Perhaps because of earlier visits to the country Riesling is a grape that I associate with Australia and I appreciate their take on it - generally very dry, crisp, refreshing. This was very much in that vein. I keep getting almost an asian pear note to it which I wouldn't normally associate with that grape. Perhaps a bit of Quince. The joke is 4% of Australia's wine production is Riesling and 3% is drunk by the winemakers as they are doing the other wines. I can see why.

It was posited that as goes Bin 28, so goes the vintage for Penfolds. I'd like to think that isn't totally true as this was just a tough wine for me. Not one that I'm very familiar with (we had drunk other more moderate bottles when I first got into wine from Penfolds), but I found this much more difficult to drink than basically anything else for the day. Just a ton of oak. Lots of vanilla. Fruit much more ripe. Not quite as balanced. Not for me.

This wine will always have a special place in my heart. It's the first 'fine wine' that I ever fell in love with. When I was in university it was actually affordable for a university student as a big splurge. And on the wine list at the favorite restaurant in town at a very moderate price so always something that I viewed as a 'go-to'. All that is to say, I'm sure I'm a bit biased here. But I did like this. I am not sure I still agree that it's really the 'Baby Grange'. Even the blend doesn't work for that (51%/49% I believe Cab-Shiraz). But there's a certain balance (still so young!) and a certain level of potential that makes one think this wine could age for quite awhile. The oak very much there. The fruit not quite as ripe as the Bin 28 but also very much there. It's an interesting one. Wonder what 15 years would do to the wine. Think it needs at least that much.

One of the pleasant surprises of the tasting for me. I haven't had much of this wine, but I will say I enjoyed it and at the price point it's very compelling (more the general price point than the SL one presented). The winemakers had written cherry bon bon in their notes and that's 100% here. Also some more spicy notes. There's a nice juiciness to this wine without being over done. And a great acidity that creates the balance. A decent tannin. It's very young and needs a lot more time, but there's great stuffing here. Could see older vintages of this being really interesting. Blend of American and French oak.

Another interesting wine and one of my takeaways from the tasting. I had not realized that when Grange was first being created back in the 50's there were different opinions about how best to make Shiraz and so one winemaker (Max Schubert) opted for a more oaked profile and hence was born Grange and another opted for purely Neutral oak and hence was born St Henri. Which seems to be one of the only Penfolds wines without a BIN label. This was aged in large vats that were purchased 50+ years ago and already considered 'used' at the time. Lots of red currants coming out here and that's the first impression, but it's very well balanced by almost a more earthy style and then some garden spices and black licorice and a hint of mint and maybe some more black fruits. A very clean style of Shiraz. Another wine that feels like a pretty reasonable value and something I'd especially look for with some age.

RWT - stands for Red Wine Test. It was an early 90's experiment to see how French oak would work with Barossa Shiraz. The goal here is that plush velvety style of wine. Esp coming on the heels of the St Henri most of what I got was oak and splinters and chewiness. I don't mind oak in my Shiraz when it has a reasonable amount of age and in fact I think it can make a wine a lot more interesting older. At this stage though it's more just intense and feels a bit overdone. There is fruit here and as I adjusted it came out more. Finishes a touch bitter. Not totally my style right now, but could be if it was older.

Tons of blackberry that just jumps out of the glass at you. There's also a bit of a floral note. Kevin seemed to think this was due to age, but I'm not sure it wasn't also just the natural style of the wine (5 years is not that much age). It could have been violets. A certain balance and elegance to this wine. It's powerful, but well constructed. And tasty. Much too young, but lots of easy to see potential here.

And here is the main event. 98% Syrah, 2% Cab. The lack of Hermitage on the label these days is more due to the French's uptight nature than a specific decision by Penfolds. This is truly a baby-killing in every sense of the word, but it is fun to taste it and already there's real potential here. The wood is more prevalent than in some of the other wines and yet somehow not as offputting as I find it in the RWT. Here it seems to just form a bit of a backbone. Also adds a touch of vanilla sweetness. There's flowers and darker fruits and spices and one of the things I always love about this wine is really tends to run the gamut of flavors you can find in a wine and yet they all sortof come together. Perhaps not totally integrated yet, but you can see a path. There's still a few sharp edges. And of course some eucalyptus which the winemaker said others will quote as a flaw in a wine but perhaps because I've always been a Grange person I always appreciate it. More refined than the 2013 we tried alongside it. Still a just straight up lovely wine that has decades to go.

Ok - a big and bold and intense wine. Much more heft than the younger brother (2014). More oak, comes across as more of a sweet vanilla style rather than splintery. More black fruits. More spices. It's powerful and clearly needs a lot more time, but there's also this glimmer that all of these pieces will come together really nice. And a wonderful acid and future balance. Interesting.