Ruby red, just a hint of fading on the rim at this point. Nose full of ripe black fruit notes – red plum and ripe blackberry - with a hint of leather and dustiness. Flavour, integration and structure are excellent – yes, it is powerful, but in a very harmonious well-balanced way. Combines fruit ripeness with a fine oak-driven backbone, and a touch of eucalyptus on the finish. It might get better, but it does feel like this is a wine being drunk at its absolute peak. One of the very best red wines I have enjoyed this year.
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This was interesting. Upon first opening and decanting, it was humming and I was raving about the wine. Fast forward 3.5 hours and it had dulled significantly, the last glass was flat and bland. I’ve got one more, and won’t be decanting.
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Remarkably little sediment on the bottle, but a fair amount in the base. Cork hardly marked. Black centre, brick red rim. Alcohol dominates the nose, but fruit and tobacco leaf dominate the taste. Still has enough tannin to fur the teeth, but flavour wins. Notes of plum and raisin, but none of the forest floor flavours you’d expect of a Rhone. A distinctive essence of old plum, amidst a tannic structure. Delicious, easy drinking. Great with cheese.
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Secundary notes, nice acidity, blueberries, hints of menthol and eucalyptics. Very delicate and needs to be drunk now (or should already been drunk now).
Day 2: 90+1 pts. Still nice fruit. Very nice and elegant. Perhaps a small decant for my last bottle.
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Deep garnet core, showing some development on the nose, predominantly mocha toasty oak along with herbs, meat, pepper and underlying dark ripe fruits. Drinking nicely now in a rich medium bodied frame. It has a savoury touch on palate with smoke meat and plenty of spices. Finishes with hints of sweet fruits and ripe tannins.
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Since last opening a bottle, the nose remains the same however the palate has a strange sour/bitter aftertaste which may devolve after future airing. It was decanted for 90 minutes. With food the palate was better but there was still an alcohol burn that persisted and detracted from the wine. Needs to be consumed soon.
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The nose has the typical Penfold’s cornflour nose with a background of mint and chocolate. The palate is an elegant integration of fruit and oak that makes for very satisfying drinking Close to its peak. A reassuring Penfold’s wine that is a somewhat fuller expression of Coonawarra shiraz with great French oak treatment.
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Decanted for an hour and it performed great. Secundary notes, nice acidity, blueberries, hints of menthol and eucalyptics. A little more backwards than my previous bottle but still a good wine.
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Purchased on special for less than $20.00 per bottle, this has been cellared since release with 3 out of 6 bottles put aside to see what they would be like after a bit of time. The decision to stash them has been well rewarded. Deep red with no sign of bricking, vanilla wood, good Coonawarra fruit, red and dark berries with a dash of plum, soft tannins and acid in balance. Delicious in the mouth and good length. I consider that it will cellar for another 5+ years with further development. However it is drinking really well now and the remaining 2 bottles will likely be consumed in the next year or so.
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Garnet with brown tinges in the meniscus. Hot on the nose. There was very little fruit on the palate, a bit of acid in the front of the mouth and quite a bit of tannin, mostly apparent in the back. Overall, quite bitter with an an unremarkable finish, the wine was disappointing.
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An easy enough midweek drink. OK, but nothing else to report. Little-to-no real varietal expression, slight hints of Coonawarra, but you'd be hard pressed picking it in a blind tasting. I picked these up heavily discounted on release at sub-$20 and the value is about right... but current releases are absolute daylight robbery
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Surpise. Decanted for an hour and it performed great. Secundary notes, nice acidity, blueberries, menthol, eucalyptic Shiraz. Nice bottle which befenits from some yrars in the cellar.
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Deep dark red wine. Initial flat on the nose and palate. Hard tannins, medium finish with unpleasant bitterness. However, the wine significally improves with some time in de decanter. Much smoother and creamy. Nice nose. Bitterness still remains at the finish but not so disturbing as at the beginning. This wine probably needs some more bottle aging.
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A little menthol on the nose and a hint of oak. Oak continues onto the pallet, perhaps too much so. Packs a decent punch though seemingly quite unsophisticated. Tannins to my liking, just grippy enough. Medium finish with very slight bitterness. Enjoyable 'drink now' fare. May keep a couple for a few years time, however would not hold great hopes for big returns. Appreciable, though perhaps better value to be found elsewhere.
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Last bottle from the cellar and I'm not too disappointed. Color is showing a hint of age. After some air time, the nose is showing oak, dried herbs and a touch of dark fruit. This continues into the palate but the back has too much alcohol and finishes a bit bitter.
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Opened up with real vivid thick layers of plum and blueberry. Fruit forward. Colour was a beautiful dark purple as expected of warm-climate Shiraz. Over time did not evolve into the vivid spice and oak I was hoping for, perhaps because it was an entry-level Penfolds, and that's why I'm scoring it below 90. Texture on the palate is velvety, yet real thick, elixir-like.
[Bottles and Bottles Tampines 1 @48.00, Brought into shop for a month to clear, tasted at 18 degrees.]
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Donkerrood/paars. Zwoel rijp fruit in de geur, ook wat boers, kool. Romig en zwoel in de mond met zwart fruit, kruiden, frisse zuren, eikenhout. Wat korrelige tannines, mediumlang. 89+
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Need sometime to breath. On nose, quite alcohol level with burning sugar and chacol. Concentration is good, tar, spice with good finish. However, I think I would like craneford shiraz better than this, much more dimensional to me and cheaper price.
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Drank with friends paired with a number of tapas. This held up well against a lot of strong flavors. Nice mouth feel and a little bit of leather and cedar on it. Got it as a gift and would probably happily spend $20-25 on it. Not amazing or transcendent, but very solid.
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Coffee, leather, blackfruits, mint, pepper, barnyard. On the palate is tight, well-structured, not too fruit-forward and very fine tannins with a great balance. Short-finished. This wine needs more time for the improvement but will be a rewarding one for sure.
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Nice purple color, some flowers on the nose, but very subtle. Relatively smooth, with some brambles/bamboo, and not very expressive fruit. More pronounced tannins than expected. Maybe drank too young. A good Shiraz, more in the old world style than new.
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This wine is very tightly wound right now. I opened this and ran it through a vinturi and it was still far from open. There is a significant amount of concentration here (for a $25 wine).
The wine is a deep black/purple hue. The nose is not terribly giving at this point. Flavors are of dark berries wound tightly with spice and oak. Tannins are significant for a Shiraz.
This wine was still less than pleasant after a day under vacuum and refrigerator. It took a 2nd day before the wine smoothed out, unfortunately the fruit was passing at that point.
I bet this is a fantastic wine in.... 2016
I'll give it an 89 for potential, drinking 86 now.
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Very young to drink, very sharp on first taste. Decanted and let air for about an hour and it opened up nicely and lost it's sharpness whilst drinking over he next hour. Worth putting aside for a few years.
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{screwcap, 14%, A$19} Smoky tobacco and twiggy aromas, with some chocolate notes. Rather acid-prickly palate, in a fresh style, light-medium bodied, with a medium-length finish. Ripe but not overly fruity palate. Solid Coonawarra shiraz lacking a little pizzaz.
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9/19/2023 - RBvGunten wrote: 94 Points
14%
Special
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8/26/2023 - Mr Laroux wrote:
Traditionally shiraz-y, but not so bold as a Barossa shiraz. Nicely restrained, with a touch of eucalyptus. Very nice and holding up very well.
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7/1/2023 - Southern Wine Buff Likes this wine: 93 Points
Ruby red, just a hint of fading on the rim at this point. Nose full of ripe black fruit notes – red plum and ripe blackberry - with a hint of leather and dustiness. Flavour, integration and structure are excellent – yes, it is powerful, but in a very harmonious well-balanced way. Combines fruit ripeness with a fine oak-driven backbone, and a touch of eucalyptus on the finish. It might get better, but it does feel like this is a wine being drunk at its absolute peak. One of the very best red wines I have enjoyed this year.
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2/12/2023 - RichD2 Likes this wine: 95 Points
This wine is holding up really well still red fruited and no evidence of over ripe fruit.
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4/12/2022 - Raki Likes this wine: 88 Points
This was interesting. Upon first opening and decanting, it was humming and I was raving about the wine. Fast forward 3.5 hours and it had dulled significantly, the last glass was flat and bland. I’ve got one more, and won’t be decanting.
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8/13/2021 - rupertg Likes this wine: 91 Points
Remarkably little sediment on the bottle, but a fair amount in the base. Cork hardly marked. Black centre, brick red rim. Alcohol dominates the nose, but fruit and tobacco leaf dominate the taste. Still has enough tannin to fur the teeth, but flavour wins. Notes of plum and raisin, but none of the forest floor flavours you’d expect of a Rhone. A distinctive essence of old plum, amidst a tannic structure. Delicious, easy drinking. Great with cheese.
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5/20/2021 - WilD wrote: 91 Points
Secundary notes, nice acidity, blueberries, hints of menthol and eucalyptics. Very delicate. Aging very nicely.
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1/13/2021 - WilD wrote: 90 Points
Secundary notes, nice acidity, blueberries, hints of menthol and eucalyptics. Very delicate and needs to be drunk now (or should already been drunk now).
Day 2: 90+1 pts. Still nice fruit. Very nice and elegant. Perhaps a small decant for my last bottle.
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3/28/2020 - hkm520240 wrote: 90 Points
Deep garnet core, showing some development on the nose, predominantly mocha toasty oak along with herbs, meat, pepper and underlying dark ripe fruits.
Drinking nicely now in a rich medium bodied frame. It has a savoury touch on palate with smoke meat and plenty of spices. Finishes with hints of sweet fruits and ripe tannins.
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12/26/2019 - cogo44 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Since last opening a bottle, the nose remains the same however the palate has a strange sour/bitter aftertaste which may devolve after future airing. It was decanted for 90 minutes. With food the palate was better but there was still an alcohol burn that persisted and detracted from the wine. Needs to be consumed soon.
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12/23/2019 - Bistrostu Likes this wine: 90 Points
Going well. Balanced chocolate flavours, tannins are robust without being over bearing.
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7/5/2019 - cogo44 Likes this wine: 94 Points
The nose has the typical Penfold’s cornflour nose with a background of mint and chocolate. The palate is an elegant integration of fruit and oak that makes for very satisfying drinking Close to its peak. A reassuring Penfold’s wine that is a somewhat fuller expression of Coonawarra shiraz with great French oak treatment.
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5/5/2019 - WilD wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for an hour and it performed great. Secundary notes, nice acidity, blueberries, hints of menthol and eucalyptics. A little more backwards than my previous bottle but still a good wine.
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12/16/2018 - CC-OZ Likes this wine: 89 Points
Still elemental, needs another 3~5 years to reach its peak.
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7/27/2018 - chatters wrote:
Adelaide trip; 7/26/2018-7/29/2018 (Adelaide and the surrounding environs): Slightly oxidised, black berry, sweet spice. Leather, jubey black fruit, plenty of tannins, again a little oxidised but has been open a while.
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2/13/2018 - nulla Likes this wine: 91 Points
Purchased on special for less than $20.00 per bottle, this has been cellared since release with 3 out of 6 bottles put aside to see what they would be like after a bit of time. The decision to stash them has been well rewarded. Deep red with no sign of bricking, vanilla wood, good Coonawarra fruit, red and dark berries with a dash of plum, soft tannins and acid in balance. Delicious in the mouth and good length. I consider that it will cellar for another 5+ years with further development. However it is drinking really well now and the remaining 2 bottles will likely be consumed in the next year or so.
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1/26/2018 - gherkinhammer wrote: 87 Points
Garnet with brown tinges in the meniscus. Hot on the nose. There was very little fruit on the palate, a bit of acid in the front of the mouth and quite a bit of tannin, mostly apparent in the back. Overall, quite bitter with an an unremarkable finish, the wine was disappointing.
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11/28/2017 - Jimmy_D wrote: 88 Points
An easy enough midweek drink. OK, but nothing else to report. Little-to-no real varietal expression, slight hints of Coonawarra, but you'd be hard pressed picking it in a blind tasting. I picked these up heavily discounted on release at sub-$20 and the value is about right... but current releases are absolute daylight robbery
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11/4/2017 - WilD wrote: 91 Points
Surpise. Decanted for an hour and it performed great. Secundary notes, nice acidity, blueberries, menthol, eucalyptic Shiraz. Nice bottle which befenits from some yrars in the cellar.
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1/29/2017 - Bluth Likes this wine: 90 Points
Dark ruby, medium to heavy body, rounded and ready to be dug.
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6/16/2016 - WilD wrote: 90 Points
Deep dark red wine. Initial flat on the nose and palate. Hard tannins, medium finish with unpleasant bitterness. However, the wine significally improves with some time in de decanter. Much smoother and creamy. Nice nose. Bitterness still remains at the finish but not so disturbing as at the beginning. This wine probably needs some more bottle aging.
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11/10/2014 - MJINZ Likes this wine: 90 Points
Superb , smooth and silky , more cellaring potential .
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9/19/2014 - lukeymuffler wrote: 89 Points
A little menthol on the nose and a hint of oak. Oak continues onto the pallet, perhaps too much so. Packs a decent punch though seemingly quite unsophisticated. Tannins to my liking, just grippy enough. Medium finish with very slight bitterness. Enjoyable 'drink now' fare. May keep a couple for a few years time, however would not hold great hopes for big returns. Appreciable, though perhaps better value to be found elsewhere.
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9/18/2014 - StageOneRacing wrote: 86 Points
Last bottle from the cellar and I'm not too disappointed. Color is showing a hint of age. After some air time, the nose is showing oak, dried herbs and a touch of dark fruit. This continues into the palate but the back has too much alcohol and finishes a bit bitter.
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6/12/2014 - L. Tay Likes this wine: 89 Points
Opened up with real vivid thick layers of plum and blueberry. Fruit forward. Colour was a beautiful dark purple as expected of warm-climate Shiraz. Over time did not evolve into the vivid spice and oak I was hoping for, perhaps because it was an entry-level Penfolds, and that's why I'm scoring it below 90. Texture on the palate is velvety, yet real thick, elixir-like.
[Bottles and Bottles Tampines 1 @48.00, Brought into shop for a month to clear, tasted at 18 degrees.]
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3/16/2014 - tonypap Likes this wine: 89 Points
somewhat harsh at first...took some time to soften up.
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11/29/2013 - Strikermax wrote: 89 Points
Donkerrood/paars. Zwoel rijp fruit in de geur, ook wat boers, kool. Romig en zwoel in de mond met zwart fruit, kruiden, frisse zuren, eikenhout. Wat korrelige tannines, mediumlang. 89+
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7/18/2013 - nick811 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Need sometime to breath. On nose, quite alcohol level with burning sugar and chacol. Concentration is good, tar, spice with good finish. However, I think I would like craneford shiraz better than this, much more dimensional to me and cheaper price.
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3/8/2013 - Bluespolo wrote: 89 Points
Nice varietal Syrah not Too oaky. Good concentration. Black fruits. Lots of spices. Good pairing with the nice porterhouse steak we had with it.
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11/24/2012 - tehanson wrote: 90 Points
Drank with friends paired with a number of tapas. This held up well against a lot of strong flavors. Nice mouth feel and a little bit of leather and cedar on it. Got it as a gift and would probably happily spend $20-25 on it. Not amazing or transcendent, but very solid.
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8/11/2012 - ianwesley wrote: 90 Points
Lovely wine drinking well now but will last for many years. My only criticism is that it's a bit one dimensional.
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7/22/2012 - nrad6949 wrote: 90 Points
Penfolds Wine Lounge - Wine Appreciation Class; 7/16/2012-7/22/2012 (The Emporium Shopping Complex, Bangkok.): Personally, I love this wine since it is delivers quite the same aroma with the Grange. Some vintage is even the same, the 2005 BIN 128 and the 1997 Grange is a good example.
Coffee, leather, blackfruits, mint, pepper, barnyard. On the palate is tight, well-structured, not too fruit-forward and very fine tannins with a great balance. Short-finished. This wine needs more time for the improvement but will be a rewarding one for sure.
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2/7/2012 - lundmc wrote: 86 Points
Nice purple color, some flowers on the nose, but very subtle. Relatively smooth, with some brambles/bamboo, and not very expressive fruit. More pronounced tannins than expected. Maybe drank too young. A good Shiraz, more in the old world style than new.
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1/22/2012 - ChinonRouge wrote: 90 Points
Pretty damn good Shiraz. Score is somewhat irrelevant. I like this wine and find it to be good value. Recommended. Will buy more. Good daily drinker.
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1/9/2012 - thatbrian Likes this wine: 88 Points
Popped and poured. It seems to strike a nice balance between OW and NW styles.
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9/15/2011 - RussK wrote: 90 Points
RUSSK Outer Limits Trade Tasting at Marriott HBeach.
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8/10/2011 - cmaldoon wrote: 86 Points
This wine is very tightly wound right now. I opened this and ran it through a vinturi and it was still far from open. There is a significant amount of concentration here (for a $25 wine).
The wine is a deep black/purple hue. The nose is not terribly giving at this point. Flavors are of dark berries wound tightly with spice and oak. Tannins are significant for a Shiraz.
This wine was still less than pleasant after a day under vacuum and refrigerator. It took a 2nd day before the wine smoothed out, unfortunately the fruit was passing at that point.
I bet this is a fantastic wine in.... 2016
I'll give it an 89 for potential, drinking 86 now.
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7/5/2011 - dedrislee wrote: 88 Points
Notes of berries, vanilla, plum, spices, and oak. Balanced tannin, few layers of fruits showing thru', chocolate, cocoa finish. Above average drinking wine. QPR 88/25 A3P3C4
浆果果香、香草、李子、香料和橡木附注。 平衡單寧,巧克力,可可氣味的尾韻。 在平均饮用的酒之上.
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4/28/2011 - TiggerK wrote: 88 Points
I agree with anubis below, better than I expected with a bit of air time.
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3/31/2011 - anubis Likes this wine: 88 Points
Very young to drink, very sharp on first taste. Decanted and let air for about an hour and it opened up nicely and lost it's sharpness whilst drinking over he next hour. Worth putting aside for a few years.
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3/5/2011 - graemeg wrote:
{screwcap, 14%, A$19} Smoky tobacco and twiggy aromas, with some chocolate notes. Rather acid-prickly palate, in a fresh style, light-medium bodied, with a medium-length finish. Ripe but not overly fruity palate. Solid Coonawarra shiraz lacking a little pizzaz.
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