The bi-annual visit to the upper echelons of Penfolds range; 2007 and prior was the filter. Seven Rotters raided cellars. It was pretty good, apart from an oxidised champagne, but no-one swooned, which seems to be happening less on Penfolds nights as the years go by. There was much dismissive discussion of the last decade’s extortionate pricing, which is why most of us don’t seem to buy Penfolds much anymore.
- NV Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru VP - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
{cork, 12.5%} (Gordon) 72 months on lees, disgorged July-12. Quite a deep yellow. Warning! There were still plenty of medium-sized bubbles, but the wine was sherried and nutty, and although drinkable, had a very short finish and fairly simple flavours. The autolysis character you’d expect from the time on lees was absent; one of the victims of what seems a fairly obvious case of premature oxidation. The cork slipped out rather easily; I’m still surprised that the fizz held up so well, but it only served to highlight what was otherwise missing. NR (flawed) - 2007 Penfolds Chardonnay Reserve Bin 07A - Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills
{screwcap, 13%} (Glenn) Lots of nuts and figs, all swathed in cedary, expensive french oak. There are shards of grapefruit on the palate, but it’s rich with nuts and the fruit seems to struggle against the oak. It’ isn’t overtly buttery or lacking in acid, just tilted in an oaky direction. Thankfully the oak adds more richness than sweetness, and although it pushes the wine to medium/full-bodied weight, I still wouldn’t say the finish was more than medium length. It will ‘age’ longer, easily; I’m less certain about complexity or development gaining though. There’s a fine wine here, under the oak! - 1969 Penfolds Grange - Australia, South Australia
{cork} (Geoffrey) Double-decanted 3 hrs earlier. Very dark, with all brick tinges; more brown than red really. Leathery, earthy nose. Not too bacterial though. The palate has lost most of its tannin, offering varnished highlights of ancient red fruits. Acid has the dominant hand here now; the wine is medium-bodied, with leathery old flavours. Finish remains impressively medium/long though, despite it seeming just a bit simple for the reputation of Grange. Still, for 48 years, and from an ‘average’ vintage, heavy criticism is a bit churlish; this is a pretty spectacular effort, all things considered. - 1997 Penfolds Shiraz St. Henri - Australia, South Australia
{cork, 14%} (David) Decanted at start of dinner. Still deep in colour, but the plums and mulberries have a fair bit of tar in there too, hinting at old Penfolds. There are still some low powdery tannins supporting plenty of flavour, although they fade pretty fast. The aged plummy fruit is a touch baked; the wine is medium-bodied, but the finish really is on the short side. It was a no-better-than-average vintage on the whole; it’s a good effort, but the seams are showing and it needs drinking now. - 2004 Penfolds Bin 389 - Australia, South Australia
{cork, 14.5%} (Aaron) Decanted at start of dinner. Still fairly youthful, but flanked as it was by slightly older St Henri’s, it seemed very baked, sharp and harsh to me. The palate is raw and blocky, with medium gritty tannins, blackberry and sour cranberry fruit, medium/full body, and a medium-length finish tending hot and harsh. Not convincing. Age will tone it down, but the gritty heat it shows won’t help I suspect. - 2002 Penfolds Shiraz St. Henri - Australia, South Australia
{cork, 14.5%} (Graeme) Double-decanted 3 hours prior. Rich plums and blackberries. Ripe but not too raisiny. Plummy, spicy-flavoured palate, rounded texture, but still with medium chalky fine tannins. Quite sophisticated overall, good weight across the mid-palate, with a medium finish. It’s moved a little off primary, and some of the freshness has gone; it hasn’t bloomed into tertiary glory yet. But it seems it has the stuffing to improve over the next decade or so. - 2005 Penfolds Shiraz St. Henri - Australia, South Australia
{cork, 14%} (Greg) Decanted at start of dinner. Seemed similar to the 2002, although the fruit is more toward the blacker end of the spectrum, with more blackberry, less plum, and a touch of charcoal and tar. Tasted younger than the 3-year difference indicated; it still has a youthful rawness to it, and a sense of power, although it’s still more a dense medium-body than anything heavier. Medium long finish, promises much over the next decade. Just shades the 02 for quality. - 1975 Pieroth Ensheimer Adelberg Eiswein Auslese - Germany, Rheinhessen
{cork, AP 26 76} (Gordon) A blend of riesling, silvaner and schuerebe from across the Ensheimer grosslage; ie. not a single vineyard. Dark gold. Well aged aromas of carpet, camphor, copper and caramel. The palate offers a short bloom of deliciously rotten fruit of an aged honey/apricot type, but subsides to a rather short finish. I reckon the riesling is holding it up, but the other two grapes are dragging it down. Acid is OK, it’s medium weight and medium-sweet, but really it’s well past best and probably wasn’t all that great to start with a far as complexity goes. - 1975 Château de Fargues - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
{cork} (Gordon) Deep gold. Nose of vanilla bean and honeysuckle, and that creamed honey we ate as kids. The palate is decadently crumbling; the sweet honeyed flavour just tinged with a slight bitterness. But a convincing mix of botrytised wine and tertiary notes, as all sorts of weird flavours flicker across the palate. Quite even palate, medium sweet, with medium weight and a medium long finish. I suspect well on the downward slope now, but still enjoyable.
Great night. They don’t come much more reliable that premium Penfolds, you gotta admit.