If you notice advertisements, you will have noticed that Penfolds released their new “bin range” wines in Australia this week. Penfolds is now part of the Treasury Wine Estates’ stable following its demerger from Foster’s Group Limited, and stands in its own right as one of the world’s largest wine makers. The long continuous history of many of its wines, and the breadth of their availability, continue to make Penfolds’ wines of general consumer interest, so here are my thoughts. Prices appear to have ticked up for each of these releases compared with last year.
Penfolds Bin 138 2010, Barossa Valley
The Bin 138 is a grenache shiraz mourvédre, with percentages of 50%, 27% and 23% respectively, all sourced from the Barossa Valley. It is a bright purple in appearance. On the nose, it is a medium-pronounced expression of vanilla oak, herbs, strawberries and chocolate. The palate displays medium length, vanilla oak, medium acidity and soft tannins. This wine is an early drinking style, that is ready to drink now. Despite the winemaker’s notes saying that the oak is barely perceptible, I found it the most obvious feature of the wine. 84 points (good)
Abv: 14.5%
Price: $27.55
Vendors: everywhere, including Dan Murphy’s and Vintage Cellars
Website: http://www.penfolds.com
Tasted: March 2012
Penfolds Bin 128 2010, Coonawarra
The Bin 128 is made wholly from shiraz sourced from Coonawarra. It is bright purple in colour, somewhere between medium and pronounced in terms of its intensity of colour. The nose is complex, with notes of white pepper, dried herbs, lavender, rose petals, and has a medium intensity of expression. It is quite youthful. The palate is dry, shows medium-high acidity, medium length and tannins and a crunchy dried herb note intermingled with plums. This wine shows well, and reminds me of a Rhône Valley wine. 87 points (very good)
Abv: 14.5%
Price: $27.55
Vendors: everywhere, including Dan Murphy’s and Vintage Cellars
Tasted: March 2012
Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2009, South Australia
The fruit for this 100% shiraz is sourced from all over South Australia – Padthaway, Barossa Valley, Langhorne Creek, McLaren Vale and Robe. It is a bright purple in colour. The nose has an attractive opulence to it, with aromas of plums, spice (nutmeg), vanilla bean, vanilla, in a layered medium intensity expression that promises much. The palate is dry, with evident tannins that are powdery and chalky, oak, medium-high acid, and flavours of plums, dark plums, pepper and some woody overtones. Frustratingly, I feel that the chalky, oaky and woody flavours that intermingled with the fruit on the palate somewhat undid the highly attractive promise offered by this wine’s aroma. This may however sort itself out with time in bottle. 85 points (very good)
Abv: 14.5%
Price: $27.55
Tasted: March 2012
Penfolds Bin 407 2009, South Australia
The Bin 407 is made wholly from cabernet sauvignon, and from fruit sourced from all over South Australia – this time, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, Robe, Mt Benson, Adelaide Hills and Barossa Valley. The wine is a bright purple in colour. The aroma is a medium intensity and youthful expression of iodine, blackcurrants, herbs, bouquet garnis, chocolate and dried tea leaves. Tasted blind, I would certainly have said it was from Coonawarra despite the rainbow of regions the wine’s grapes are sourced from. The palate is dry, with medium-high acid, medium-long length, oak, black fruits, medium-high tannins, drying wood extract and vanilla. This very structured wine is not ready to drink, but I think it is built to last. 89-90 points (very good/extremely good)
Abv: 14.4% (ooh look, a wine that isn’t 14.5%abv!!)
Price: $46.70
Tasted: March 2012
Penfolds Bin 389 2009
The Bin 389 is a blend of 51% cabernet sauvignon and 49% shiraz with fruit sourced again from all over South Australia – Padthaway, Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, Wrattonbully and Robe. It is a bright purple in colour. Its nose is a medium-pronounced intensity expression of herbs, dried tea, vanilla pod, spice (sweet cinnamon) and blackcurrants that is at once youthful, opulent and complex, suggesting some balance. The palate is dry, with medium acid, medium-high tannins and medium-long length which in a layered manner integrate with plums, dried basil and dried thyme. The acidity seemed to be a little separate at times. This wine is also somewhat unapproachable in its youth, but is plainly built to last, and appears to be very good indeed. 91 points (extremely good)
Abv: 14.5%
Price: $54.65
Tasted: March 2012
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