NobleRottersSydney - Penfolds prior to 95 + 1998 Bin releases
Darling Mills, Glebe
Tasted Monday, March 5, 2001 by graemeg with 947 views
Introduction
The Noble Rotters met on March 5 for a dinner themed “Penfolds wines ’95 or older”. A full roll-up of regulars plus 4 guests made a total of fifteen – each bottle only just holding enough to feed everyone! 22 bottles were opened, and not a one was corked. “Eeexcellent” as Monty Burns would say. The excess of bottles over heads was largely due to the fact that Andrew brought along the 98 vintage releases (Bin 138 excepted) for us to try as well. Such an embarrassment of riches.
1994 Penfolds Chardonnay Reserve Bin 94A
Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills
Mid yellow, a fairly subtle nose with lemon-butter and melon. Definitely beginning to fatten in terms of flavour, though there is still plenty of acid. Oak remains in background too, but generally the wine seems quite loose-knit, despite being fairly full on the palate. There’s still time left I think – it’s a very nice wine to drink and not about to collapse at all. I’m not sure it’ll get any better though, and I certainly don’t think it’s worth the price.
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1995 Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet
Australia, South Australia
Light smoky nose with soft blackberries and a little gentle spice. Very soft on palate, quite round, yet sweet and simple. A bit short, nothing really special – certainly not worth keeping any longer, but pleasant enough as unpretentious wines go.
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1998 Penfolds Shiraz Bin 128
Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra
Much less forward on the nose than the Bin 28. Also a spicy nose, but much more peppery. Quite clean, though, with extremely dry, fine tannins. Primary fruit is hard to detect. The finish is of medium length and intensity only. I find it a bit underwhelming, and there is a distinct air of disappointment around the table.
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1993 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 407
Australia, South Australia
Still a deep red. Earthy, chocolatey nose, with blackcurrant and a bit of charry oak. Now developing lovely aged characters – I’m not nearly as aware of the components here as in the newer wines. A very slight mid-palate hole – yet the back palate is soft and not bitter at all. This is a lovely medium-bodied wine which is drinking beautifully now and has quite a few years left.
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1998 Penfolds Shiraz Bin 28 Kalimna
Australia, South Australia
Deep glowing red. Very tight nose, with focussed spice & blackberry. Very young and raw. Some acid is initially detectable, and then overwhelmed by grape and oak tannins, which despite their strength are fine-grained. There is still acid underpinning the structure. Despite the tannins, the wine is very forward on the palate, with no bitterness at the back of the tongue at all.
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1998 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 407
Australia, South Australia
Very deep red, but freakishly similar to the 93 on the nose, if naturally a bit sharper. Much more weighty on the palate, with sweet cabernet fruit battling the acid for dominance. For me, the tingly acid is the last aspect of the finish to fade away. I would absolutely prefer to drink the 93 at the moment. I never tasted the 93 as a young wine, so I won’t judge whether this is better. It does seem to have all the ingredients for a long and happy life…
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1984 Penfolds Bin 389
Australia, South Australia
Distinct brick red. Pongy earthy nose redolent of aged shiraz amongst a whiff of cherry/berry fruit. Combines with some chocolate on a soft, if slightly chalky palate in which tannins have faded to the background, but just retained enough presence to give a gentle, very dry finish. An extremely enjoyable wine from an unheralded year.
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1991 Penfolds Bin 389
Australia, South Australia
Wow!. Strong licorice/menthol aromas suppress primary fruit on the nose. Very rich, full and tannic on the palate. Could easily be mistaken for a much younger wine. Stunning length. A great wine. I would say it’s still improving. Wait for this wine. Best wine of the night so far.
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1992 Penfolds Bin 389
Australia, South Australia
In the fairly dim restaurant light this seemed to be a much darker colour than the 91, and though the nose bore a distinct similarity, it was much lighter and less intense, and clearly suffers in comparison to it’s predecessor. More a savoury style, clearly with less focus and potential. Drink now, or keep for a bit, but it will never challenge the ’91.
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1995 Penfolds Bin 389
Australia, South Australia
Chocolate nose. A curiously diffuse wine, with some moderately intense raspberries on nose and palate, but somehow blurry, smeary and unfocussed. Not really faulty in any way – yet I wouldn’t mistake the general lightness of the wine for elegance. It’s quite acceptable, but if you’ve got this wine, don’t drink it with other 389s!
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1998 Penfolds Bin 389
Australia, South Australia
A vast wine, and clearly the pick of the new releases. Lots of red and black berry flavours – primary fruit flavours certainly hit you, and there’s a large dollop of tannins as well. I wasn’t particularly aware of acid standing out, but I don’t feel it could be labelled unbalanced. At the table, many commented how drinkable it is now. To me its very un-integrated, and needs years to meld together. Drinking it now is wasting 80% of it’s potential. I suspect I’m becoming a member of a minority group! Even at the new, extortionate price, it’s one to buy.
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1993 Penfolds St. Henri Shiraz - Cabernet
Australia, South Australia
Mid red. A pure berry fruit nose – raspberry, strawberry, more red than black, with hints of peppermint and spearmint. Really no oak influence at all – very gentle tannins all appear of the furry grape type. The wine is light to medium bodied, has medium length and finishes dry with just a little astringency on the back palate.
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1997 Penfolds Shiraz St. Henri
Australia, South Australia
A blazing red colour. A very grapey nose indeed. Very similar to the 93 except the grape tannins are more pronounced. It has medium weight and finish. There really is a stylistic difference to the other Penfolds reds here – St Henri seems much ‘furrier’ to me. More than the other wines it seems to live and die on fruit quality. This wine is not up to the standard of the 96 – maybe wait for the 98?
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1991 Penfolds Shiraz Magill Estate
Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Plains
A surprisingly pale brick red. A spicy yet herbaceous nose. A bit earthly, but generally lean, quite light, verging on elegant, with a hint of cedary oak.. Attractive enough (“food style”, perhaps), but not of the quality the price would suggest ($60+ now?). Is the cachet of ‘single-vineyard wine’ enough to justify this. I think not. The comment was made that every Magill the group had ever tasted had been a disappointment in some way… Hmmm
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1986 Penfolds Grange
Australia, South Australia
Extraordinary nose of beef, chocolate and blackberry fruits. For a 15 year old wine, it’s scarcely displaying any ageing at all. Other aromas of tobacco, liquorice and spice are present. I suppose it is a huge wine, but the sheer balance it displays on the palate, with remarkable length and persistent concentration make it highly drinkable. It’s kind of overwhelming yet somehow subtle at the same time. Quite brilliant – an outstanding wine.
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1983 Penfolds Grange
Australia, South Australia
A sort of mystery vintage, due to significant label damage. The capsule revealed all, though, Slightly more leathery than the 86, with the fruit characters a bit more subdued, and not quite such a tremendous weight on the palate. But the length was quite comparable. I felt it didn’t quite match other bottles I’ve had in recent years, but then I didn’t drink them right after the 86! Another stunning wine – I suspect the 86 will live a little longer, but we’re talking decades here.
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1987 Penfolds Grange
Australia, South Australia
A lighter version of the 86. Still beautifully focussed depth of liquorice & black fruit, matched against intense and fine tannins. Not quite the balance of the 86, and the finish was shorter and less concentrated. I expect if I’d had just this Grange and not the others I’d be raving about it. A beautiful wine, but on the lighter end of the Grange spectrum.
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1991 Penfolds Shiraz Bin 28 Kalimna
Australia, South Australia
A charry cherry nose. Richness of fruit still dominates. A spicy palate, but full and rich, with super length. Has aged beautifully. This is a great wine, which I would appreciate more had I not drunk 3 Granges preceding it…
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1990 Penfolds Shiraz Bin 28 Kalimna
Australia, South Australia
Very similar to the 91, but benefits from a greater degree of intensity. This wine is tighter, with raspberry fruits, beautiful tannins and a full rich palate. Great length and persistence. This is the only wine we had from the 1990 vintage – they really are a class above. Sells for about, what $40 at auction these days? Pretty nice wine for the price…
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1980 Lindeman's Vintage Port Bin 5734
Australia
Still a deep red/black colour. Toffee tobacco nose with black fruit. Warm & sweet, yet manages to finish quite dry. In significantly better condition than the Classic Release 1980 Bin 7532 VP I we had last year – interesting.
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