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| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.4 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 22 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Whine-oh on 3/25/2023 & rated 92 points: Pnp before dinner. Pared with Grilled (local Cardiff Crack) tri tip. Still dark in color, light sediment, Nose still ailve with red fruits and earth. Soft and silky on palate. Still has nice red fruits present. Nice mouth feel. Good structure. Easy drinking and pared well with food tonight. A pleasure to drink. And a nice memory of an old friend. (528 views) | | | Tasted by QbnSteve on 10/3/2022 & rated 95 points: 30 years old and it could have gone a few more. (690 views) | | | Tasted by ShirazTrain on 2/15/2020 & rated 91 points: Pop n poured from a friend's wine fridge.
Cedar, spice, tobacco, Mint,
Palate was light almost gone, finish just holding on to some fine tannins and spice
Enjoyable well aged bin 389, but mostly all secondary. (1817 views) | | | Tasted by srh on 9/29/2018: ~20 min decant into a cylindrical plastic pitcher which was immed closed until serving; Private Preserve after Day 1
C.S. & Shiraz matured in AM oak barrels for 16 mos; 13.5% ABV, 6.70g/L T.A., & 3.39 pH
N: Leather, tobacco (poss earth) atop blk cherry cola with notes of spice
P: Med, poss LM, body; NICE "frt" firmed by a puckerish astringency which fairly seamlessly morphs into a LONG, balanced, ult bitter/SWT finish which is QUITE food compatible (lovely with Chicken Kebobs) even @ age 26. Though likely SOMEWHAT on the decline, I can see this at least approaching its 30th! My EXC. // Day 2: Held nicely; Noticed some choc today, & occasional notes of raisins. 93 pts James Halliday, 92 ea Jeremy Oliver & WS, 89 Huon Hooke, & 85 The Wine Front. (2155 views) | | | Tasted by Cooky474 on 10/21/2015 & rated 93 points: Taken to Zucca's on the day that I learnt that they are to close at the end of the year. This bottle was part of a mixed Penfolds case acquired from one of my very first pay-checks back in the day and boy am I glad that I held onto it until now! Georgeous wine at its very peak now - this is why I collect and mature wine.
No decant, but this wine was singing from the first sip. Fruit and tannins fully integrated, with tertiary notes of leather and smoke. Lovely balance and absolutely fantastic. Shamefully, I have bought far too little Penfolds since that case... (4138 views) | | | Tasted by kkazaks on 4/6/2013 & rated 87 points: Red red and very clear, translucent. Some aging at the edges but not as much as I've seen on other 20 year old wines.
Nose of mintiness and hints of licorice.
Lots of lively acidity on the palate, very zingy and uplifting and upfront. Top-notey with more bright red fruit I typically look for in a wine.
And then on the finish some residual acidity not quite so pleasant, almost certainly the result of acidification.
Good for what it is, if not for me. Still kicking and alive. Others might give it 90 pts. (5849 views) | | | Tasted by graemeg on 8/6/2012: NobleRottersSydney - Penfolds Bin 389 1988-97 (Alio's, Surry Hills): [13.5%, cork] {Stephen} Sweet meaty aromas with aging raspberry fruits dominate a surprisingly lively nose. The palate manages an initial burst of ripe, sweet red fruit flavours before fading a bit quickly. Medium tannins are a bit grainy; it’s a medium-bodied wine all round, with a slightly simply palate, finishing a bit short. A decent enough showing from a weaker vintage, but nothing to be gained from holding further. (7343 views) | | | Tasted by YWG Wine Guy on 6/20/2010 & rated 89 points: Not far off other notes...was brought out for a birthday - has held up well over the last 20yrs - light dark fruit on nose and palate. Light tannins and acid with a medium finish that has a little oaky vanilla quality with a touch of ?leather...Don't wait - drink now! (6610 views) | | | Tasted by jwcnd69 on 12/26/2007 & rated 92 points: Amazing fruit, given its age. (7073 views) | | | Tasted by graemeg on 8/6/2007: NobleRottersSydney - Penfolds 96-98 +ring-ins (Alio's, Surry Hills): This Bin 389 is warm mid-garnet, with only the smallest fading in colour at the rim hinting at its age. The bouquet is as you’d expect at fifteen years, with aged blackberry and currant aromas, with a smattering of characteristic Penfolds blurred vanilla oak. The fruit remaining on the palate is a little sweet and confected, the chalky tannins have softened out nicely; the wine is medium-full bodied. Nicely balanced; lacks ultimate excitement but remains a good wine from an average year drinking at peak right now. (5407 views) | | | Tasted by shine on 1/17/2006 & rated 89 points: Nose of coffee, cedar and spice. Rich jammy cherry and spice with fine integrated tannins. Nice finish. (4479 views) | | | Tasted by graemeg on 5/6/2005: Some bricking at the rim, this bottle was quite reticent after the Goundrey. More house style than cabernet-specific, it still managed a streak of decent herbaceousness beneath the sweet oak. Not particularly intense. Structural elements have softened out considerably, and people who dislike powerful tannic wines will have no problem here! Not very dramatic though. Best drunk soon. (2745 views) | | | Tasted by graemeg on 2/2/2004: NobleRottersSydney - Old Penfolds & 2001 Bin releases (Lucio's, Paddington): A slightly murky brick red, this has an attractive nose of developed secondary aromas, with some brambly fruit and dusty spice. Tannins are gone. Again, this is balanced very much towards the front palate – I can’t help feeling it was a struggle to get the cabernet to ripen sufficiently this year. Drink up. (3205 views) | | | Tasted by graemeg on 10/10/2002: Still plenty of red colour left. A classic example of Penfolds’ ability to put together a pretty respectable wine in mediocre vintages. This is showing some red berry fruit, a smattering of oak, soft tannins and a little acid still. It’s got some power still – certainly not insipid – but it really feels like it’s struggling to offer anything really interesting. I would say it has aged without really developing the multilayered complexity that the better vintages of 389 display. (2721 views) | | | Tasted by graemeg on 3/5/2001: NobleRottersSydney - Penfolds prior to 95 + 1998 Bin releases (Darling Mills, Glebe): 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. (3658 views) | | | Tasted by dbg on 2/19/1997: very nice, opens tannic but mellows in 30-45 minutes (3291 views) | | | Tasted by dbg on 5/31/1996: excellent (3183 views) | | | Tasted by Marc on 8/12/1995 & rated 89 points: with Graeme, Toni, Jake, Matt R. and Isolbel.
Meal: Vegetarian Brandade, Pasta with Clams and Mirpoix vegetables, Roast Pork with Cauliflower puree, Pear souffle/Boysenberry sorbet and apricot sauce
Other wines tassted: Shingle Peak SB 1995, Corbans Fume Marlboroough 1989, Ata Rangi Reserve PN 1990
Note: Soft rich structured red with heaps of American oak - excellent wine and well priced. Quintessential Aussie wine. This was the best of the Penfolds 1992 that I have had thus far. (2833 views) |
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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 2013Penfolds Bin 389The Rewards of Patience (7th Edition)
Vintage Label Cabernet Shiraz
2010 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 51% 49%
2009 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 51% 49%
2008 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 52% 48%
2007 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 54% 46%
2006 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
2005 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 52% 48%
2004 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 53% 47%
2003 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
2002 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 54% 46%
2001 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
2000 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1999 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1998 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 58% 42%
1997 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1996 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1995 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1994 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1993 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1992 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1991 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 67% 33%
1990 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1989 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1988 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1987 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1986 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 68% 32%
1985 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 52.5% 47.5%
1984 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1983 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1982 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1981 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1980 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1979 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1978 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1977 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1976 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1975 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1974 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1973 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1972 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1971 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1970 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1969 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1968 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1967 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1966 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1965 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1964 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1963 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1962 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1961 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1960 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
1959 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
Cabernet-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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