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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2011 and 2016 (based on 15 user opinions) |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 88.1 pts. and median of 88 pts. in 89 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by wp_drinkers on 1/14/2022 & rated 88 points: Not bad for a cheapie. Tannins fully resolved but the acid is still there. Bit of alcohol heat. Still some dark fruit, cloves and other spices along with some leather. Decent length. Drink up! (1242 views) | | | Tasted by Quarked on 3/20/2021 & rated 87 points: I'm tempted to say this is declining. Stored in a wine cellar since purchase in 2010, the cork was in great shape. But the wine was showing signs of oxidation and strong prune notes. With a few hours of air it did improve, and the second night was ok, but the prunes were never too far away. (1537 views) | | | Tasted by CC-OZ on 12/8/2019 & rated 91 points: 2006 is the first vintage of KH 76, medium body, plum, black currant, smooth and balanced. Enjoyable aftertaste. No problem to hold for another 3~5 years. (2163 views) | | | Tasted by thebonnydooner on 7/12/2018 & rated 86 points: Another bottle showing quite a bit of age. Dark and ripe but not great balance. Not great progression from the last bottle. Basically not worth the aging process. Hoping my other recently discovered 2001 and 2004 Penfolds are as aweseome as I remember.... (2972 views) | | | Tasted by thebonnydooner on 1/31/2018 & rated 86 points: another pretty benign showing. for sure decent, with nice tasty ripe fruit, but not what it was cracked up to be..... (3265 views) | | | Tasted by JLLMGYA on 12/17/2017 & rated 90 points: The wine looks inky colored. The legs are slow. There is light sediment in the bottle. It smells like petrol. It tastes like meaty. The body is full. The wine has round texture. The wine finishes long. The wine has low acidity. (2635 views) | | | Tasted by oakland.cory on 11/25/2016: Last bottle I had was a little over two years ago and it was in a nice place. Now it's over the hill, sappy with roasted fruit aromas and flavors hitting the forefront. (3934 views) | | | Tasted by John Nezlek on 11/20/2016 & rated 85 points: Note: I use a scale on which 85 represents a very good wine.
Decent Aussie red blend. Nothing remarkable, but good drinking. Last time I gave it a 88. The difference reflects (in part) my attempt to use the scale more appropriately. (3164 views) | | | Tasted by Quarked on 10/29/2016 & rated 88 points: Lots of bright raspberry over deeper notes of shiraz. Good enough right now, but I'm going to let remaining bottles go for several more years. (2477 views) | | | Tasted by thebonnydooner on 10/14/2016 & rated 88 points: Full bodied and rich, but not overly complex. Blackberry and currant fruit, with raspberry fruit on the finish. Interesting, but not great. (2403 views) | | | Tasted by wp_drinkers on 2/27/2016 & rated 89 points: Fantastic QPR here. Still quite primary with plenty of tannin and acid to nicely balance out what is still quite primary fruit. I expect this to improve still over the next three to five years. (3051 views) | | | Tasted by John Nezlek on 11/17/2015 & rated 88 points: I need to join the positive chorus about this bottle. Very tasty, clearly a cab/shiraz blend that catches the high points of both. Penfolds make great wines for the money. Sometimes, they make me wonder why I spend so (and sooo) much more for wine. Just not that smart I guess. Don't know if any further aging will help. Probably will not hurt. (2103 views) | | | Tasted by jskuek on 11/16/2014 & rated 90 points: Good body, nice fruits and balance tannins. full bodied, med+ finishing. Slight spices and pepper. Extremely good value and great to drink now. (2960 views) | | | Tasted by jskuek on 10/1/2014 & rated 89 points: Nice nose, lots of berries. Jammy, firm mid palate nice structure. finish with enough spice to last long enough. Very smooth and well made. Time to drink up but should be able to hold it for another 2-3 years at least. (3130 views) | | | Tasted by casper01 on 9/23/2014 & rated 88 points: Drink now (3170 views) | | | Tasted by oakland.cory on 7/14/2014 & rated 92 points: Wonderfully complex, soft medium-bodied mouthfeel with good Shiraz character buoyed by cassis and saddle leather from the Cabernet component. Drink now - 2016+. (3075 views) | | | Tasted by Bev O. Vini on 3/21/2014 & rated 85 points: Stored (in varying conditions) since 2007. Still good, dark red brick colour. Nose of earth, mushroom and mulberry. Dark berries and some spice on the palate, velvety. Pleasing enough but not complex. Leftovers being used in coq au vin. (3071 views) | | | Tasted by Italiana on 12/9/2013: Extraordinary in what it delivers at $12. Initially hot and fairly heavy bodied, but gentle tannins. Not in my preferred style, but still a fine value. (2569 views) | | | Tasted by oakland.cory on 12/6/2013 & rated 93 points: Unexpectedly spectacular. Very Penfolds and very Aussie, nice bottle. (2369 views) | | | Tasted by Tom Ricks on 11/7/2013 & rated 90 points: Earthy nose. Some tannin on the finish, but otherwise a fruity Shiraz. (2531 views) | | | Tasted by Quarked on 7/16/2013: I opened this next to a regular '06 Koonunga Hill bottling to compare the two. On the first night the regular bottling (at 13.5% abv) was disjointed, hot, showing lots of fruit -- a real alcoholic mess. I would give it an 84 at best. The '76 bottling (at 14.5% abv) was smooth, showing muted fruit, with leather and cedar, and was very good, around an 88. But on night #2, the regular bottling had smoothed out and resembled the '76 on night #1. However, the '76 was even better, maybe 89. On night #3, the regular was again 24 hours behind the '76 bottling, but the '76 was outstanding, with the fruit showing itself through the smooth wood and earth, around 90-91. So, on any given night, I prefered the '76 bottling, but the regular just needed 24 hours of slow-ox to get it to a pretty similar point. But given that I paid only $2 more for the '76, that would be my clear preference. (2612 views) | | | Tasted by urban_dk on 6/24/2013 & rated 90 points: A crowd-pleaser, showcasing a nice balance of appealing blackberry fruit and peppery complexity. Possibly the best $10 wine I've ever tasted. (2437 views) | | | Tasted by guitarguy on 10/4/2012 & rated 90 points: Good, not too ripe with excellent fruit up front but surprising restraint. Certainly worth $12 plus shipping. (3772 views) | | | Tasted by Barnaby33 on 8/14/2012: I think I'll second Ron's note here. A decent 10-15 dollar shiraz, but no real complexity. Based on the Garagiste writeup, I'd hoped for more. (3961 views) | | | Tasted by Thirsty1 on 7/29/2012: This was interesting. violet with a hint of brick on the rim. A little out of balance with some heat and acidity that blew off after a bit. It's all you expect from Aussie sher-azz. Pepper, black fruit but showing maturity with a little leather. Throwing off lots of sediment. It was fun. (2515 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By James Halliday
Halliday Wine Companion (8/12/2008)
(Penfolds Koonunga Hill Seventy Six Shiraz Cabernet) Subscribe to see review text. | By Campbell Mattinson
The WINEFRONT (5/21/2008)
(Penfolds Koonunga Hill Seventy-Six Shiraz Cabernet) Subscribe to see review text. | By Gary Walsh
The WINEFRONT (3/23/2008)
(Penfolds Koonunga Hill Seventy-Six Shiraz Cabernet) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jon Rimmerman
Garagiste (5/26/2010)
(SEVENTY SIX Penfolds) Seventy Six Dear Friends, 1976 was an important year for a number of reasons, not the least of which brings us to the brink of patriotism. The Bicentennial was a monumental line to cross back in the 1970s and it was before blogs, a pervasive internet and the immediacy of information we face today. Most of us could sit on the backyard terrace and wile away the afternoon, conversing with our neighbors on the left and right of our divide (with actual spoken words, not key strokes) simply to gloat in the accomplishments of our young country. We didn't miss anything, didn't have to run to upload CNN, podcasts, E-Trade ETF's or other. Somehow, we were quite happy with a lack of urgency in our daily digestion of information - the 6:00 news was immediate enough. As far as wine is concerned, 1976 was also a monumental year but few in the western world knew this until the mid 1980s (or even early 1990s) when a little visited, but often dreamed of continent began to take center stage. 1976 was a vintage for the ages but it was not in most of Europe (Germany aside) or the US... 1976 was a legend in Australia. 6-8 years ago, I wandered around around the US with a traveling road show of one (me) and a car full of old and rare wine from Down Under. The tasting/dinner series was called "The Classic Wines of Australia" and the events have never been repeated (as far as I know) anywhere else in the world. I opened a cavalcade of rarities from around Australia (all original bottles from the winery cellars) to prove how exotic and incredible the wines were with age. They spanned from the early 1960s-1980s and the entire series proved that winemaking was different back then - lower alcohol, less manipulation and more, well, less urgency - just like on the backyard terrace. The 1976 Penfolds Grange was a star at the tastings for good reason. It is often considered one of the top examples of red wine produced during the last century (on par with 1961 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle, 1961 Latour et al) and our bottles did not disappoint. Those who have been fortunate to taste a bottle usually have few words as words are unnecessary. The same can be said for many of the great old vintages at Penfolds (1962, 1966, 1970, etc) but Grange was not the only wine produced in those years. At the Classic Wines of Australia series we tasted 15-20 different examples from Penfolds (from the greatest vintages) and many of them were the equal of Grange. One of the wines remains a legend and today's offer commemorates its brilliance. The 1976 Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz/Cabernet was an experiment. Max Schubert knew the winery could not live on the laurels of Grange, 707 or 389 forever - he needed a different legacy, one that was less expensive with higher production but still delivered the impact and exoticism of Grange. After a number of trials, the Koonunga Hill was born - never intended to be a "bargain" wine but a serious example for a low price. It was in instant success. It was not until years later that Penfolds destroyed the luster of the Koonunga Hill, turning it into a certain swill of commercialism. A few years ago, they reconsidered that stance and upgraded the wine to a far more successful level - I, for one, am "moved" by this move as the 1976 Koonunga Hill has always deserved a better legacy. Now it has one. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of a true legend (and one of my "a ha" moment wines), Penfolds has re-created the 1976 with a 2006 limited run example - 2006 Koonunga Hill "Seventy Six". As a matter of course, everyone should cellar a few bottles of this wine to see if the magic of that original legend remains - I would be surprised it it didn't last for at least 15-20 years in a cold cellar. Here is the review of the regular 2006 Koonunga Hill bottling, the "Seventy Six" is akin to a limited reserve bottling of this wine, from hand-selected fruit and finishing normally held for their flagship wines - it is not overblown in any way and the alcohol is definitely within check, on par with the original 1976 bottling. In today's dollar, the new release is potentially an ever greater value than the original: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED as a welcome sip of nostalgia when our modern days are filled with a complex and often nonsensical overload of information with few places left to put it. ONE SHIPMENT ONLY at this price: 2006 Penfolds "Seventy Six" (Koonunga Hill - Shiraz/Cabernet) (this is not the Koonunga Hill found at every grocery store in the US) Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Aus7855 |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Halliday Wine Companion and The WINEFRONT and Garagiste. (manage subscription channels) |
| Penfolds Producer website
Producer Cellar Door - Barossa (Google Maps)
About Us
Australia's winemaking history of less than two hundred years is brief by European measures though, like Europe, punctuated by periods of extreme success and difficult times. From the earliest winemaking days Penfolds has figured prominently and few would argue the importance of Penfolds’ influence on Australia’s winemaking psyche.
Without the influence of Penfolds the modern Australian wine industry would look very different indeed. Sitting comfortably outside of fad and fashion, Penfolds has taken Australian wine to the world on a grand stage and forged a reputation for quality that is without peer.
Penfolds’ reputation for making wines of provenance and cellaring potential might suggest a mantle of tradition and formality is the preferred attire of a company with so much history to defend. But to label Penfolds as simply an established and conventional winemaker, would be to confuse tradition with consideration and to overlook the innovative spirit that has driven Penfolds since its foundation, and continues to find expression in modern times.
If there is anything traditional about Penfolds, it is the practice of constantly reviewing the wines it already does well, and continuously evolving and refining styles as vineyards mature and access to ever older and more varied vineyard sites improves.
Making The Best Possible Wine
At Penfolds, the role of the winemaker is to make the best possible wine within the constraints of each vintage. Penfolds’ house style emerged from a fortified-wine producing culture and evolved as a winemaking philosophy – a way of making wine – which has had a profound effect on the entire Australian wine industry.
The concept of multi-regional and vineyard blending, a feature of the Penfolds house style, is an amplification of the ‘all-round wine’. Without the constraints of a single vineyard, winemakers could choose the best possible fruit with the outstanding characteristics of each vineyard.
While American oak has played a central role in the development of Penfolds red wines, French oak has been increasingly used in the evolution of new wines – particularly RWT and Yattarna. Maturation in oak, which follows fermentation, is also key to the Penfolds house style.
The Penfolds approach to winemaking has percolated through the entire Australian wine industry over the last 50 years. The techniques employed in research and development of Penfolds wines are remarkable and many of the discoveries and innovations have had a lasting impact on winemaking thinking.
Winemakers
In Max Schubert, Don Ditter, John Duval and Peter Gago, Penfolds has nurtured four of Australia's great winemakers. They have passed the Chief Winemaker’s baton of responsibility for crafting some of Australia's most iconic wines, down through the past six decades.
Joining Peter Gago in the Penfolds winemaking team are Senior Red Winemaker Steve Lienert, Senior White Winemaker Kym Schroeter, and Red Winemakers Andrew Baldwin, Adam Clay, Stephanie Dutton and Matt Woo - also the Penfolds Fortified Winemaker. All members of the Penfolds winemaking team ensure that Penfolds’ reputation for outstanding quality is upheld.
Vineyards
Barossa Valley
Penfolds draws fruit from a combined vineyard area of 618 hectares in the Barossa region of South Australia. The Barossa is about 70 kilometres north of Adelaide and in 1911 Penfolds established a winery at Nuriootpa, completed in time for the 1913 vintage. The Barossa region is known for its relatively low rainfall with many vineyards dry grown on single wire trellising.
Magill Estate
The historic and heritage-protected Magill Estate Vineyard was established in 1844 by Dr Christopher Rawson and Mary Penfold—just eight years after the foundation of Adelaide. It was originally known as the Grange Vineyard, named after their new homestead ‘The Grange’, a cottage which still stands intact amongst the vines.
Eden Valley
Joseph Gilbert planted the first vines in the Eden Valley in 1842 and since that time the region has become synonymous with producing elegant riesling and complex shiraz. While its name suggests a concave nature, Eden Valley is actually a wide ridge, situated east of the Barossa Valley with an altitude ranging from 440 – 550 metres.
McLaren Vale
McLaren Vale is located approximately 40km to the south of Adelaide, with the vineyards in the region located between 6 and 15 kilometres from the Gulf of St Vincent. The elevation ranges from 50 to 350 metres above sea level. Penfolds has company owned vineyards throughout the region, using the fruit as blending components for premium red wines such as Grange and Bin 389.
Coonawarra
Penfolds has had a long history with the Coonawarra region, dating back to their first vineyard purchase in 1960. It is one of the most famous red wine regions in Australia with weathered limestone terra rossa soils, relatively cool climate and overall water availability. Coonawarra has played a significant role in many of Penfolds' multi-regional wines as well as the single region wines such as Bin 128.
James Halliday Australian Wine Companion Winery Of The Year 2014: Penfolds
Penfolds is Australia’s foremost winemaker, with an unbroken line dating back to its establishment in 1844 when medical practitioner Dr Christopher Rawson Penfold and wife Mary purchased ‘the delightfully situated and truly valuable of Mackgill … Comprising 500 acres (202 hectares) of the choicest land’. Here they built the house that still stands today, and within a few years had begun the winery and cellar on the site of today’s buildings at Magill Estate.
Mary took charge of winemaking, initially producing grenache prescribed by her husband as a tonic for anaemic patients. By 1870 she, son-in-law Thomas Hyland and cellar manager/winemaker Joseph Gillard had formed Penfolds & Co. With markets in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales, their wine production was over one-third of South Australia’s total.
Growth continued unabated, and in 1945 Penfolds acquired the jewel of the Magill Vineyard, at that time the largest vineyard in South Australia. It now has 2100 hectares of vineyards, the largest share of Australia’s total. Two men came together in the 1950s to lay the foundation of Penfolds today: winemaker Max Schubert, and research chemist Ray Beckwith (who died shortly after his 100th birthday in 2012); indeed, their contribution transcended Penfolds to the entire Australian wine industry.
The architecture for the Penfolds wine portfolio of the twenty-first century was established in the 1960s, half a century ago. There has been growth, both in the range of labels and their price points, but it has been cleverly – indeed sensitively – managed; demand-driven growth has been achieved without any quality compromise whatsoever.
There is no possibility that the pre-eminence of Penfolds will ever be challenged by any other Australian wine business. Equally certain is that the Penfolds brand value will continue to gain ground on the world stage of all consumable products. If proof be needed, the overall quality of the wines in this Wine Companion is the best Penfolds has ever presented to the markets of the globe.
Author: James Halliday Jul 20132006 Penfolds Shiraz Cabernet Koonunga Hill Seventy SixThe wine was produced to commemorate the first release of the wine in 1976, with the "retro" label nearly the same. Made from a blend of 70% Shiraz and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine was only available at the cellar doors in Adelaide and Nuriootpa, plus a few restaurants. Compared to the "normal" Koonunga Hill Shiraz-Cabernet, there is greater richness and concentration due to the inclusion of fruit fruit at the Bin 28 (Kalimna) level and enhanced by 5% new American oak along with the usual seasond French and American oak it normally sees. The bouquet offers notes of dark plum, blackberry, currant, earth, chocolate and cedar. On the palate the wine has seamless balance with good acidity, silky tannins and fine length. While very accessible now, there is enough stuffing to reward some patience. And to qoute Penfolds red winemaker Steve Lienert (who I contacted about the wine) "If you can find any more buy some to put down for a few years because it will age for many years with good cellaring." You will want a case of this, trust me." (Jim Chanteloup, K&L Australian Wine Buyer)
Tasting Notes
Tech SheetCabernet-Shiraz BlendA very popular blend in Australia-particularly from South Australia, where the two varietals work well together. The most famous of these would be the Penfolds Bin 389, considered Australia's most cellared wine. In years gone by this was referred to as "Baby Grange" as some of the wine used barrels from the vintage of Grange.
The 2018 Paternus states only McLaren Vale Shiraz (no Cab Sav).Australia Wine Australia (Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation) | Australian Wines (Wikipedia)South Australia South Australian Wine Industry Association | South Australian Wines (Wikipedia) |
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