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The top shelf in toothsome and dulcetly fragrant, fruit forward frizzante wines, fashioned for those who know what they like and take their Moscato seriously. Brown Brothers make the best Moscato in the land, their dedicated Muscat vineyards have been trained to deliver harvests of the most luscious fruit. Brown Brothers» |
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Since inaugural release, Howard Park Chardonnay has wowed wine judges and reviewers internationally. It was awarded Best White Trophy at the Tri-National Wine Challenge, Gold Medal at the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles and Blue Gold at the Sydney International, two years in a row. Howard Park» |
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From parcels of Pinot Noir, planted to the foot of tailings, left behind by waves of prospectors who pursued their fortune amongst the open pits and mines on Adelaide Hills during the gold rush of the 1850s. Crushed and destemmed straight into the press with minimal time on skins to extract the perfect pink, its blushing lipstick hues presage a cornucopia of lifted strawberry and cherry blossom characters, ruby grapefruit and luscious jube over a length of tasty, toothsome tannins, the perfect Rosé for lazy afternoons or late night soirées. Bird In Hand» |
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Paringa is one of Victoria's leading estates, having claimed Royal Melbourne Most Successful Winery Trophy and earning impressive international acclaim for it's founder, the eminent Lindsay McCall. His style is defined by his passion for viticulture and devotion to the art of making nothing but the finest wines. Paringa Estate» |
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Brookland Valley Estate made a conspiuous impression through their stirling efforts at Cabernet Merlot when they claimed several significant trophies, including the hotly contested Qantas Best Wine of Show. Expressing fully the generous palate structure and aromatic richness of the stylish Margaret River Cab Merlot accord, beautifully perfumed, bramble flavoured wine, brimming with the quality and elegance which has earned Brookland Valley Estate a five star reputation. Brookland Valley» |
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After several decades of crafting Australia's most memorable vintages, Mike Press is more sanguine than ever that great wine can only come from the finest vineyards. His dedicated hands on approach means that he is personally involved in every stage of the winemaking, from pruning the vines and inspecting grapes, right to plunging the ferments and bottling his finished wine. Mike Press» |
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Considered an undistinguished vintage, it won a trophy, five Gold, four Silver and six Bronze medals between 1974 and 1982.. . Penfolds» |
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Steeped in history, the original Baileys store was situated next door to the Glenrowan Inn where widow Jones hosted Ned Kelly's siege. Following the gold rush, the Baileys turned to farming and settled on a property which they named Bundarra. Baileys Glenrowan» |
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Positioned half way between Avoca and Ballarat, the modestly sized Amherst have only ten acres under vine. The small yields translate into extraordinarily structured, powerfully intense wines, brimming with fine aromatics and lined with silky tannins. Amherst» |
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Yealands Seaview Vineyard is exposed to some of the toughest growing conditions in Marlborough, high sunshine and billowing winds wind, cool nights and low rainfalls for a smaller, thicker skinned Pinot Gris of exciting intensity. Fruit from the relatively flat, coastal L6M block, provides a pure mineral elegance to the structural backbone. Yealands Estate» |
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A Coonawarra Shiraz of elegance and finesse, Penley's vintages are regularly awarded with prestigious international trophies and accolades, outclassing some of the nation's icon wines. A splendid effort exhibiting generous varietal fruit and spiced pepper, perfumes of good French oak and plenty of flavour. Penley Estate» |
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De Bortoli hold an extensive collection of barrel aged wines. Stocks of fortified and botrytised Semillon are drawn on from time to time to assemble into a wickedly decadent wine of rare opulence. De Bortoli» |
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Tapanappa
About Tapanappa - the Winery
Tapanappa
Even as the ink was drying on the Petaluma purchase in 2001, Brian Croser's friends at Champagne Bollinger were forming a pact with the Croser family to begin again
Then along came the Cazes family from Chateau Lynch Bages in Pauillac. On a trip to Australia in 2002, Jean-Michel and his son Jean-Charles met with Croser and joined the partnership. The driving ambition was to own and make wine from the more than 30-year old Koppamurra Vineyard just north of Coonawarra. Tapanappa was born and Koppamurra Vineyard was acquired in late 2002. The property has since been renamed Whalebone Vineyard. The partnership was founded in a strong, mutually held belief that some pieces of ground are much better than others for the production of fine wine. Of course this superiority is highly specific to varieties and wine style. The Whalebone Vineyard and Cabernet Sauvignon in particular have a unique synergy. Croser learned of the wonderful quality of Cabernet from the Whalebone Vineyard 25 years ago when in 1980, he assisted Geoff Weaver to make his very first wine from this vineyard under the Ashbourne label.
Tapanappa is also fortunate to have access to Chardonnay fruit from The Tiers Vineyard, planted by the Croser family in 1979, the first vineyard planted in the Adelaide Hills since the 19th century and a proven distinguished site for Chardonnay. This is the concept of terroir, the uncopyable effect of the geology, soil, climate, latitude, longitude, altitude, aspect, surrounds and all other factors affecting Cabernet vines on the Whalebone Vineyard and Chardonnay on The Tiers. Whalebone and Tiers are proven distinguished sites. In the middle of and at the highest point of the Fleurieu Peninsula, the Croser family have planted a revolutionary Pinot Noir vineyard 10 kilometres from any other site, a distinguished site in the making. The mission of Tapanappa is to maximise the quality of wine from these three distinguished sites, regardless of cost, which also implies producing only tiny quantities of wine.
Traditional South Australian viticulturists considered the Piccadilly Valley too cool and inclement for grape growing and The Tiers Vineyard configuration too expensive to establish and too costly to manage for an economic return. Their scepticism was nearly justified when the first flowerings of the new Tiers Vineyard failed in 1983 and 1984 because of what later proved to be unusually windy and cold weather in late November of both years. Tiers was the first of the now many cool climate vineyards later established to this formula in Australia in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
The Croser family commitment to the continued excellence of the Chardonnay fruit from The Tiers Vineyard has been demonstrated by the emotionally painful removal of one third of the original panting and its replacement by new Dijon Chardonnay clones on rootstocks and on an even tighter planting regime of 4444 vines/hectare. These vines now contribute another layer of complexity to Tapanappa Tiers Chardonnay.
When the Croser family purchased Maylands Farm at Parawa on the Southern Fleurieu peninsula in 2003, they did so with the sole purpose of growing the finest sea air and grass fed prime lambs. Despite all the best intentions, Croser quickly developed a sense that there were some ideal viticultural sites at Maylands. By Christmas, Foggy Hill stage one had been planted on rootstocks with the Dijon University (Bernard) Pinot Noir clones 114, 115 and 777. Maylands Farm lambs graze in the paddocks alongside the Foggy Hill Vineyard in the cool humid air from the Great Southern Ocean visible to the south.
Whalebone may be special but the important question is, what is so special about the wine? Whalebone Cabernet Shiraz shows a consistency of style and quality that transcends vintage variation. The wine is recognisably Whalebone from hotter or colder, wetter or drier vintages. First and foremost Tapanappa Cabernet Shiraz is the taste of the Whalebone Vineyard. The terroir delivers complexity involving the aroma and flavour of dusty earth and Eucalypt smoke. Whalebone Cabernet Shiraz shines with a translucent cerise and purple hue. The aroma is complex and powerful, dominated by ripe blackberry and plum fruit. Liquorice, cellar earth, clove and leather are layered on the foundation of fruit aroma. A finely textured palate with a sweet fruit core and dry grainy tannin finish are hallmarks of a wine of pedigree. Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard Cabernet Shiraz is grown and made to benefit from bottle age.
The word Tapanappa is probably derived from local aboriginal meaning stick to the path. For the past 30 years the path for Croser has been the identification of distinguished vineyard sites, matching the climate, soil and geology of the site to the right variety and then fastidiously managing the vineyard to maximise quality. That is the philosophy on which Croser founded Petaluma. With Tapanappa, he remains firmly on the path.
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