NobleRottersSydney - Penfolds &/or 1988

Continuing the theme of ‘Great 20th Anniversary Dinners’, this event was supposed to focus on Penfolds in 1988, a rather specific requirement which proved too much for most of us. Consequently, some wines were younger, some weren’t Penfolds, some combined both those non-conformances…

• 1955 Château de la Guimonière Coteaux du Layon Chaume

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Coteaux du Layon Chaume

  It’s a big ask to expect a relatively modest Loire chenin to hold together over fifty years. And it receives a hedged reply. A clear gold/amber colour. The nose is now becoming quite oxidative, but there’s still a remnant of honeyed, syrupy fruit. The palate manages a dash of quince-like flavours as well, not exactly fresh, but not in terminal decay either. The finish combines a little warmth and bitterness, which marries well enough with the medium-sweetness of the wine generally. A pleasant and attractive wine, which has seen its best days, but remains an interesting curio.

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• 1988 Redbank Winery Sally's Paddock

  Australia, Victoria, Western Victoria, Pyrenees

  {cork, 11.6%} Mostly cabernet-family grapes, but I think may contain some shiraz as well, being a genuine vineyard blend. A clear garnet, with very little fading at the rim. An enchanting, mildly developed nose of lifted sweet red berries, cloves and soft oak precedes a palate of glacéd fruit flavours, a frisson of acid, softly resolved dusty tannin and medium weight. The flavours and texture run right through to the back palate, the wine has a lovely cool feel to it, with a light but lingering finish. At a glorious peak, and far better than I expected. Quite exquisite.

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• 1988 Penfolds Bin 389

  Australia, South Australia

  {cork, 13.3%} Still a glowing dark garnet after all these years. There’s a lot to like here. Classic meaty Penfolds nose. Dash of tar, ripe red fruits and a distinctly sweet note at the top. Developing – not to be mistaken for a youthful wine. Attractive palate, ticking all the ‘medium’ boxes – acid, chalky tannin, weight, length. A good arc of structure from front to back palate, rich, ripe and solid, nicely knitted together. Cabernet and shiraz singing in dependable harmony. Compared to some of tonight’s other wines it may lack a little in flair, but that’s being picky. In great condition, will see another 5 years easily. A very good wine that shouldn’t be taken for granted.

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• 1988 Penfolds Grange

  Australia, South Australia

  {cork, 13.5%} Still ruby red. Not a hint of garnet red anywhere. The developing nose is stamped with that unmistakable Grange character; the liqueur-shiraz aromas, vanillan oak, spice, leather. Rich and refined, never raucous. The palate presents well integrated acidity, medium-high chalky tannins, nearly full body, with lavish ripe sweet fruit, subsumed oak and a long balanced finish. It’s a hefty wine, but all within itself, and makes the preceding Bin 389 look rather coarse. Not an especially acclaimed vintage, nor reviled either; I can see this still improving for years to come. A bit of a sleeper. I can’t imagine anyone tasting this and not being impressed. Wonderful wine.

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• 1993 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 707

  Australia, South Australia

  {cork, 13.5%} Another solid ruby-coloured offering. Authentically developing cabernet on the nose, with a touch of capsicum/herbaceousness, and an undercurrent of cassis. Luxury oak doesn’t quite hide the green streak. The palate is predictably full, chalkily tannic, grippingly dry and intense. Plenty of weight on the back palate here – noticeably so. It’s a big solid wine, although it does blunder about a bit; the palate doesn’t quite live up to the nose, and the length of finish falls away a little to reveal a rather hard green streak underneath. Given the vintage conditions and grape sources, it’s no great surprise. Will no doubt hold on for many years, but will never really develop any charm. A good wine lacking that magic touch.

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• 1997 Penfolds Shiraz Magill Estate

  Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Plains

  {cork, 13.5%} This was a tough year, and the wine shows it. Still ruby red, the nose presents contrasting aromas of white pepper and spice; very different from other Penfolds offerings tonight. The wine tastes like it’s been worked very hard, with medium gritty tannins, plenty of spiky acidity, and a bone-dry palate. Despite this, it actually feels rather loose-knit, all these components seem to wander around on the palate and never quite get together. Doesn’t really taste unripe, just angular and disjointed. There’s decent enough balance right through the palate; it just needs food to pull it together (or paper over the cracks!). But it’s an honest single vineyard wine reflecting the year. Drink up.

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• 1998 Penfolds Shiraz St. Henri

  Australia, South Australia

  {cork, 14%} We had two bottles of this from different cellars, the second rather rubbery/reductive and metallic, the first a bit cleaner and more open. Neither was decanted, and they converged a little as time passed. A semi-composite note follows: dark ruby colour, what little aroma that can be detected is mostly of ripe dark plums. The palate is all grapes; fleshy fruits that refuse to blossom, and powerful furry tannins. The wine seems totally sealed up and unforthcoming. I feel like Dan Brown asking to look through the Vatican’s archives. There’s minimal oak evident, a long structural (tannic) finish, but really, it’s impossible to get much out of this. I think it will be a very great wine one day, for it has plenty of stuffing, but it’ll be at least another 10 year wait to see much development.

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• 1998 Penfolds Bin 389

  Australia, South Australia

  {cork, 14%} Following all these wines [Grange, St Henri] is a tough ask for a humble Bin 389, but this offering from an acclaimed vintage makes a good fist of things. A clear ruby colour, it smells youthful and stuffed with liquorice, milk chocolate and ripe fruit aromas. The palate is showing a bit more development – only a touch – but offers big richly upholstered fruit, massive dusty tannins, terrific intensity of fruit flavour, with solid balance of structural components running the length of the palate. Highly impressive, although a long way from integrated, this ought to provide great drinking in another 15 years. All that said, it lacked the refinement of the next wine [96 Grange]…

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• 1996 Penfolds Grange

  Australia, South Australia

  {cork, 14%} I really did think this would be too closed to enjoy properly, but was proved hopelessly wrong. Impenetrable ruby colour, with plush, youthful berry/plum/spice/chocolate aromas. Only minimal secondary development, but calling it just ‘primary’ does no justice to the wonderful ensemble of the wine’s components. The oak is not overt, but swathed in rich fruit. Strong yet incredibly fine powdery tannins, a full body, velvety texture and latent acidity combine with the utmost class and finesse to produced a large-scale yet polished offering with a long, evenly balanced finish. An astonishing wine singing a glorious song; neither a screeching soprano or a hoarse alto, a ragged tenor, or a coarse baritone; no, this is a full symphonic chorus in glorious flight. Noble, majestic, seductive, inspiring, enthralling; in every sense a complete wine. Quite drinkable now, yet so clearly only fulfilling a fraction of its potential. Stunning.

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• 1998 Wolf Blass Cabernet Sauvignon Platinum Label

  Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley

  {cork, 14%} OK, not Penfolds, not 1988. A bit of an oddity too; I think platinum label is shiraz-only nowadays. Absurdly youthful purple/ruby colour and aromas; essence of cassis and blackberry. The concept of ‘liqueur’ carries over to the palate as well – I’ve had quince paste runnier than this wine. Despite the soft acidity, the high-level dusty tannins and purity of the fruit ensure that enough freshness is maintained. Very backward and primary, but with enough richness to make it a drinkable proposition now. Quality American oak is evident but not overpowering. Full bodied and very intense; I suspect it’s a wine drunk as well now for its tour de force properties as left for another ten years. Lovely example of warm-climate cabernet that stops short of being overblown.

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• 1985 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  {cork, 20.5%} Confession time. I really have no idea how to take notes on vintage port. Especially when I only get to taste them one at a time. For what it’s worth, this garnet wine with a mahogany rim smells of liqueur cherries and bitter dark chocolate. Somewhere in a kind of off-dry spectrum with medium acid and tannins, the warm ripe palate blooms in the mouth, with sharply defined ripe cherry-like fruits, and a long lingering finish. A pleasure to taste, but I’m floundering to say something intelligible where I have so little experience. Sorry!

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Another stunning night. The February and March 2008 dinners have now yielded twenty-four impeccable, cork-sealed wines. Needless to say, I fear for April…