My first encounter with this bottle and it did Margaret River Chardonnays proud. Chablisienne in style, I was very impressed with its precision and minerality, which made it a fabulous accompaniment for raw oysters three ways as well as the halibut ceviche. Gorgeous aromatics of white peach and lychee, which improved as it warmed. Tremendous, silky mouthfeel, rounding out beautifully over time. Lengthy finish. Easily 4-5 more years of easy drinking to this one.

Just entering its prime drinking window, and unsurprisingly benefited from air through the course of the evening. I love the muscular style of these dry Rieslings. Signature petrol nose. Vibrant and powerful flavors of lime, slate and saline. At is best as it rose near room temperature, picking up some power and viscocity. Very long finish.

Another first encounter for me. Surprisingly pale and tawny colored in appearance. Straightforward nose of sweet red berries. Less concentrated in the mouth than I was expecting, with ripe strawberry notes dominant, along with very evident heat. While not my style as such, the wine worked well, and the ripeness gave way over time to more nuanced herbal notes alongside the fruit.

A wonderful bottle full of complex and nuanced flavors. Retrained aromas of black fruit and pepper. A very layered feel on the palate: black fruit, fennel, tobacco leaf and orange zest were some of the notable aspects. Later some sweet floral aspects emerged. Seemed to gain complexity over time.

One of my favorite of the Penfold bottlings, and this one did not disappoint. Yeasty nose of red fruit, black pepper and a bit of coffee. More red fruit than black, spicy and potent. A bit backward and youthful, with ample structure to make this one to revisit in 5+ years, if I am so fortunate.

Circumstances prevented me from decanting this, and it suffered as a result. The nose was restrained, showing blue fruit and some saline, but lacking in the intense array of aromas with my last bottle: lavender, spice, mocha and licorice if I recall. That beautiful glycerined texture was present, fortunately. I picked up dark fruit, pepper and licorice, clean rather than layered or complex. I managed to set aside e last glass's worth in the bottle and got back to it 48 hours later. What a difference: a ripe, smoky and floral nose, sweet red and blue fruit, lush mouthfeel and minute long finish. As with prior bottles, I'm inclined to compare this to a Negly Clos des Truffiers, favorably in the case of the last glass, which I would score at 97 points.

An interesting contrast to the more restrained Shiraz expressions alongside which it was drank. Powerful aromas of sweet red fruit, and (of course) some heat. Intensely concentrated flavors of ripe red fruit, held in check (just) by the high acidity. Hugely persistent finish.

Hot, super ripe nose, almost jammy. Hot on the palate as well: concentrated, spicy and a touch saline, with some Port-like black fruit and licorice most evident. Highly structured, with fully integrated tannins, which helped balance its intensity without teetering over the top.

I knew we were in great shape when the cork came out clean as a whistle. Dark and inky, yet a touch translucent in the edges. A powerhouse from the moment poured, with inescapable aromas of sweet red and black fruit, soy and some faint smokiness. Deep, peppered fruit, perfectly checked by the dose of oak, a compelling example of American oak complementing without changing the wine. A slight creaminess in the mouth too. 45-second finish. After 30 minutes or so, the wine seemed to shut down quite a bit. Fortunately, the fellows again left me a glass's worth and I returned to that bottle two days later: right back where we started, just as dense, rich and powerful. A tour de force.

Always a humbling and emotional experience for me to have a H.o.G. Perhaps suffering from the absence of a solid decant, I thought, this bottle was more about grace than power. The nose was purity and effortlessness personified: cassis, graphite and muted herbs with a touch of earthiness dense and chewy in the mouth, but less well rounded than I expected, missing a degree of richness though the complexity compensated. Plums and spice, some tobacco, cedar, a bit floral, very complex as noted, with a hint of menthol on the mid-palate. I kept looking for that explosion. This bottle may have been a bit advanced. Apart from the mint, more Graves-like, if that makes sense. Two days later, I revisited the last third of the bottle. No major changes, neither bad nor good, apart from a slightly longer to finish. It is funny that as I reread the note, I fear this will be perceived as negative. Consider instead how high the Hill of Grace bar deserves to be set!