Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard 1.5M Chardonnay 2020
- 94
- $55
- Drink by: 2021 - 2035
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This wine hails from the celebrated Tiers Vineyard, but there are subtle differences at play which imbues it with a different personality to the Tiers flagship wine.
• It’s younger in vine age, planted 2003.
• It’s planted to French Bernard clones and is earlier ripening.
• It’s close-planted, hence the reference to 1.5M (1.5 metre spacing).
There’s a generous ripeness that is countered by a racy acidity. Acid hounds will enjoy the mouth-watering smack of juiciness and lemony clean finish. The lifted scent of lemon blossom, nougat, apple and white peach on the bouquet sets the scene. Fermentation in French oak barriques (one third new) then brings a real touch of texture and balance. Fruit intensity comes courtesy of a very good vintage, but it is the combination of the almost Chablis-like acid crunch that leaves the most lasting – and long – impression. Overall, it’s one smart chardonnay from one of Australia’s great chardonnay makers of which only 200 dozen were produced in 2020.
Jeni Port is one of Australia’s top wine communicators. Based in Melbourne, Jeni created the first wine column in the (then) Sun News-Pictorial before moving over to The Age and becoming that paper’s longest-serving wine writer. Over the years she has written for most Australian wine magazines and these days calls WinePilot home. She is also a Tasting Panel member on the Halliday Wine Companion. She was named Wine Communicator of the Year and Legend of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in 2014 and in 2018 Legend of the Vine. She is a founding board member of Australian Women In Wine and is the co-deputy chair of Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards and China’s Wine List of the Year Awards.
