Foggy Hill Vineyard Latest Reviews

This pinot noir has a lot of gravitas with a deep colour and spicy bouquet. It’s slightly oak dominant at first with black cherry emerging in time. It’s dense and persistent with satisfying flavour, backed by a spine of tannins.

95 points / 5 stars

In 2003 Brian Croser planted three Dijon clones of pinot noir at about 350 metres altitude on the southern Fleurieu Peninsula. Elevation and proximity to the cold Southern Ocean give Croser’s Foggy Hill site a unique microclimate, dramatically cooler than the nearby shiraz country of McLaren Vale and Langhorne Creek – sufficiently so to give Croser great confidence in pinot noir. The vineyard’s pinots showed promise from the first vintage in 2007. But in the warm 2012 season, promise turns to excitement, with a slightly deeper, riper style than I’ve tasted in previous years. The underlying varietal flavour leans towards darker fruits like plum and cherry. This is overlaid with a subtly stalky touch, derived from the stems of whole-bunches, and the intriguing earthy–savoury notes of good pinot.

John Fordham compiled his top 100 wines to coincide with Highlife magazine's 100th issue, and Tapanappa managed to sneak not one, but two onto the list.

Both in ther under $60 category, the 2010 Foggy Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir and the 2007 Wrattonbully Cabernet Shiraz made the cut.

“Pretty strict and sappy, with peppery stalky bits, raspberry verging on framboise (liqueur), mint chocolate and cedar. Light to medium bodied, strawberry and raspberry, clarity of acidity is attractive and shape is excellent. Stalky notes on the nose are a bit strong, it seemed, but given time in the glass, more and more pinosity came through and the stalk receded. Minor amount of warmth showing. Needs time in the bottle and perhaps a bigger finish, but the potential is there. I’ve learnt over the years that these Foggy Hill wines can be wily beasts. Let’s see.”

92+ Points