NobleRottersSydney - Old Penfolds & 2001 Bin releases

The First Monday Club resumes activities for 2004, and kicks off with a Penfolds dinner. In addition to the selected vintages in the 90s, Andrew brought along the new (mostly) 2001 vintage Bin wines for a pre-release tasting. Notes are in tasting order, which was climbing the hierarchy as we went, then drinking from youngest to oldest.

• 2002 Penfolds Bin 138 Shiraz Grenache Mourvèdre

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

  Bright crimson red. Fresh clean raspberries & some soft vanilla oak. It has a sort of lolly character which suggests lots of Grenache here, surely. There’s a spicy fruit explosion on the palate, tannins are very soft, balance is all towards the front of the tongue. Short finish and overall a bit simple.

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• 2001 Penfolds Shiraz Bin 128

  Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra

  Bright red. Lots of lifted white pepper and spice. On the palate it’s quite a lightweight indeed – where are the tannins? Oak is certainly minimal – again, the wine sits very much on the front palate. Overtly fruity flavours are absent, and some might question the ripeness of fruit that’s gone into this wine. Even at only 13.5% alcohol, this tastes very warm to me. Overall a light spicy shiraz that’s not a million miles from Wynns effort in this region. Perhaps a throwback to the lighter styles that made Coonawarra’s name back in the 50s? At around $20 it’s no bargain though…

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• 2001 Penfolds Shiraz Bin 28 Kalimna

  Australia, South Australia

  Quite a dark red. The shows more of the typical Penfolds shiraz character – dark berries, some understated spice, an undercurrent of charry oak. This is much fuller bodied, with a strongly warm-climate feel to it – no ripeness issue here. Tannins are fine, but lack the powerful refinement of the 98 vintage at release. Also warm, at 14%. Fair value at $20, but falling short of this wine’s better moments in the 80s & 90s.

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• 1996 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 407

  Australia, South Australia

  Brick red. Smells for all the world like a fruity Cru Bourgeois from Bordeaux. Lots of cigar-box / graphite aromas. This is all secondary development – I struggle to detect any primary fruit remaining. The wine has integrated quite well, but there’s not much back palate here. Most of the appeal of this wine is in the bouquet – the palate doesn’t quite live up to expectation. It’s a medium weight finish at best, and not particularly long. No improvement left here – so drink up, which is something of a surprise for a 96 vintage wine.

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• 2001 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 407

  Australia, South Australia

  Dark red. Archetypal young Oz cabernet, with clean pure blackcurrant fruit holding sway over the oak. The palate’s not hugely impressive – there’s a respectable balance of acids and tannin, but the fruit is a bit reticent, and I think it has something of a mid-palate hole. The finish is medium length, not heavy, but somehow the wine just doesn’t make it for me. I begin to wonder (especially in light of the 96) if the wine isn’t a little under-fruited somehow…?

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• 1992 Penfolds Bin 389

  Australia, South Australia

  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.

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• 1996 Penfolds Bin 389

  Australia, South Australia

  This wine was a much paler brick red than I would have anticipated. The first aromas are of a deep-throated candy blast - liquorice almost - which rather reminds me of the 89 Grange. Here also is the first hint of that typical meaty, tarriness that old Penfolds wines can develop. The wine has not come together yet – tannins are still profound, but the palate is good and even and the length is impressive. I wonder if the aromatics aren’t helped by a whiff of VA as well. However, for it’s attractive qualities, I can’t help feeling this bottle is prematurely developed – other tastings of this wine over the past 2-3 years have revealed far more backward and closed specimens. A poor bottle, I fear.

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• 2001 Penfolds Bin 389

  Australia, South Australia

  Black-red. Young and raw, with a blast of macerated blackcurrant and cassis, with a strong oak overlay. Lots of tannins here, but nicely spaced around the palate. A much shorter finish than the 96. Feels a bit ‘cobbled together’ for me. At $30+ I’d hesitate. Better than 95 or 97 certainly, but not up to 96 or 98, I reckon. Certainly the best of the new Bin releases, predictably enough. Don’t think I’ll be buying, though…

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• 1990 Penfolds Shiraz St. Henri

  Australia, South Australia

  Deep red with a faint brick tinge. Aromas of sweet, sweet fruit. Sun-dried raspberries, blueberries, a hint of some indeterminate spice. Velvet smooth – coats the palate with luscious fruit – the individual components are lost as they build a whole that exceeds the sum of its parts. Medium weight, warm without being hot – all the best things about warm-climate fruit. What a wonderful wine. Hard to imagine it getting better than this, but there’s nothing to suggest it won’t carry on for at least 5-10 more years (if experience with 86 is to be trusted).

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• 1996 Penfolds Shiraz St. Henri

  Australia, South Australia

  Deep red. Another pure fruit nose, which lacks the development of the 90, but otherwise represents a parallel tasting experience. Not a blockbuster in terms of weight, but the wonderful balance carries across into a long rich finish. Not ready for drinking – or at least, not ready to reveal more than about 30% of its potential at this stage.

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• 1999 Penfolds Shiraz St. Henri

  Australia, South Australia

  Red & black. The only St Henri where any oak appears evident on the nose. There’s plenty of chocolatey blackberry fruit as well, which contributes to a powerful palate. Tannins are fine and strong, and contribute to a long finish. Acid is pronounced. Really the wine is all arms & legs, but the components are all there. Don’t touch for 10 years. Perhaps this was one wine of the 99 vintage where Penfolds really did hit the target.

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• 1991 Penfolds Shiraz Magill Estate

  Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Plains

  A pale brick-red colour, with distinct lightening toward the rim, this wine is starting to display some leathery varnish-like qualities. There’s some gentle spicy fruit on the front palate, but really nothing past the middle of the tongue. This tasting was consistent with recent experiences of this particular wine, which clearly needs to be drunk soon. Well and truly overshadowed by the [96 & 99] St Henri wines.

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• 1997 Penfolds Shiraz Magill Estate

  Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Plains

  There is a lot of cedary smokiness here, but not a lot of fruit. Tastes like it’s rather relying of French oak to beef it up somehow. Tannins are quite strong, but the fruit isn’t quite there. Not really convincing. Will keep for a few years yet, but it’s never going to be great.

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• 1994 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 707

  Australia, South Australia

  We had 2 bottles of this, with no apparent variation between them. It’s still an impenetrable black-red colour. The nose is all heavy-char oak. There is some detectable ripe blackcurrant and cassis in the background, but it’s a long way back! The wine is still hugely tannic, long and wide. Come back in 10 years. The palate is evenly coated – no ‘doughnut hole’ here – but the wine is still monolithic and almost angular at present. For masochists only. (I see RoP recommends drinking from 2005-2020 – I think the window will more likely open nearer to 2010…)

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And now that I’ve tasted the 2001 Bin 389, I can leap straight into the controversy…! Nah, but I don’t think I’ll be buying it. In fact, I’m beginning to think we’re all better off forking over another $10-15 (depending on where you purchase) and buying St Henri instead. I thought the introduction of the Thomas Hyland range would serve to make sure the Bin 128 / 28 / 389 maintained their standards of years gone by, instead of slowly degrading in quality (as the Rosemount diamond wines have done over the last 15 years). But now I’m not so sure that’s the case.