Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard 1.5m Chardonnay 2023
Tapanappa is the 21st century chapter of an adventure that pioneered the modern era of the Adelaide Hills wine region. Tapanappa is the name that Brian Croser has given to his ongoing family-owned, fine-wine enterprise based in the Piccadilly Valley where it began more than 40 years ago as Petaluma. The Tiers Vineyard was planted with Chardonnay in the Piccadilly Valley in 1979, and in every way is a “distinguished site”. It was the first vineyard planted in the Adelaide Hills thus pioneering the true cool climate wine industry of South Australia.
The Chardonnay crop was very modest in the Tiers 1.5M block at 6 tonnes/hectare. The Chardonnay grapes in the 20-year-old Tiers 1.5M Vineyard ripened in still and cool air, sunny conditions, ideal autumnal weather just before a rain event. Tiers Vineyard 1.5M yielded up its exceptional quality fruit, picked at the same time as the Tiers 12th & 13th of April.
2023 Tiers 1.5M Chardonnay stands alongside its older sibling, the 2023 Tiers Old Block, as an equal but with the subtle differences induced by its close spaced, French clone, and earlier ripening habit. Both wines are truly outstanding vintage examples of the Tiers special terroir. It is a buttercup green-yellow colour, very similar to its older vine sibling. The aroma is of pear, fig and honey and with the slight brioche and cinnamon complexity of the yeast and oak. The flavour is intense, fruit ripe and fresh. The aroma is dominated by the intensity of the Chardonnay fruit. The flavour reflects the aroma with significant length of flavour. The trade-mark Tiers texture is offset by the acid and grapefruit finishing cut. The late ripening of a small crop in cool, dry and sunny conditions, has defined a “near perfect” expression of Chardonnay from the unique and distinguished Tiers 1.5M Vineyard terroir.
From a section of the Tiers vineyard close planted in 2003 using the Bernard clones 76 and 95. This is same same, but different to the old vine Tiers, a little fleshier, but it’s the texture that’s the main point of difference. White stonefruit, pear, quite spicy and slightly dusty/peppery, honey and lime. The texture is a highlight, chalky and ‘mineral’, ripe lime and honey, white peach, spicy cinnamon oak, almond meal, with plenty of citrus bite on a finish of excellent length. Marvellous wine. So emphatic in its statement of vineyard and grape variety, not least quality. - Gary Walsh, The Wine Front. 96 Points.
Restrained straw/dried-herb aromas, the palate searingly intense with strong lemon/grapefruit flavours and lively acidity which is felt throughout the mouth. Intense, focused and bright on the tongue, super-refreshing and almost tangy, with a gorgeous fruit-sweet core and a cleansing, refreshing aftertaste. - Huon Hooke, The Real Review, 95 Points.
The Finer Details
Style - White Wine
Varietal - Chardonnay
Country - Australia
Region - Piccadilly Valley, South Australia
Vintage - 2023
Bottle Size - 750ml
ABV - 12.3%