2023 Tapanappa Tiers Chardonnay

97 POINTS

Ken Gargett - Winepilot

Tiers has long been one of Australia’s most famous Chardonnays and this latest release will only add to the reputation. First planted in 1979, fermentation was in French oak barriques, one third new. 575 dozen. A dilute lemon hue, there are hints of nutmeg and cashews as the oak integration proceeds. Spices, lemon pith, florals, grapefruit and lemon curd, especially on the palate. There is a tiny tropical note edging in, with a flick of pineapple. An immaculate structure here with oyster shell acidity, knife-edge balance and incredible length. Wow, this is a good Chardonnay. Enjoy it over the next ten to fifteen years. The score has the potential to go even higher in time.

97 POINTS

James Suckling

Fresh aromas of minerals, lemon peel, gun smoke and grapefruit. The palate is medium-bodied with focused acidity and a textural mouthfeel, giving notes of lime curd, orange blossoms, shortbread, flint and baking spices. Wonderfully balanced, with both power and vivid acidity.

96 POINTS

Steve Leszczynski - QWine Reviews

And you thought the Tiers 1.5m was something special? Woah! This is a treat and then some. The Tiers from Tapanappa has quite rightly built itself a reputation over the years and this further cements its standing as one of the premier Chardonnays in Australia. From the coolest of four consecutive cool vintages, the vines were planted in 1979. It’s worth noting that this was the first vineyard in the Piccadilly Valley. A wine with some tension and fabulous complexity, mind you, I found the layers more detailed in the 1.5m Chardonnay. Focused, scents of flint and barbecued nectarines leap from the glass. It possesses a calm presence with a soft soul highlighted by figs, cashews and vanilla cream building interest and momentum with time in the glass. Delicate white fleshed stonefruit adds to its glorious shape and effortless delivery as do some biscuity nuances. Grapefruit acidity offers the parting gift. Oh my, that tang! This will age beautifully if you can hold out that long. A brilliant Chardonnay. Drink to eight years+

96 POINTS

Mike Bennie - Halliday Wine Companion

From the Tiers Vineyard planted in 1979. A third of the barrels used are new French oak. The cooler year renders a wine of tension and torsion, precision and finesse. It's heavily perfumed, an invitation to drink lustily, with green apple, lime, ginger, cinnamon and faint alpine herb characters lightly dusted with clove-cedar oak. Just so. The palate has immense vitality and length, a pleasing, almost lightly hazy texture captured in ripples of briny acidity holding in more apple, cinnamon, clove and licks of peach and green almond. Lots going on here; an immensely satisfying and serious wine. And delicious, importantly.

96 POINTS

Huon Hooke - The Real Review

Lighty toasted cashewnut aroma, hints of vanilla and almond-meal, the palate refined and tense, concentrated and yet seamlessly textured and composed. The wine is very smooth and rounded, with plenty of acidity but you barely feel it. Lovely depth of flavour and balance. Nigh-invisible oak; long carry. Superb chardonnay.

96 POINTS

Gary Walsh - The Wine Front

Only 2011 was cooler than 2023 (of recent vintages) in the Piccadilly Valley, as expressed in HDD at 1093°, versus the long term average of 1135°. This is from a block planted in 1979,  the clone unknown. Pear, grapefruit and lemon oil, almond meal and biscuit spices. It’s a bright and tight wine, a distinctly citrus-laced line of acidity, grapefruit, green olive and honey lemon, it’s flinty too, though has a light creamy cashew gloss to temper, and the finish is long with a zesty aftertaste. This seems like a long term wine, and while it’s kind of brittle as at now, its intensity and length mark it out as a classic Chardonnay.

95 POINTS

Jeni Port - Winepilot

If Tiers 1.5m Chardonnay hails from the “new” block of French Bernard clones planted in 2003, fruit for this Tiers Chardonnay is off the “old” block, the original block established in 1979. A cool vintage and low yields bring good concentration, but what really characterises the wine is its open and inviting summery bounce and energy. It rocks. Orange and citrus blossom aromatics, a hint of honeysuckle join aromas of apple, citrus, grapefruit, white peach and spice. Lemony bright acidity rules the palate, enticing tastebuds and melding with lemon sorbet, zest, stone fruit and a distinctive quince tang against a nougat warm and buttery texture. Layer upon layer of concentrated flavour . . . and bounce.

95 POINTS

2024 - Decanter World Wine Awards

Enticing citrus, orchard fruit and grilled cashew notes flow and swirl around the simmering acidity and fine creamy texture and propel towards the enchanting, long finish. Award: Gold - DWWA 2024