Recognition

52/24/24% cabernet sauvignon/merlot/cabernet franc, each fermented separately. Matured for 20 months in new French barriques before blending; 420 dozen made. Poor flowering and fruit set in 2020 resulted in a Whalebone Vineyard crop of just 1t/ha. It was decided to …

Medium to deep ruby colour with purple tinges. The bouquet is oaky and pungent, with some camphor and mint-eucalypt forest overtones, the palate a bit rasping and astringent when first poured, with the flavours turning to polished leather, red fruits …

A rarity, I guess. There is just this single release from Tapanappa’s Whalebone Vineyard in 2020 as there was just 8 tonnes of grapes harvested due to crap flowering. Who’d want to be a grapegrower, eh? It’s a whole vineyard …

Deep crimson in colour followed by a compact and concentrated unashamedly claret stye with structure, fruit focus and longevity keys to its success. Robust blackberry, blackcurrant fruits to start well supported by spicy oak, then building with mulberry and graphite …

Signature Wrattonbully, from menthol-tinted aromatics and cassis-defined palate to fine-grained, powdery, chalk-dusted tannins. A cool season heightens tang, freshness, endurance and beauty. Everything works together confidently for a future as long as the cork holds out. …

A cooler season works its magic, lifting the violet perfume of cabernet, the black pepper of shiraz, the bright tang of acidity and the fine-ground energy of enduring, chalk-bound tannins. Regional menthol assumes its rightful place. Medium-bodied effortlessness is refreshing. …

Brian Croser’s vision of a great Right Bank Bordeaux, realised. Or at least that’s the drift with this Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard Merlot Cabernet Franc 2017. Sometimes this Wrattonbully red can seem too ripe and too ambitious, but it feels rather …

Lots going on here. Huge perfume of ripe plum, sage, violets, pot pourri, cedar. The palate is plush, jubey, lush, soft, lots of ripe fruit, a lick of minty green herbs, some rose hip tea and a late wash of …

Seaspray, seaweed scents, a dusting of clove, cassis, some eucalyptus too. Evocative perfume. Dark fruit flavours, more of the salty, seaweed thing to taste, some saltbush greenery too, chewy, clove-y oak laid on with late coming tannins building to a …

Deep red colour with a trace of purple and the bouquet has a gun-smoky, black olive, roasted-fruit bouquet, the palate full-bodied and chewy with assertive, slightly bitter tannins that leave a hefty chew on the aftertaste. A quite heavy, thick-textured …

Deep red colour with a trace of purple and the bouquet has a gun-smoky, black olive, roasted-fruit bouquet, the palate full-bodied and chewy with assertive, slightly bitter tannins that leave a hefty chew on the aftertaste. A quite heavy, thick-textured red …

Medium to deep red colour with a trace of purple and a mossy, undergrowth bouquet with traces of humus and cabernet raspberry-mint, more savoury than fruity. The wine is very dry and savoury in the mouth, finishing with firm tannins …

Marked by mint and cassis on the nose, the 2017 Whalebone Vineyard Cabernet Shiraz becomes more Shiraz-like on the palate, where it adds cherry-berry fruit and a relaxed, generous feel on the medium to full-bodied palate. Silky tannins sneak in …

The floral-herbal elements of Cabernet Franc are nicely balanced and rounded out by the ripe cherries of the Merlot in Tapanappa’s 2017 Whalebone Vineyard Merlot Cabernet Franc. Silky and fine on the palate, this medium to full-bodied red still delivers …

This has a very rich and ripe feel with prune and plum-cake aromas, as well as raisins. The palate has soft, ripe and rich tannins and a smooth, soft finish. Drink now. 

90 points…

This has a cedary edge to the plum aromas with some spicy-oak influence and an earthy edge. The palate is smooth and supple with spicy, cedary-oak flavors and a core of red plums. Drink now. 

90 points…

The maestro has not lost his touch. After five decades in the wine industry, pioneer, winemaker and educator Brian Croser is still producing wines of impeccable balance and widespread appeal. Much of his success has come down to a knack …

A full-bodied red based on the quintessential Bordeaux Right Bank prototype, this is rich yet fresh; forceful yet somehow savoury and while reflective of a warm, dry year manifest as salubrious dark fruit tones, bitter chocolate, mocha oak (20 months; …

A very good example of the union between place and variety, the richness of the fruit flavours bringing blackcurrant and blackberry together. Then cigar box and polished tannins come into play on the perfectly balanced palate.…

Note this report was also published at https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/south-australia-2020-unforgettable

Last time I wrote about the emerging 2020 vintage I was branded ‘a denier’, ‘a dinosaur’ and ‘an angry old white man with a tin ear’, among other compliments. Let me begin …

Only 15% Shiraz here, from the Adelaide Hills.

Blackcurrant, peppermint nougat, new leather, aniseed and biscuit spices. It’s bold and curranty, sweet nougat oak and dark raspberry, a meat and sage flavour in there, plush powdery tannin, and some alcohol …

Black olive hue with red edges. So many moving parts to the bouquet: cedar, dark soy, tapenade, mixed red and black berries, oak is definitely firm. An opulent first sip; ripe blackberries and raspberries meld beautifully with licorice and softer plum notes. Time in …

The description of the 2019 harvest is worthy of a politician or two.

The most startling aspect of the 2019 vintage in the Piccadilly Valley and to a lesser extent Wrattonbully, is the very low yield. Foggy Hill on the …