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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2013 and 2019 (based on 18 user opinions) |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 88.4 pts. and median of 89 pts. in 89 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by RBvGunten on 9/19/2023 & rated 93 points: 14.5%
Egg and Milk finish (290 views) | | | Tasted by Mic Mac on 12/8/2021: 11 years old. Deep dark colour. Juicy black fruit with bright acid. Very Penfolds in the fruit and texture profiles. The polished oak and boot polish notes are typical. Super smooth but not particularly complex. (1255 views) | | | Tasted by CC-OZ on 6/29/2020 & rated 90 points: Really dark, almost black. Taste of some old vines, very good value for the price paid. No problems for at least another 5 years or more. (2094 views) | | | Tasted by Philckw on 3/11/2020 & rated 90 points: Deep Dark Ruby Red. Nose - Fruits, Cherries, spice, pepper, leather. Palate - silky smooth with leathery notes popping out a bit more, slight tobacco, expresso. Finish - Long with some mint? Still drinking beautifully and my last bottle of 2 that I got... great for the price and would definitely buy more if still available. Cracked this open because community rating stated drink by 2018! Definitely could have gone a few more years! (2225 views) | | | Tasted by KonradGee on 3/31/2017 & rated 92 points: Deep dark tawny cherry red, clear 3/3. No obvious legs despite 14.5%
Lovely fruity nose, inviting, Christmas cake, spice and raisins, cinnamon, pimento, plums, luscious 7/7
Rich, mouthfilling fruit, nicely balanced soft furry tannin, The alcohol is not obvious. Slight pip bitterness, warm finish, medium bodied. Spicy fruit lingers. I like it. 8 or 9 /10 (4644 views) | | | Tasted by Wuhan Joe on 3/11/2017 & rated 89 points: Dense purple- almost black. Nose has green pepper and cedar with hint of spice. Round and full bodied with plenty of tannin and high acidity. Black currants and cassis, hints of cacao, licorice, forest floor and vanilla. The finish leaves me slightly disappointed but overall a good drinkable wine. (4528 views) | | | Tasted by kawdogs on 1/23/2016 & rated 90 points: The wine looks brick colored. The legs are slow. There is no sediment in the bottle. (5316 views) | | | Tasted by GB80 on 1/25/2015 & rated 89 points: A nice wine. Not an overpowering wine and mellow to make enjoyable. (2291 views) | | | Tasted by Rayden on 12/25/2014 & rated 89 points: Ripe fruit that don't overpower and you know your drinking an Aussie powerhouse, sitting comfortably in the living room. Enjoyable but not memorable. (6294 views) | | | Tasted by Oakjeff on 3/30/2014 & rated 90 points: Still good. (6363 views) | | | Tasted by Pinotphile80 on 1/19/2014 & rated 92 points: Purple hues and extremely dense, took about an hour to open up. Cinnamon and spiced nose with a perfumed hint of vanilla. Plum characters on entry, Plenty of dark fruit and strong tannins. Lots of length. Could go a few more years. (6413 views) | | | Tasted by raydawgone on 8/20/2013 & rated 90 points: Opaque, almost black in color. Powerful aroma of raw, dark chocolate and black currant. Deep, dark volumptious ripe blueberry. Excellent QPR, got on closeout at 14.00. (7612 views) | | | Tasted by jeig on 7/5/2013 & rated 92 points: Purple hue and dark colour. Full Body and spicy. Big wine lover will appreciate this bottle. Drink now. (6806 views) | | | Tasted by Wineio on 4/5/2013 & rated 88 points: Dark purple color. Lots of dark fruit and medium to light tannins. Could tell it had high alcohol. Had with grown up mac and cheese. (5799 views) | | | Tasted by Burgundy Al on 3/4/2013 & rated 86 points: Ripe black fruit aromas, simple but concentrated. Ripe again on palate with a fleshy character. Again simple, slightly short and sweet on finish, but very good value glass pour with dinner at the hotel tonight. (5055 views) | | | Tasted by Legend38 on 2/17/2013 & rated 92 points: What can I say that hasn't already proclaimed? This wine for this price is amazing (4410 views) | | | Tasted by Oakjeff on 1/21/2013 & rated 90 points: Still loving this bargain. (3746 views) | | | Tasted by ScottZuehlke on 1/5/2013 & rated 91 points: I drank this bottle over two nights. I really enjoyed this wine and will buy it again. Lots of great flavor in this wine! (3963 views) | | | Tasted by nrad6949 on 7/22/2012 & rated 92 points: Penfolds Wine Lounge - Wine Appreciation Class; 7/16/2012-7/22/2012 (The Emporium Shopping Complex, Bangkok.): Normally, I don't drink BIN 2 as I don't have any kind of impression with this wine. Furthermore, the vintages after 2006 for BIN 2 are quite disasterous since the taste for each vintages are no good at all. I also know that this wine is solely making for an export market. While have these things in my mind, the 2010 vintage is another story.
I see this wine before at one of the bottle shops in Australia with this vintage. I quite confuse since this wine meant only for export. I keep thinking to myself that the year 2010 must be a good year. Therefore, they decided to sell in their home market.
Without any further wonder, I found that the 2010 BIN 2 is a great wine. In fact, one of the nicest one I ever have. It has very nice smell, creamy, sweetness, coffee, leather. In the palate, it delivers good fruit weight and nice tannins. With a good length of finish, my eyes are wide-opened and wonder why this 2010 BIN 2 is very good. As I can remembered, 2004 and 2006 was the only great vintage for BIN 2 as far as I ever encountered.
As winemakers said, the year 2012 is a good vintage year and could be the same level with the 2010. Therefore, I am looking forward for the 2012 vintage. (6366 views) | | | Tasted by Oakjeff on 7/18/2012 & rated 90 points: Still loving this expressive wine. (5016 views) | | | Tasted by Firefly78 on 6/25/2012 & rated 87 points: Dense, chewey, restrained and warm. OK for the $ (1694 views) | | | Tasted by Oakjeff on 6/21/2012 & rated 89 points: Somehow not as good as last btl although from the same case. (4983 views) | | | Tasted by Oakjeff on 6/14/2012 & rated 91 points: Deep, dark/opaque violet in color. Nose is predominantly of tobacco with some herbs as well. Thick, rich, chewy & dense with a load of spice. Great for read meat and sipping on its own. (4808 views) | | | Tasted by Oakjeff on 5/16/2012 & rated 90 points: Bin 2, I love you. (4659 views) | | | Tasted by kwn70 on 5/14/2012 & rated 84 points: Deep purple color. Reminded me of Welch's. This came across as a little young still, but delivered some nice deep red fruit on the palate. I got quite a bit of alcohol on the nose as well. Even as a 2010, it's a good buy and daily drinker though. (4172 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| 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 2013Shiraz BlendViognierAustralia Wine Australia (Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation) | Australian Wines (Wikipedia)South EasternRiverina
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