In 1978 Brian Croser selected the Piccadilly Valley in the centre of the Adelaide Hills
because it provided the best terroirs in which to grow Chardonnay for Petaluma
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and Chardonnay for the sparkling wine Croser.
The Tiers Vineyard was the first vineyard planted in the Adelaide Hills since the 19th
century and is in the centre of the Piccadilly Valley at 450 metres elevation on the site
where Brian and Ann Croser live and where the Petaluma Winery was built in 1978.
The Tiers Vineyard is 3 hectares of 28 year-old Chardonnay on closer spacing of 3,330
vines/hectare with vertical canopy, the first Australian mainland vineyard on this handlabor
intensive configuration.
Another 1.5 hectares of the oldest vines on the Tiers were pulled out to make way for
Dijon Chardonnay Clones 95 and 76 on devigorating rootstocks. These vines were
planted on still closer spacing of 1.5m x 1.5m or 4440 vines/hectare. The fruiting wire
of the new vines has been reduced to 0.5m from the ground from 0.8m in the older
plantings to take ripening advantage of ground warmth at night. The fruit from this
newer planting of 1.5 hectares is blended with the older vine fruit in Tapanappa Tiers
Vineyard Chardonnay.
The Piccadilly Valley is the second coolest (after Foggy Hill at Parawa) and highest
rainfall viticultural sub-region in South Australia, with an average heat summation for
the growing season of just 1172ºC days and an annual rainfall in excess of 1200 mm.
The mean temperature of the hottest month January is 17.7ºC. The Piccadilly Valley is
a homo-clime of Dijon in Burgundy.
The soils in the Tiers Vineyard are free draining red-brown clay loams with a high
content of clay (50%+) and of rock fragments. The 1600 million year-old Calc-silicate
parent-rock of the soil was brought to surface by an ancient fault line, and it only exists
beneath Tiers Vineyard and small portions of the neighboring properties.
From 2005 Ann Croser, the owner, has agreed to divide the crop of the Tiers Vineyard
between Petaluma and Tapanappa. Tapanappa selects its Tiers Chardonnay fruit from
the thinner and rockier soils on the top of the slope and Petaluma harvests the belly of
the slope.
Vintage Notes
2008 began as a warmer than average growing season until January and February which
were cooler than average. Then there was the withering heat wave at the beginning of
March which produced 15 straight days over 30°C, 8 of which reached or just exceeded
35°C. The Piccadilly Valley vineyards were not damaged by the heat wave as occurred
elsewhere in South Australia where the temperature exceeded 40°C for most of the 15
days. However, the hot spell did advance grape maturity and Tiers Chardonnay was
harvested 2 weeks earlier than normal on the 17th of March, at the end of the heat
wave. 2008 was a warm harvest in the Piccadilly Valley, accruing 1227°C days of heat
during the growing season versus the average of 1177°C days.
The 2008 harvest of Tiers Chardonnay yielded the moderate crop level of 7
tonnes/hectare without fruit thinning. 2008 was one of the driest harvests on record
only recording 35 mms for the 6 month growing season until harvest in March. The
hand-harvested fruit was delivered in perfect condition to the winery, which is situated
at the foot of the Tiers Vineyard.
Winemaking Notes
Immediately on arrival at the winery, the Tiers Chardonnay fruit was de-stemmed,
crushed and chilled to 3ºC on the way to the air bag press. Cold juice was gravitated
away from the skins through the press and only light pressings were added back. A
small amount of SO2 was added to the juice on the way to the tank where the juice was
allowed to settle for 4 days. SO2 was the only addition to the juice prior to
fermentation.
The clear juice was racked to new (50%) and 1 use (50%) oak barriques from the
French forest of Vosges. A selected yeast strain, native to the vineyard, was added to
initiate fermentation and the bacteria for the malo-lactic fermentation was added at the
same time.
The primary fermentation was complete in 6 weeks after which the yeast lees were
stirred in the barriques weekly until the malo-lactic fermentation was complete 2
months later. At the finish of malo-lactic fermentation the wine was racked from
barrique, SO2 was added and the wine was put back to barrique to sit on lees for a
further 6 months.
After a total of 10 months in barrique, the 2008 Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay
was racked clear and prepared for bottling. The wine was bottled without filtration in
March 2009. The in-bottle analysis of 2008 Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay is:
Alcohol 13.9%, pH 3.11, total acid 7.46 gpl as tartaric, SO2 135 ppm, volatile acid 0.50
gpl.
The Taste of the Wine
Tapanappa’s 2008 Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay is a very typical wine of the Tiers
Vineyard in a warm vintage. The varietal aromas are ripe peach and melon. Subtle
marzipan and brioche aromas and flavours are contributed by the malo-lactic, yeast lees
contact and oak.
A consistent terroir feature of Tiers Chardonnay is its very significant texture followed
by a savoury finish and the persistence of the flavours. The Tapanappa 2008 Tiers
Vineyard Chardonnay will develop spicy honey and brulee characters with bottle age of
up to 10 years.
Winemaker Brian Croser
Bottled on the 10th of March, 2009. Only 1500 cases produced. RRP $80/bottle.
