Foggy Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir 2017

94 points, “2017 was almost a perfect vintage here; Brian Croser used 30% whole-bunch fruit, cooled, then layered with de-stemmed bunches before the tank was sealed. Floral, delicate yet with great persistence – an ultra-elegant example of Australian Pinot.” – Decanter

94 points, “This is arguably the best Foggy Hill Pinot Noir I’ve seen… In all respects it’s both a beautiful and an impressive wine.” – Campbell Mattinson, Wine Front

94 points, “A broad patina of sous-bois, pickled cherry and fecund strawberry, aged judiciously in French oak (30%). Silky, with a gentle rasp of herb-inflected tannins and saline maritime acidity.” – James Halliday’s Wine Companion

Possibly one of the greatest Aussie Pinot Noirs we’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting. Grapes from Dijon clones grown in Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia, crafted by one of the world’s greatest winemakers in a vintage he described as being “as close to the script for a perfect vintage as Mother Nature will allow”. We only have a handful of bottles, but they should not be missed. Intense strawberry – almost reminiscent of Bonne Maman Strawberry Conserve – combined with ripe cherry, dried wildflowers, festive spices, forest floor and smoky wood; Brian Croser calls this “the best expression of Foggy Hill terroir yet”, and we can’t argue with him on that.

An Officer of the Order of Australia and a Decanter Man of the Year, Brian Croser is a luminary, a living legend and a true visionary. Rising to fame as the chief winemaker at Hardy’s in the 1970s, he would later establish Petaluma and Argyle in Oregon. But maybe one of his most important wineries is Tapanappa, created in partnership with Bollinger and the Cazes family of Pauillac’s Lynch Bages.