about: “A standout vintage for this label” 94 Points – Angus Hughson | Wine Pilot – Tapanappa Foggy Hill ‘Definitus’ Pinot Noir 2018  »