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| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 85.9 pts. and median of 87 pts. in 45 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by SuperSomm on 7/3/2022: Deep purple colour. Medium and developing nose with dark plums, blackberry, vanilla, eucalyptus, black pepper, green bell pepper and smoke. Medium taste of dark plum, blackberry, eucalyptus, black pepper, green bell pepper, vanilla and earth. Medium long and dry finish. Medium acidity. Medium (-) tannins. Full body. A good Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon blend. Needed an hour to open. Drink now or over the next couple of years. Goes well with game. (435 views) | | | Tasted by Juliansi on 2/4/2022 & rated 87 points: This Shiraz is a multi-regional blend from South Australia - Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek, Coonawarra, Wrattonbully, Clare Valley, Padthaway. Popped for our home cooked pork stew "tau chiung", fried fish, and tofu with minced pork dinner tonight.
Alas overly sweet and bit of a plum monster with a medium to short finish, the nose is super restrained too. Perhaps the layers and fruits will open up a little by tomorrow.. we shall see!
The week after CNY .. Cheers!
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - 4 Feb 2022 (1052 views) | | | Tasted by Rodsvino on 8/14/2021: Nothing spectacular but perfect as a Friday night pizza quaffer. Drink now. (2502 views) | | | Tasted by Lost Lake Cellar on 11/30/2020 & rated 94 points: Remarkably smooth from the first sip. Wonderfully balanced. A perfect pairing with garlicky prime rib. (3374 views) | | | Tasted by macaujames on 10/17/2020 & rated 88 points: 87/88. Is better than other vintages. It is a bit old fashioned with high alcohol and low acidity and a manafactured sweetness to it. Has aromas of blueberries, chalk, light pepper, blackberries maybe some menthol and vanilla hints. Its medium bodied solid peppery blue, black and red fruits palate lacks acidity and ends mediumish and a bit unknit. 14.5%. This is only just ok and no value at 12 Euros. (4040 views) | | | Tasted by RoraFaye on 5/8/2020 & rated 76 points: Didn't dislike it, but not my favorite. Too sweet maybe? I can't quite put my finger on it. (3860 views) | | | Tasted by GlennRyder on 5/2/2020 & rated 88 points: Tons of fruits, wonderful smooth taste. One of my all time favourites. (3368 views) | | | Tasted by adamanko on 4/12/2020 & rated 82 points: Blueberries pancakes. Jammy. Not to my liking today. 82? (2867 views) | | | Tasted by La Grappe on 2/16/2020 & rated 87 points: A deep colour; quite full and ripe, noticeably sweet, in fact almost jammy in the old-fashioned Australian style, but with good depth. Good value, and quite enjoyable. (2068 views) | | | Tasted by Conde on 2/7/2020 & rated 84 points: Rich and direct nose with plenty of dark fruit, spices and hints of dark chocolate and bacon. Almost fullbodied on the palate, with kicking tannins, a bit fiery (14,5%), with good fruit but not without structure, the wine has decent acidity and good length.
I had it with beef patties, fetacheese-creme, ajvar relish, roasted potatoes and a tomato salad. 84-85 p. (1376 views) | | | Tasted by Brent25 on 2/7/2020 & rated 86 points: Used for making beef short ribs but we had a taste for fun; very fruit driven, crowd pleasing wine; tannins are barely recognizable and fruit leans towards jammy and confected; residual sugar and lower acidity mean that it’s not palate cleansing; good for a party? (2009 views) | | | Tasted by MaxWinery on 1/2/2020: Perfekt till lättare grillat eller brie (1639 views) | | | Tasted by Derek Darth Taster on 1/1/2020 & rated 87 points: Family long lunch at TMCC. Screw-cap. Drank in the restaurant generic wine glass.
Appearance is clear, deep intensity, ruby colour. Legs.
Nose is clean, medium intensity, with aromas of pepper spice, dark plum, black cherry, eucalyptus. Youthful.
On the palate, dry, medium+ acidity, medium+ alcohol (14.5%), soft medium+ tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of dark plum, black cherry, mild black pepper, eucalyptus, bits of blackberry jam. Medium- finish.
Acceptable quality. Easy drink. So soft and typical that it is boring. Can't explain why it feels flattish.
77% Shiraz and 23% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Multi-regional blend from Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Padthaway, Langhorne Creek and Coonawarra. (1707 views) | | | Tasted by Joopdrinktwijn on 12/7/2019 & rated 90 points: Stevig maar toch soepel. Donker fruit. Kwart van de fles gaat nu bij de runderlappen. Morgen verder testen bij het vlees. (1509 views) | | | Tasted by Furky on 12/1/2019: Undrinkable (1413 views) | | | Tasted by rainers_weinkeller on 11/17/2019 & rated 88 points: 87-88 points
Bouquet strong eucalyptus, black currant and dark berries, jam, some leather, spices, little oak.
Palate dark berry and black currant, little pepper, lower acidity, quite some sweetness, quite complex for the price, very well balanced.
Finish medium to long.
Still young, needs decanting several hours or better cellaring for 3+ years.
Very good quality price ratio.
Very food friendly wine, pairing well with spicy asian meat dishes and very nice with Beijing Duck too. (1549 views) | | | Tasted by Henman on 9/19/2019 & rated 87 points: Popped from a half bottle. Ripe dark fruit and spice on the nose. Medium bodied, supple and smooth, delivering (over)ripe dark fruit with spice and licorice and a gentle dusty kick on the finish. Not much heat despite of 14,5% alcohol. A solid quaffer every vintage. (1747 views) | | | Tasted by mjwstickings on 8/27/2019 & rated 89 points: From a hugely renowned name in Aussie wine, here's a renowned wine that's been made since 1976. Renowned, and really good. It's big and bold, to be sure. Sweet butterscotch comes first out of the bottle, suggesting perhaps an over-abundance of oak, and over-production generally, and it's followed by vanilla, chocolate, black and a hint of green pepper, and ripe dark fruit that runs right up against the part of the spectrum where sweeter dried fruit begins, notably blackberry, blackcurrent, and a creamy element (in flavour and texture) that suggests crème de cassis. The concentration and density are quite impressive, and while it teases that point where Aussie wine sometimes veers off into the confected and commercial (in a bad way), it never quite gets there, which speaks to the care and (relative) restraint that went into this. In that way, it's characteristic value-oriented Aussie wine ($20 in Ontario), featuring the two key local red varietals, but in a good way, and it's pretty much in its prime already, a big, bold wine made for easy and approachable drinking. (To be fair, with time the Shiraz does take over, with peppery and light meaty notes coming to the fore alongside dark berry fruit that is more tart than sweet, like an Aussie take on the Rhône.) (747 views) | | | Tasted by Paul Dove on 8/20/2019 & rated 89 points: Pleasantly surprised by this. Yes, it tastes a little commercial and confected as you'd expect, but it's nicely balanced with food-friendly spicy tannins and layers of interesting flavours ranging from ripe blackcurrant and blackberry to tart red cherry, bitter dark chocolate, black olive and a hint of mint and prickly green nettle. Fantastic value. (2148 views) | | | Tasted by Razandots on 6/28/2019 & rated 53 points: Another average red (1850 views) | | | Tasted by insidemovestrat on 5/3/2019 & rated 88 points: Surprisingly complex. Deep ruby I color, it exudes red and black fruit flavors with some oak notes of vanilla, spice and cedar. It youthful, full bodied with a slightly rough edge to the tannins. It offers a nice balance and length for a wine in the price range... came alive with food. (1938 views) | | | Tasted by Northmountains on 4/20/2019 & rated 82 points: Mycket ek, mörka bär och lite lakrits (när man öppnar hockeypulver)
Helt okej. (1870 views) | | | Tasted by "Rhône Rider" on 1/14/2019 & rated 84 points: Rik, syltetøypreget med mye fruksteiner. Ubalansert. 83 (1705 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Campbell Mattinson
The WINEFRONT (10/27/2019)
(Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet) Subscribe to see review text. | By Steve Thurlow
WineAlign (5/29/2019)
(Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet, South Australia red) Subscribe to see review text. | By David Lawrason
WineAlign (10/3/2018)
(Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet, South Australia red) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of The WINEFRONT and WineAlign. (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 2013Cabernet-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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