Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay 2019

Brian Croser affirms that the 2019 Tapanappa Tiers Chardonnay is "a very ageworthy expression of this unique Australian terroir." The 2019 vintage, a warm and dry year, honours the time-tested aphorism that "the best quality wine is made from a cool climate vineyard in a warm year." This wine ranked among the top 10 Best Chardonnays of 2020 in The Drinks Business magazine. Author Patrick Schmitt asserts, "Tapanappa, particularly its Tiers Vineyard expression, is undoubtedly one of the world’s most complete Chardonnays, solidifying the Adelaide Hills as one of the globe’s premier regions for this white grape."

With a small crop in 2019, the Tiers Chardonnay is exceptionally concentrated. The wine has a pale green/yellow hue, with aromas of nectarine, green fig, and a subtle bouquet of yeast and faint oak spice. True to the Tiers style, the wine showcases remarkable texture. The aromas and flavours are tightly wound in this young Chardonnay, requiring some time to fully open up. The bright, finishing acidity and a hint of grapefruit bitterness provide a suitable ending to the sweet fruit core. This is a "humdinger" of a Chardonnay that will only improve with age.

Hand-harvested into shallow trays and cooled to 2°C, the whole bunches were pressed gently in the Willmes Merlin airbag press. The juice was then racked into French Vosges oak barriques (33% new, with the balance in 1- and 2-use barrels). The wine was seeded with Tapanappa's own yeast culture and fermented in the cool autumn air of the Piccadilly Valley. No malolactic fermentation occurred due to the warmer vintage, and the wine sat on its full fermentation lees until it was racked clear in January 2020.