Every year we anticipate the release of the ‘Bin
Wines’ from Penfolds. They are a bastion
of consistency, and the style of each Bin scarcely varies an iota save for
vintage differences, and even then the Bin-style nearly takes precedence over
the vagaries of each harvest. The Bin
wines from Penfolds reassure us through thick and thin, and no doubt have been
one of the steadying influences for the staff of Penfolds as they have endured
many changes to their company structure, extreme growing conditions and
volatile market forces in the last decade.
The advance guards of the 2010 Penfolds releases have
arrived. While we await the release of
the luxury and icon wines, especially the ‘Grange’ 2005, we can approach the
2008 and 2007 Bin Wines. We offer two of
the 2008 wines, both single region in origin, from what is seen as “an
outstanding year where quality and quantity go hand in hand”. Ideal flowering conditions throughout South Australia resulted
in excellent fruit set and berry size and the dry, warm growing period saw
healthy growth. The coolest February in
35 years enabled fantastic hang time for the accumulation of the aromatic
compounds and preservation of acidity.
Very hot conditions in March marked the harvest. The result is arguably the best white wine
vintage ever at Penfolds and a dazzling one for the reds.
Penfolds ‘Bin
138’ Barossa Valley Shiraz/Mourvedre/Grenache 2008
This is the Chateauneuf-du-Pape equivalent from
Penfolds, a style first released with the 1992 vintage. Employing solely Barossa Valley fruit from
old, low-yielding vines, ranging in age from 35 to 100+ years, the 2008 ‘Bin
138’ is 42% Shiraz, 30% Mourvedre and 28% Grenache, fermented to 14.5% alc. and
aged 15 months in seasoned American oak hogsheads. Dark ruby red in colour, with a near
impenetrable black hue, the nose offers a heady rush of aromatics of wild
raspberries, liquorice and spices that unfolds to reveal florals and meaty
notes. On palate, this is a seriously
constituted wine with excellent depth and concentration of red and black
fruits, showing real ripeness and richness, but kept in check from being overly
sweet by the fine-grained tannins. The
old vine textures are a feature of the palate mouthfeel. The wine, while ready and enjoyable now, will
cellar 10-15 years easily. A brilliant
‘Bin 138’.
Penfolds ‘Bin
128’ Coonawarra Shiraz 2008
Penfolds ‘Bin 128’ was created in 1962 in a style
separate from the rest of the ‘Bin’ wines of that time. It was a single region-sourced wine rather
and a multi-regional blend as was the norm based on Penfolds blending
philosophies. Representing the cooler
expression of Shiraz from the Coonwarra
vignoble, it became a wonderful wine to compare alongside the warm-climate ‘Bin
28 Kalimna’ Shiraz. To accentuate the differences, from 1980,
French oak exclusively was used instead of the ubiquitous American oak hogshead
for maturation, the French oak particularly suited to the cooler, finer fruit. Showing a beautifully, brilliant black hued,
almost impenetrable purple-red colour, this shows an very fine and tightly
constructed bouquet of pepper, black berried fruits, perfumes and florals with
a basil herb-like twist. Subtle spices
from the oak add lift. This is one of
the most finely concentrated ‘Bin 128’ wines seen yet and the combination of
ripe, boysenberry and black pepper Shiraz fruit is enhanced by spices, violets
and chocolate complexities. It is all
underpinned by supple, but serious extraction, and the velvety tannins will
enable 15-20 years of cellaring.