Brian Croser at his Tiers Vineyard. Image courtesy Tapanappa

Of only seven wines named ‘Global Chardonnay Masters’ by The Drinks Business UK, three are from the Adelaide Hills, switching the spotlight away from traditional regions like Burgundy.

When The Drinks Business magazine in the UK run their Global Chardonnay Masters wine competition, they receive entries of Chardonnay wines from around the world. The absolute best are judged to be ‘Master,’ and only seven wines earned that top honour this year: one from New Zealand, one from Tasmania, two from Burgundy and three from the Adelaide Hills.

The three Chardonnay Masters from Adelaide Hills are Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard, Tapanappa Tiers 1.5m Vineyard, and Penfolds Reserve Bin A, all Chardonnays from the 2023 vintage.

Brian Croser AO, winemaker and vigneron behind Tapanappa, was the first to plant Chardonnay in the Adelaide Hills at his Tiers Vineyard in 1979.

“The Adelaide Hills (and the Piccadilly Valley in particular) was always going to be recognised globally as providing great terroirs for Chardonnay,” said Croser.

“The climates, geology and soils of the Adelaide Hills are uniquely suited to growing distinguished Chardonnay. It has taken 40 years to achieve this recognition and Tapanappa’s Tiers Vineyard in the Piccadilly Valley epitomises the patience and care required to elicit the very best from Chardonnay. It is a new dawn for Adelaide Hills Chardonnay.”

Alex Trescowthick, president of Adelaide Hills Wine Region said that the region was now producing “some of the world’s best Chardonnays”.

“Some people may be surprised that Chardonnay from the Adelaide Hills is creating such waves internationally,” said Trescowthick. “We are not. We listened to Brian Croser when he planted the Tiers vineyard and followed suit throughout the region. Today, the success of Adelaide Hills Chardonnay is a stunning example of the right grape in the right place, with the right people doing the right things.”

One of the judges, Patrick Schmitt MW explained that  “…as is so often said, the benchmark for this grape is Burgundy…”.

“However,” he continued, “when it came to bang for your buck, that award went to Tapanappa, which uses the oldest Chardonnay plantings in Adelaide Hills to yield a wine of great flavour concentration and palate-cleansing freshness – for sub-£40. In short, it is an outstanding, age-worthy white for the price of a brut NV Champagne.”

This talk of value is in comparison to top-end Burgundy—the prices of these Adelaide Hills wines range from $90 to $130 per bottle.

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