2004 Tapanappa Merlot Whalebone Vineyard

Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  2/7/2008, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (TAPANAPPA Merlot) Tapanappa Dear Friends, Is this the world’s finest Merlot? I know it’s improbable but, is it? I haven’t tasted the wine but the word on the street is that it has a chance to be... Tapanappa is the partnership of Petaluma's Brian Croser and the Cazes family of Lynch Bages, not as a commercial effort (by the case totals this is obvious) but to produce the finest wines of their type in the world - just because. Jean-Michel Cazes never had the opportunity to buy Lafleur so he set out to make his own and it is rumored that the Bollinger family has a weekend house stake in this as well. Think of this as a garage project that has turned into something much larger (from an acclaim standpoint). The major twist? Instead of buying land in Bordeaux to make this series of wines, they went for some of the oldest, mineral rich soil on earth - Australia. Brian Croser knew just where that plot of land was and he led them to it - Tapanappa. Croser describes this land as “From an ancient shoreline pure in limestone, rich red top soil, planted 30-40 years ago. You can see ancient whalebones that were stranded on the beach eons ago in the caves below the vineyard - spectacular proof of the vineyards provenance”. This is not your average plot of vines - think #18 at Pebble Beach with the fairway as the vineyard. The flagship wine is the Cabernet/Shiraz (Whalebone Red Blend), it is akin to their Ornellaia - a blend of Bordeaux varietals mixed with a percentage of Shiraz. The wine we offer below is like their Masseto - a major step above the regular Ornellaia. Harvey Steiman has been following these wines since the first vintage, more as a curiosity than anything, and his enthusiasm has never wavered (the IWC as well). The Merlot has not been reviewed yet but using the Ornellaia/Masseto example you can use your own imagination. This is the most limited wine in the portfolio, only 150 cases were produced from less than one hectare of 30-40 year old Merlot vines grown in soil that is like the bottom of the sea bed (a complete anomaly in Australia). What is quite interesting to me about this wine is that initially, in cask, the Merlot didn’t appear to be anything special (according to Brian) and it was intended to be part of the blended Cabernet/Shiraz wine, but as the Merlot component continued to age in cask, it became apparent that it was turning into something very special. They decided it was so profound (in their words) that it had to be bottled separately - it was superior to the Cabernet, Franc and Shiraz that would make up the Whalebone Red so the finished wine made the choice for them. Whatever the result, this is sure to be a special wine and I’m sure a number of you will want to experience its virtues. Don’t laugh, but there are only 120 bottles for the entire US (none for retail) so it’s basically impossible to get except at a restaurant somewhere. This parcel is directly from the winery cellar with perfect provenance: For more information, please see (no relation): http://www.wineanorak.com/tapanappa.htm 2004 Tapanappa “Os de Baleine Merlot” Whalebone Vineyard WrattonBully (this is not the Red Blend or Whalebone Red) Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Aus5140