Penfolds RWT Shiraz is a big juicy Barossan Shiraz refined by the use of older French oak barrels. 1998 is considered to be one of the classic vintages of the modern age. Drinking wonderfully now but with many years still to come in its development, this is a great addition to any cellar.
Penfolds Bin 389 is the classic South Australian red! Often referred to as 'Baby Grange' or 'Poor Man's Grange', Bin 389 was the wine that helped to build Penfolds' solid reputation with wine drinkers around the world. A magnificent blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz from the very best regions and vineyards available to Peter Gago and his team, the robust nature of the Cabernet grape give structure and body to the wine while the opulent Shiraz fruit provides suppleness and intensity. A true icon of Australian wine first created by the legend himself, Max Schubert, Peter Gago is quoted as saying 'Through thick and thin, across all vintages, Bin 389 always delivers - benefitting from over half a century of practice!
The Penfolds Bin 150 Marananga Shiraz is a relatively new addition to the Penfolds stable, sourced from the Barossan sub-district, Marananga. Simply a revelation, this wine is an inky, black beast in the glass with lashings of dark chocolate and coffee accented fruit, yet this years offering shows a lingering, soft structured finish that will see the wine cellar very nicely.
Penfolds Maxs Cabernet Sauvignon is a regional blend that gives the wine a fuller more intense mouthfeel. It has rich blackcurrant and toffee-apple like aromas on the nose, followed by dense savoury varietal fruits on the palate. Tannins are firm with subtle oaks leading to a long finish.
Since the early 90's, Penfolds have been producing Chardonnay from the cool climate region of Tumbarumba. The Chardonnay is elegant with white florals, stone fruits and a great acidity structure. Maturation in French Oak gives the Bin 311 a subtle nutty savoury flavour through and through. A great all season wine for all sorts of occasions.
PENFOLDS Reserve Bin 18A Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills Win a VIP Experience at Penfolds Kalimna* Earn an entry into the competition for every $300 you spend on Penfolds, and for every bottle of Grange you purchase. Includes flights, accommodation, tastings, a helicopter flight to the Barossa Valley and more! *T&Cs apply. View full terms and conditions Reserve Bin A has evolved into a distinctive, modern, single-region (Adelaide Hills) Chardonnay, second only to Yattarna in the Penfolds white wine hierarchy. Each year the wine is made it is labelled according to the last two digits of the vintage -- hence Reserve Bin 10A, 12A, 13A and so on. Fruit is hand-picked to small bins and whole-bunch pressed. A portion of the juice is incrementally filled to barrel directly from the press and allowed to undergo a natural fermentation. Thus ...every new (40%) and seasoned (one or two-year-old) French oak barrique is its own, unique 225-litre ferment. Enhanced mouthfeel and complexity is achieved by maturation (typically for eight months) on solids, with intermittent yeast lees stirring. The 100% malolactic fermentation is also natural. Reserve Bin A has established a strong following since it was first made in 1994. It is a fresh, minerally style that occupies a place in the vanguard of modern Australian Chardonnay. With its distinctive, flinty aromatics, creamy texture and razor-sharp acidity, it perfectly articulates the fruit complexity and mouth-watering attributes of cool-climate Adelaide Hills fruit from Chardonnay vineyards across the region.
NOSE Fresh and inviting – complexed by yeast lees-derived nougat and ground pistachio/almond/roasted chestnut. Scents of deconstructed crème brûlée ‘(flamed top and custardy middle), enhanced by ripe white nectarine and peach fruits. A liberal sprinkle of crushed rock/pebble dust (quartz, limestone?) certainly adds interest. PALATE A very lively palate of freshly sliced cucumber and lime citrus flavours hovering over a soft and succulent acid underpinning. A tight phenolic grip induces wonderful length and drive to the finish. A cool climate regional trio – three different chardonnay expressions of texture/acidity/tightness/purity coalesce, propelling combined fruits/flavours. A ‘new Bin 311’ is revealed.
Penfolds Special Bin 111A Shiraz, Clare Valley, Barossa Valley
PENFOLDS Special Bin 111A Shiraz, Clare Valley, Barossa Valley It is a tradition at Penfolds to experiment, research and develop new wines. The large number of mostly one-off, bin-numbered wines produced, beginning in the 1950s, initially shows a company diversifying away from its core business of fortified wines. In the 1960s, the primary aim was to make show wines, but the program also resulted in the development of current-day staples like Bin 707 and Bin 389 and, more recently, of Bin 407, RWT Shiraz and Yattarna Chardonnay. In effect, the first two Special Bin wines were the then-experimental 1951 Grange and the control wine Max Schubert made alongside it so he could see what the wine would be like matured in a single, old 4500 litre cask rather than the new, 300 litre American oak barrels in which he put the real Grange.That wine is now forgotten, but, said Schubert (in 1979): It did... set the guidelines for the production and marketing of a whole range of special red wines which have been sought after, vintage by vintage, to this day. Schuberts successors, the late Don Ditter, John Duval and Peter Gago, continued the tradition, making small-batch wines (1000 dozen or less) for comparison with existing styles, to try out something new in the way of varietal or regional combinations or simply to spotlight a brilliant parcel of fruit. Some may be forgotten in time, but others are considered among the greatest Australian wines of all time.
Penfolds Special Bin 111A Shiraz, Clare Valley, Barossa Valley 2016
Unmistakably, Grange, this 2012 vintage is complex, flamboyant and lifted. An aromatic multi-cultural characteristics. The earthiness is well integrated with the aromas of dark fruits, grounded coffee, red liquorice and black olives, which leads to a firmly structured finish.
Conceived as a white wine development program, the Bin 51 Riesling soon became one of Penfolds' star performers. Eden Valley is an obvious choice of region for Riesling due to the higher altitude and cool climate. The wine offers delicate aromas of fresh cut apples and pears with a twist of lemon and minerality towards the end. A great deal of fruits and acidity makes for an interesting white wine with propensity to age gracefully if carefully cellared.