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Penfolds Tasting with the Wine Society

Old Trafford

Tasted May 15, 2001 by andrewstevenson.com with 754 views

Flight 1 (16 notes)

White
2000 Penfolds Riesling Reserve Bin Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley
84 points
Rather pale yellow with greenish tinges. Light, fresh nose - slightly minerally with some lime-y notes. On the palate, fresh and light, but quite full at the same time. Bit flat and develops a rather odd, not entirely pleasant taste in the mouth, a bit like wet flannel and chalk, which grew even further on finish. A second glass from another bottle was cleaner and a bit fresher, but not an especially notable Riesling, being rather muddy and unfocussed. Came back to this at the end of the evening, so another bottle (the last half glass at the end of the bottle) proved to have much clearer citrus notes on nose and in the mouth. Really quite a refined nose, with cirtus and mineral notes well balanced. Some refreshing acidity makes it a very dry mouthful. A taste of a fourth bottle was very much the same as the third.
White
2000 Penfolds Rawson's Retreat Semillon Chardonnay Australia, South Eastern
86 points
A fairly deep yellow gold with a marked green tinge. Quite a light nose - fragrant and a bit herbal or even grassy. Good full attack, but a bit lacking in character and depth. Quite a nice creamy texture, but perhaps not entirely in balance with the intense dryness, which was vaguely reminiscent of dry melba toast. Plenty of oak evident on the palate, but in control.
White
2000 Penfolds Chardonnay Koonunga Hill Australia, South Australia
90 points
A deep, rather luscious gold. Fantastic nose - complex and fragrant with distinct melon notes together with some of the lees clearly coming through. The deep and rounded nose would lead me to expect a wine with more age. Very rich attack. Very rounded and buttery (perhaps a bit fat?). Develops well and finishes with an interesting pepperiness and nice clean acidity
White
1999 Penfolds Chardonnay Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills
87 points
Slightly duller colour than the Koonunga Hill Chardonnay and tinged with green. Bizarre nose - very toasted and with a definite toffee streak. Lots of character and showing a surprising amount of finesse. Very toasty, rich and rounded in the mouth. I found this very interesting, but suspected that there was probably something a bit wrong with it. A taste from another bottle later in the evening did not have the same dominant toffee scents - or rather much less marked, though I think I could still find them. This second bottle was much fresher, and undoubtedly a very notable wine given a bit of time.
Red
1999 Penfolds Bin 35 Rawson's Retreat Australia, South Eastern
84 points
A deep, very dark inky purple. Cherry, mint and blackcurrant nose - very up-front fruit, perhaps a little cooked (the fruit, not the wine!). Good clean attack wtih bags of fruit. Fills well and develops a peppery spiciness, which becomes rather too sharp on the finish. Clean and well round. Not especially distinguished, but a good house wine.
Red
1998 Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet Australia, South Australia
87 points
Dark dark young purple, almost black. V. intense nose, but not particularly forthcoming. Distinctly more varietal character than the Bin 35 Rawson's Retreat. Spicy, plummy and minty nose when you coax it out. Bit dull on attack. Round & soft in the mouth, but feels rather reticent. Nice soft tannins after. I'd sum it up as rich but reticent. Needs time.
Red
1997 Penfolds Bin 389 Australia, South Australia
88 points
Again a very intense dark inkiness. Unfortunately rather a lot of gunk in suspension due to sloppy pouring, but I'll persevere. Much more sharply defined Cabernet than the Koonunga Hill Shiraz-Cabernet. Intense, deep oaky nose with just some blackcurrant showing through. Rich but very well balanced with a nice freshness. Pretty mighty, almost aggressive tannins on finish and after. A second taste from much nearer the top of a new bottle was much clearer and brighter in the glass, but otherwise pretty much the same, though the tannic mouth-feel on the finish was much ameliorated. Notably fresher tasting than most of the reds on show tonight and probably benefitting (perhaps unduly) from that.
Red
1998 Penfolds Bin 138 Shiraz Grenache Mourvèdre Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
87 points
Slightly lighter colour, but still remarkably dark - ripeness of fruit, I suppose. Very very young purple at rim. Lovely nose, spicy and Rhone-like with lots of stewed red fruit and plums. Very forward nose. Good attack, but then rather uni-dimensional, somewhat lacking depth. Powerful, but fairly soft tannins on finish. Seems much younger than it is. Needs more age.
Red
1998 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 407 Australia, South Australia
88 points
Deep colour again, but perhaps more garnet. Interesting nose with lots of layers, but very resolutely an intense Cab Sauv along with some fresh hedgerow notes. Fresh on attack. Very full and ripe. Develops some rather ferocious tannins which dominate utterly. Bit of a thug - at the moment at least.
Red
1997 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 707 Australia, South Australia
92 points
Deep, slightly brickish red. Fantastic nose. Very ripe fruits with cedar and touch of mint. Really promising nose. Mmmm. Quite lush in the mouth - masses of ripe fruit in really spot-on balance with good tannins that are beginning to soften. Very fine finish with remarkable length. A subsequent taste, from a different bottle, confirmed most of the above with notably intense flavours. It was, however, now apparent that this was still very young and needs a lot more age.
Red
1997 Penfolds Shiraz Bin 28 Kalimna Australia, South Australia
86 points
Good rich colour with more of a ruby tinge than the previous wines. Nice concentrated Shiraz nose, but not over the top. Youngish with some tannins. Very definite, fruity, hot climate Shiraz. Deep rich flavours, though with a slight hint of astringency on finish. Rather cooked fruit flavours. Finishes cleanly, but without distinction. A taste later on from a different bottle confirmed this - very much a textbook, off-the-shelf Oz shiraz.
Red
1995 Penfolds Shiraz Bin 28 Kalimna Australia, South Australia
89 points
Not a great deal different in colour to the 1997. Perhaps just a bit more dilute and mature in colour. Nose is significantly more complex and interesting. Much more together on the palate. Flavours are largely the same, but all just more knitted together. It would be interesting to try the 1997 two years on, to see if it has developed the same way, lifting itself out of the merely textbook to something more distinguished.
Red
1994 Penfolds Shiraz Bin 128 Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra
84 points
Deep ripe ruby. Remarkably fresh nose - lightly stewed plums and some hedgerow notes. Good round flavours. Nice fruit, but a bit unexceptional perhaps? Still some fairly heavy tannins. Finishes with some elegance, but a bit unexciting overall.
Red
1997 Penfolds Shiraz RWT Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
89 points
Very deep, dark, inky ruby, but also very bright in the glass. Fascinating nose - very forward vanilla notes masking the very ripe fruit. Good, smooth, rich - very attractive attack. Fills very well in the mouth, developing real spiciness. Tannins a bit green on the finish. Needs significantly more age
White - Sweet/Dessert
1998 Penfolds SĂ©millon Botrytis Australia, South Australia
89 points
Lush heavy gold. Honeyed citrus nose, which remains remarkably fresh. Good attack - fresh and clean. Develops lots of attractive flavours in the mouth, with perhaps a lemon-y flavour to the fore. Not at all cloying - indeed rather more intensely flavoured than it is noticeably sweet. Very elegant, with good acidity.
Red - Fortified
N.V. Penfolds Bluestone 10 Year Old Tawny Australia, South Australia
87 points
Pinkish light caramel colour. Rather undistinguished nose - dilute tawny port characteristics, and suggestive of a bit of age in the blend. Certainly well made and with a good balance. Smooth and clean on the palate, with notably raisiny characteristics. Sufficiently different to port to make it interesting, but perhaps a little unexceptional.
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