Regular readers will know I’m a big fan of Brian Croser’s Tapannapa, a decidedly terroir-driven project started by the ex-Petaluma winemaker in association with two French partners. This is only the second vintage of the Tapanappa Pinot Noir, sourced from the Fleurieu Peninsula, a few kilometres from the ocean near McLaren Vale. It has an immediate charm and delicacy, with soft, curranty and gently smoky aromas leading onto a palate that somehow manages both intense fruit sweetness and elegant freshness. There’s a dry, savoury, really quite Burgundian undertow to this. It is low-cropped from the Foggy Hill vineyard (densely planted with Burgundian clones) and aged in French oak only 30% of which is new. It has lovely persistance in the mouth, its elegant, quiet layers unfolding slowly into the finish. Subtle and superb stuff. 93/100
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