Tapanappa is a new Australian fine wine company. Formed in 2002, it is a partnership between the Croser family of the Piccadilly Valley, Australia, the Cazes family of Lynch Bages in the Medoc of Bordeaux, France and the families of Bollinger of Champagne, France. With more than thirty years of fine wine making experience from some of the finest terroirs of Australia, Brian Croser is supported in this new venture by the fine wine tradition and experience of his French partners united in their mutual belief in the prime role of "terroir" in wine quality. "We are determined to use the most expressive and unique terroirs of Australia to create Australian fine wine of distinction" In 2002 the partnership purchased the 30 year-old Koppamurra Vineyard, 20 kilometres north of Coonawarra in the Wrattonbully region. The vineyard has been completely retrellised and renovated and has been renamed the Whalebone Vineyard because of the discovery of a whale skeleton in a limestone cave beneath the vineyard. The Whalebone Vineyard is a terroir peculiarly suited to the varieties Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. In an era in which the distinction between fine wine and commodity wine is becoming increasingly marked Australia is struggling to find its place in the fine wine world. Tapanappa is committed to achieving recognition of the Whalebone Vineyard as a great Australian terroir in the most discriminating fine wine markets of the world.
