TN: Penfolds Icon Wines Preview at Magill Estate 17/4/08
Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2008 12:57 am
Last Thursday night I got a sneak peek at the latest Penfolds Icon & Luxury wines at a function arranged for the Penfolds Magill Estate Club and presented by Peter Gago. A few months ago Campbell Mattinson aptly mentioned after I posted my impressions about the Bin Series releases that they were more in the style of what Penfolds used to be like - if I missed it then, I certainly didn't this time around.
2006 Penfolds Reserve Bin 06A Chardonnay (Adelaide Hills, screwcap, 13.0% alc): Bright straw/green colour. Nutty oak, grassy/peaches and some yeast at first on the nose, becoming quite spicy/mineraly and rather milky with a little lemon sherbet by the finish. The palate is likewise more reserved/elegant than the Bin 05A but still incredibly complex, a soft entry followed by milky malolactic plus elegant/spicy French oak and tight grapefruit/sweet lime, finishing long and slightly nutty/vanillin, then smoky with some oyster.
2005 Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay (Adelaide Hills, screwcap, 13.3%): Bright straw/green, a fraction darker than the Bin 06A. Rather closed nose in comparison, tight and pithy lime/lemon and fine spicy oak, gradually showing some grapefruit, salty bacon, and then sweet fennel/white sambuca and mineral. The palate’s spicier on entry with some grapefruit and bacon, leading to a mealy but fine structure, finishing mineraly and a little steely. By the end of the tasting it’s fatter, with more exotic peachy/mandarin characters and a creamier texture - while poles apart at first, with breathing this got closer in style to the Bin 06A.
2004 Penfolds St Henri (96% Shiraz, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon - Barossa Valley, Langhorne Creek, Adelaide Hills, 14.5% alc): Medium to very dark blood red, with a hint of purple. Just a hint of varnish and tomato on the nose at first, but with a quick swirl it kicks into life with cocoa and earthy plums and a little sweet blackberry, then dark chocolate/honeycomb, and blueberries/cherry pie. While the nose screams Barossa decadence the palate is surprisingly refined and elegant; sweet/dark cherries and even some strawberry/black jubes and icing sugar, slightly stalky/creamy, extremely long, juicy, elegant/intense, fine-grained and tannic, plus absolutely no sign of the alcohol. I’m looking forward to the tasting notes from Campbell Mattinson & The Rewards of Patience this year because the very best St. Henris are just so different. This doesn’t have the ripeness and rather slutty/exotic spices of the 1996/2002, or the classic, fine-grained meaty/minty/smoky/leathery characters of the 1990/1998/1999, yet it’s still challenging the very best: sweet Barossa characters on the nose, and an elegant, understated palate that salutes the virtues of Hermitage. If this vintage doesn’t break St. Henri overseas it will remain our precious little secret in Australia to hoard, but I frankly don’t like our chances – new world/old world Shiraz, imagine the best bits of them and they’re here.
2005 Penfolds Magill Estate Shiraz (Magill Estate Vineyard, 14.4% alc): Medium to very dark blood red, with a hint of purple. Coconut at first on the nose, then inky violets and sage/dried herbs and ripe plummy fruit, a little espresso/fish sauce, stalks and tobacco. Tart cassis/plum/blackberry and creamy oak with a slightly green/herbal edge, medium-to-full bodied finishing with sweet berries and castor sugar, rather like a mixed-berry tart. Coming after the St. Henri was a hard ask but this didn’t look lost at all; the top blocks of Magill again made it into Grange, but this vintage remains a genuinely powerful expression of the label.
2005 Penfolds RWT Shiraz (Barossa Valley, 14.5% alc): Medium to very dark blood red/purple. Lovely dark chocolate, blackberries, and floral/meaty scents like Barossa should be, followed by some vanilla/coconut oak and fresh sage/dried herbs, always retaining a smoky/meaty edge. Obvious meaty/smoky dark chocolate/red berries and plummy fruit with pepper and mint mid-palate, full-bodied, finishing mealy with chewy tannins, black olive, herbs, and sweet rhubarb. There’s a slight sense of the alcohol mid-palate, but overall it’s well contained and doesn’t show on the finish; an excellent follow-up to the 2004 vintage.
2005 Penfolds Cellar Reserve Coonawarra Cabernet Barossa Valley Shiraz (screwcap, 14.0% alc): Matured in 100% American oak. Very dark to inky red. Lifted/varnishy nose with a little nail polish at first, then fresh herbs/meaty scents begin to appear, leading to rich, Barossan meaty/dark chocolate and dried herbs, cocoa powder, cassis, and even more herbs. The palate’s immediately riper with rum and raisin/dark chocolate and sweet plum/cherries, finishing very long but with pixel-fine tannins and some more cherry. It’s still lighter-weight than the RWT or Cellar Reserve Barossa Cabernet, yet that long but fine structure hints that it could be the ultimate cellar sleeper that Gago, Parker and Halliday all say it will become.
2005 Penfolds Cellar Reserve Barossa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (screwcap, 13.9% alc): Matured in 100% French oak. Very dark to almost inky red. Dark chocolate, cassis, honeycomb and dried herbs leap from the glass, followed by sweet mocha chocolate/coffee, black cherries, more chocolate/rum & raisin, and dried oregano. The palate’s immediately darker, earthier and more seductive than the Coonawarra/Barossa Cabernet Shiraz, with plum/cassis and black olives and no mid-palate hole, finishing soft and extremely long with more meaty/black olive on the finish. The gap’s narrowed a little since last December, but this is still my favourite of the two new 2005 Cellar Reserve wines.
2005 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon (Barossa Valley, Coonawarra, Padthaway, 14.5% alc): Very inky red/purple. Closed at first on the nose and relatively backward compared to the other wines, slowly revealing earthy blackcurrants/cocoa and a hint of honeycomb. The palate is tighter, chalky/tannic and more herbal than the Cellar Reserve Cabernet on entry, followed by earthy/peaty but ripe fruit (easy to pick the Limestone Coast influence here), finishing supremely long, chalky and very grippy. All the elements are here of a riper Barossa/Coonawarra blend, a hefty, chalky structure but devoid of minty/herbal notes; a fascinating contrast to both the 2004 Bin 707 and the 2005 Cellar Reserve Cabernet, and equally desirable.
2003 Penfolds Grange (97% Shiraz, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon – Barossa Valley, Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, Magill, 14.5% alc): Very dark to inky red with a hint of purple. Last year all the wines were presented in XL5 glasses – this year the Grange was poured into a Reidel to really show it off. An immediately exciting, complex, smoky/exotic and spicy nose, with vanilla, blackberries, aged soy, herbs/tomato and cumin, mixed spices/cinnamon and tar/coal. Surprisingly minty entry with black cherries/black pepper, a slow-crawling structure building to a grippy/tannic mid-palate with some VA, finishing grippy/powdery with malty/vanillin oak, a hint of warmth and bourbon, with some sweet coffee/chocolate on the rebound. I didn’t approach this with high expectations and was pleasantly surprised at its complexity and weight without being overripe – I feel it’s a medium-term Grange, but it definitely fits the blueprint for the label and is an excellent outcome for the vintage.
Cheers
Ian
2006 Penfolds Reserve Bin 06A Chardonnay (Adelaide Hills, screwcap, 13.0% alc): Bright straw/green colour. Nutty oak, grassy/peaches and some yeast at first on the nose, becoming quite spicy/mineraly and rather milky with a little lemon sherbet by the finish. The palate is likewise more reserved/elegant than the Bin 05A but still incredibly complex, a soft entry followed by milky malolactic plus elegant/spicy French oak and tight grapefruit/sweet lime, finishing long and slightly nutty/vanillin, then smoky with some oyster.
2005 Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay (Adelaide Hills, screwcap, 13.3%): Bright straw/green, a fraction darker than the Bin 06A. Rather closed nose in comparison, tight and pithy lime/lemon and fine spicy oak, gradually showing some grapefruit, salty bacon, and then sweet fennel/white sambuca and mineral. The palate’s spicier on entry with some grapefruit and bacon, leading to a mealy but fine structure, finishing mineraly and a little steely. By the end of the tasting it’s fatter, with more exotic peachy/mandarin characters and a creamier texture - while poles apart at first, with breathing this got closer in style to the Bin 06A.
2004 Penfolds St Henri (96% Shiraz, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon - Barossa Valley, Langhorne Creek, Adelaide Hills, 14.5% alc): Medium to very dark blood red, with a hint of purple. Just a hint of varnish and tomato on the nose at first, but with a quick swirl it kicks into life with cocoa and earthy plums and a little sweet blackberry, then dark chocolate/honeycomb, and blueberries/cherry pie. While the nose screams Barossa decadence the palate is surprisingly refined and elegant; sweet/dark cherries and even some strawberry/black jubes and icing sugar, slightly stalky/creamy, extremely long, juicy, elegant/intense, fine-grained and tannic, plus absolutely no sign of the alcohol. I’m looking forward to the tasting notes from Campbell Mattinson & The Rewards of Patience this year because the very best St. Henris are just so different. This doesn’t have the ripeness and rather slutty/exotic spices of the 1996/2002, or the classic, fine-grained meaty/minty/smoky/leathery characters of the 1990/1998/1999, yet it’s still challenging the very best: sweet Barossa characters on the nose, and an elegant, understated palate that salutes the virtues of Hermitage. If this vintage doesn’t break St. Henri overseas it will remain our precious little secret in Australia to hoard, but I frankly don’t like our chances – new world/old world Shiraz, imagine the best bits of them and they’re here.
2005 Penfolds Magill Estate Shiraz (Magill Estate Vineyard, 14.4% alc): Medium to very dark blood red, with a hint of purple. Coconut at first on the nose, then inky violets and sage/dried herbs and ripe plummy fruit, a little espresso/fish sauce, stalks and tobacco. Tart cassis/plum/blackberry and creamy oak with a slightly green/herbal edge, medium-to-full bodied finishing with sweet berries and castor sugar, rather like a mixed-berry tart. Coming after the St. Henri was a hard ask but this didn’t look lost at all; the top blocks of Magill again made it into Grange, but this vintage remains a genuinely powerful expression of the label.
2005 Penfolds RWT Shiraz (Barossa Valley, 14.5% alc): Medium to very dark blood red/purple. Lovely dark chocolate, blackberries, and floral/meaty scents like Barossa should be, followed by some vanilla/coconut oak and fresh sage/dried herbs, always retaining a smoky/meaty edge. Obvious meaty/smoky dark chocolate/red berries and plummy fruit with pepper and mint mid-palate, full-bodied, finishing mealy with chewy tannins, black olive, herbs, and sweet rhubarb. There’s a slight sense of the alcohol mid-palate, but overall it’s well contained and doesn’t show on the finish; an excellent follow-up to the 2004 vintage.
2005 Penfolds Cellar Reserve Coonawarra Cabernet Barossa Valley Shiraz (screwcap, 14.0% alc): Matured in 100% American oak. Very dark to inky red. Lifted/varnishy nose with a little nail polish at first, then fresh herbs/meaty scents begin to appear, leading to rich, Barossan meaty/dark chocolate and dried herbs, cocoa powder, cassis, and even more herbs. The palate’s immediately riper with rum and raisin/dark chocolate and sweet plum/cherries, finishing very long but with pixel-fine tannins and some more cherry. It’s still lighter-weight than the RWT or Cellar Reserve Barossa Cabernet, yet that long but fine structure hints that it could be the ultimate cellar sleeper that Gago, Parker and Halliday all say it will become.
2005 Penfolds Cellar Reserve Barossa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (screwcap, 13.9% alc): Matured in 100% French oak. Very dark to almost inky red. Dark chocolate, cassis, honeycomb and dried herbs leap from the glass, followed by sweet mocha chocolate/coffee, black cherries, more chocolate/rum & raisin, and dried oregano. The palate’s immediately darker, earthier and more seductive than the Coonawarra/Barossa Cabernet Shiraz, with plum/cassis and black olives and no mid-palate hole, finishing soft and extremely long with more meaty/black olive on the finish. The gap’s narrowed a little since last December, but this is still my favourite of the two new 2005 Cellar Reserve wines.
2005 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon (Barossa Valley, Coonawarra, Padthaway, 14.5% alc): Very inky red/purple. Closed at first on the nose and relatively backward compared to the other wines, slowly revealing earthy blackcurrants/cocoa and a hint of honeycomb. The palate is tighter, chalky/tannic and more herbal than the Cellar Reserve Cabernet on entry, followed by earthy/peaty but ripe fruit (easy to pick the Limestone Coast influence here), finishing supremely long, chalky and very grippy. All the elements are here of a riper Barossa/Coonawarra blend, a hefty, chalky structure but devoid of minty/herbal notes; a fascinating contrast to both the 2004 Bin 707 and the 2005 Cellar Reserve Cabernet, and equally desirable.
2003 Penfolds Grange (97% Shiraz, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon – Barossa Valley, Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, Magill, 14.5% alc): Very dark to inky red with a hint of purple. Last year all the wines were presented in XL5 glasses – this year the Grange was poured into a Reidel to really show it off. An immediately exciting, complex, smoky/exotic and spicy nose, with vanilla, blackberries, aged soy, herbs/tomato and cumin, mixed spices/cinnamon and tar/coal. Surprisingly minty entry with black cherries/black pepper, a slow-crawling structure building to a grippy/tannic mid-palate with some VA, finishing grippy/powdery with malty/vanillin oak, a hint of warmth and bourbon, with some sweet coffee/chocolate on the rebound. I didn’t approach this with high expectations and was pleasantly surprised at its complexity and weight without being overripe – I feel it’s a medium-term Grange, but it definitely fits the blueprint for the label and is an excellent outcome for the vintage.
Cheers
Ian
). It's notable that at last year's Icon tasting with all wines in the XL5s the 2002 Grange really suffered, and there were a few rather pointy questions at the first Bin tasting this year in regard to club discounts vs the discounted prices available at the major grocers. For this tasting absolutely nothing was left to chance - they bought in Peter Gago, who with the rest of the CD staff answered most questions before they were even asked, and the 2003 Grange was poured (after appropriate breathing) into a Reidel for assessment. This had to be the smoothest operation I've seen at the Magill Estate Club in the 18 months I've been a member, and the results showed.
