You’ll notice on the front label of this fabulous Hills Chardonnay that Tapanappa proprietor Brian Croser clearly defines this as a Piccadilly Valley wine, the Tiers site being where he set up home and winery, the latter begun as Petaluma in 1979 and after a rocky history of corporate wrangling, now under the Tapanappa livery, is once again back with him privately. He celebrates the Piccadilly Valley like no other, and the three Chardonnays from there are stunners, this specifically from one side of the vineyard replanted in 2003 to defined clones in very close spacing – hence the 1.5M marking.

2017 was a cool year and has delivered a refined wine, less opulent than the warmer vintage 2016, and (at 13%alc) more sophisticated again with delicate yeast/wood/lees/nutty ferment characters before landing with crisp citrussy feels, grapefruit to lemon in definition, pithy with unwavering yet even acidity as its foundation. It marries elegance with vitality, and is simply superb.