I tasted through the 2009 Penfolds releases tonight - a 7 wine lineup spanning the Bin 51 Eden Valley through to Bin 389.
Always an interesting exercise, the wines themselves will be released on the 27th February this year as opposed to the normal March 1st release date (as its a Sunday).
Whilst the assembled Fosters reps talked the wines up, in the washup I thought this was quite a variable release, particularly the 07 reds - A challenging vintage in SA.
Now an important caveat here to consider before reading these notes is that I cut my teeth on 90's Wynns Cabernet and Seppelt Chalambar, so I never really got the Penfolds bin bug. I still don't appreciate the rich, oaky Penfolds style like so many others (though I dig St Henri) and it shows in my tasting notes and scores. So my advice is that iff your a Pennies fan, add another point or so.
Penfolds Bin 51 Eden Valley Riesling 2008
Bright green, very pale yellow colour. The nose is floral, fleshy and ripe with melon and just the teensiest edge of toast. The palate has excellent sherbety acidity, yet it also feels fat and quite developed already - the fruit intensity is there, but it tastes a little broad and ripe. No questioning the power, but this is only an average wine for the vintage. 16.8
Penfolds Bin 311 Tumbarumba Chardonnay 2008
Very light green/yellow in colour and looking youthful. The nose is absolutely dominated by oak: high quality, buttered Sao & popcorn oak. There are some banana esters in there too that give away the absolute youth. Underneath that oak is lovely melon fruit, but its locked up tight. The palate is similarly oaky & toasty but backed by real cool climate acidity on the tail. The score here is for this wine at this very moment & it will improve with time.
For my money however this is being released far too early. 16.9++
Penfolds Bin 138 Grenache Mourvedre Shiraz 2007
Light, bright, cherry red in colour. The nose has sweet cranberry juice Grenache flavours that are pretty and juicy. Some vanilla oak creeps in over time. Its a lovely Grenachey, simple, juicy pulpy nose. There is a bit of meat too. The palate is sweet, ripe and simply, with some lightly confected, spicy fruit and noticeable alcohol. Minimal tannins. Its very drinkable and if this had seen even less oak I think it would be better still. Not a bad wine, though I think that the Kalleske Clarrys (for just one example) is an even better version of this style (and its cheaper). Good drink nonetheless. 16.5
Penfolds Bin 28 Shiraz 2006
Its a goodun (personally its not my sort of wine, but I can see the attraction). The colour is immediately denser, richer and darker red. Deep nose with some formic, spice, vanilla oak, dark black fruit. Grunty, rich palate that has Penfolds written all over. Rich, meaty, South Australian Shiraz that teeters on the brink of caricature, but its Bin 28 - what do you expect. Fine, Penfoldian tannins. Approachable already and will get better. 17.5
(one point of note - Kalimna is now a registered trademark and noted on the label and in the notes. Another winery trademarking a Barossa subregion. Poor form Fosters.)
Penfolds Bin 128 Shiraz 2007
Red with red/purple edges and quite light in colour density. The nose has cabbage, pepper & rhubarb unripe fruit characters, the palate follows this with heat and stretched fruit in a ripe/underrripe mould. Full of holes. Dud. 15.0
Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Mid red & quite dense in colour. The nose has pencil shavings oak, a little dustiness, dark chocolate and firm red berries The palate is firm, round, firm chocolatey red fruit laden & full bodied - a big, richly fruited wine that for my money is just a little broad & lacking in definition. Its actually quite a typical and good quality Penfolds Bin 407, but it could be just about any full bodied red from nearly anywhere. 17.0+
Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2006
Another goodun. Its Bin 389 and its from a good vintage - fans can buy with confidence. Personally I think this sits behind the 04 & 05 in quality, but its not far behind.
Bright, medium red colour, though its not black red like some really rich reds can be. Interestingly this shows quite a whack of Eucalypt on the nose - something I haven't noticed before in this wine, after that the palate is dark, sweet red fruited and powerful. The secret here though is the texture - its chewy & sweetly oaky with the sort of density that people associate with wine quality in Australia. Good strong Penfolds chocolate tannins to boot - noticeably more tannic than the rest of the range. Will only improve with cellar time too. 18.3+
Andrew
TN: Penfolds 2009 releases
Based on your notes, yet another case of Bin 407 being a 'nothing' sort of wine. Of all the Pennies Bin wines, this one seems the most unneccessary for some reason. Rarely have I had one that showed much in the way of character, even the older ones from good mid 90s vintages. Sound, competent, blah.
Cheers
Wayno
Give me the luxuries of life and I will willingly do without the necessities.
Wayno
Give me the luxuries of life and I will willingly do without the necessities.
Wayno wrote:Based on your notes, yet another case of Bin 407 being a 'nothing' sort of wine. Of all the Pennies Bin wines, this one seems the most unneccessary for some reason. Rarely have I had one that showed much in the way of character, even the older ones from good mid 90s vintages. Sound, competent, blah.
Not to mention ever increasing reatil prices. I do wonder how much they actually are discounted at the retail outlets ?!?!
Craig(NZ) wrote:I bought none last year at all. this year the same by the looks
What about Bin 389 Craig...?
Craig(NZ), Oct 1 2008, wrote:The 05 [Bin 389] though is def better than 99-03. its certainly a vintage i rate very highly (also a vintage i did buy for $25 hehe - even got one bottle for $10)
The price will almost certainly put me off. I can't afford 407 or 389 now. I may get a 28 to try on special - sounds quite good.
Cheers,
Mike
Mike
monghead wrote:Yeah, I don't think I have purchased a Bin wine since the 2001 vintage!
Waiting eagerly for May Day though... 04 Grange...
Mongehad.
Glad to see the economic crises not affecting you Mongehad. My guess would be the old gal will be around the $650+ retail the way it's been going. A lot of good wine for that price (as the old topic goes).
Partagas wrote:monghead wrote:Yeah, I don't think I have purchased a Bin wine since the 2001 vintage!
Waiting eagerly for May Day though... 04 Grange...
Mongehad.
Glad to see the economic crises not affecting you Mongehad. My guess would be the old gal will be around the $650+ retail the way it's been going. A lot of good wine for that price (as the old topic goes).
YOU are better off flying to NZ and buy 3 in the local supermarket. If you use airpoints you will be up by around $1000
. Good thinking 
……-
Mike Hawkins
- Posts: 2747
- Joined: Fri Aug 29, 2003 9:39 am
Andrew - I didn't (thankfully) get any of the eucalyptus notes on the 389. IMO, its nowhere near as fruit forward as the previous 2 vintages, though this isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Wayno - I agree with you on the 407. I liked the 91 on release (I think) but haven't had a decent one since.
Monghead - save your pennies (pardon the pun) for the 04 Grange. A few years back, Peter Gago indicated he thought it had the potential to be their best ever (and that was at the time of the 02 release). I'm hoping to get it for about USD 225 here, though that may be a stretch.
Cheers
Mike
Wayno - I agree with you on the 407. I liked the 91 on release (I think) but haven't had a decent one since.
Monghead - save your pennies (pardon the pun) for the 04 Grange. A few years back, Peter Gago indicated he thought it had the potential to be their best ever (and that was at the time of the 02 release). I'm hoping to get it for about USD 225 here, though that may be a stretch.
Cheers
Mike
What about Bin 389 Craig...?
Craig(NZ), Oct 1 2008, wrote:
The 05 [Bin 389] though is def better than 99-03. its certainly a vintage i rate very highly (also a vintage i did buy for $25 hehe - even got one bottle for $10)
I tried the 05. It wasnt a bad wine at all but didnt buy any. It was the 04 I bought for $25 (truckloads of it). The above musta been a typo on my part. As I have said before, and others may disagree, but I prefer the 04
I havent actually seen the 05 389 cheap at all since release.
Follow me on Vivino for tasting notes Craig Thomson
Mike Hawkins wrote:Monghead - save your pennies (pardon the pun) for the 04 Grange. A few years back, Peter Gago indicated he thought it had the potential to be their best ever (and that was at the time of the 02 release). I'm hoping to get it for about USD 225 here, though that may be a stretch.
Cheers
Mike
Mike, I heard this too. Additionally, having purchased the 04 Block 42 and Bin 60A, I am going to have to get some 04 Grange.
USD 225 sounds like a great price!
Why is it going to be so expensive here???!!!
Cheers,
Monghead.
not to mention ever increasing reatil prices. I do wonder how much they actually are discounted at the retail outlets ?!?
Penfolds have put their Landed Unit Cost (cost per bottle ex gst) up every year i have worked in retail. They also hold retailers to ransom, we have to take so many hundreds of ctns of the bin series range if we want any super premiums. then because no one wants to pay $28 (which is the recommended retail) for the 28's and 128's, the retailer has to sell out the wines at $19.99 making $2 a bottle if he/she is lucky. i have noticed some independents in Brisbane have decided not to play the Penfolds bin game, good for them, more space and stock of interesting wines....
Jamie
Lets just say I have never had a wine I've hated, but there are some I would rather not taste again....
Phooey to Penfolds, I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole at the minute. Shame really as some of my first experiences with wine back in the UK (that didn't have a plastic dispensing system) were with Penfolds
Overpriced, over rated and I'm starting to believe the Peter Gago has 'something of the night' about him. Indeed.
Overpriced, over rated and I'm starting to believe the Peter Gago has 'something of the night' about him. Indeed.
The Dog of Wine
I'm fairly sure I bought my last Penfolds wine to cellar last year, the 2005 Bin 389 and 2004 St Henri. That's the end of a 40 year stint of buying their wines.
I don't even feel sad about it, there are too many other good and better value wines out ther to buy and cellar.
I don't even feel sad about it, there are too many other good and better value wines out ther to buy and cellar.
Cheers
Brian
Life's too short to drink white wine and red wine is better for you too! :-)
Brian
Life's too short to drink white wine and red wine is better for you too! :-)
JamieH wrote:not to mention ever increasing reatil prices. I do wonder how much they actually are discounted at the retail outlets ?!?
Penfolds have put their Landed Unit Cost (cost per bottle ex gst) up every year i have worked in retail. They also hold retailers to ransom, we have to take so many hundreds of ctns of the bin series range if we want any super premiums. then because no one wants to pay $28 (which is the recommended retail) for the 28's and 128's, the retailer has to sell out the wines at $19.99 making $2 a bottle if he/she is lucky. i have noticed some independents in Brisbane have decided not to play the Penfolds bin game, good for them, more space and stock of interesting wines....
Jamie
Couldn't agree more
Red Bigot wrote:I'm fairly sure I bought my last Penfolds wine to cellar last year, the 2005 Bin 389 and 2004 St Henri. That's the end of a 40 year stint of buying their wines.
I don't even feel sad about it, there are too many other good and better value wines out ther to buy and cellar.
Good post, and a view I'm sure shared by many
The Dog of Wine
Hm, sounds like a backlash amongst the erudite users of this forum but I wonder how much of this sentiment has filtered through to the punter on the street. Cost hikes must be doing some damage, one would think.
Cheers
Wayno
Give me the luxuries of life and I will willingly do without the necessities.
Wayno
Give me the luxuries of life and I will willingly do without the necessities.
I would imagine the punters on the street buy Rawson's Retreat and Koonunga Hill, Wayno. I'm certainly not an erudite winey, but I am put off by the high prices of the bins since last year. 407 cost close to NZD $50, and 389 over that. Bound to put off punters, I'd have thought. Given the global financial meltdown, it will interesting to see how they're priced this year. Shirley they can't raise the prices again...
Cheers,
Mike
Mike
Bick wrote:I would imagine the punters on the street buy Rawson's Retreat and Koonunga Hill, Wayno. I'm certainly not an erudite winey, but I am put off by the high prices of the bins since last year. 407 cost close to NZD $50, and 389 over that. Bound to put off punters, I'd have thought. Given the global financial meltdown, it will interesting to see how they're priced this year. Shirley they can't raise the prices again...
Perhaps there's an arrogance at Penfolds that they can do what the hell they want.
I popped open a bottle of the recent release Koonunga Hill Cabernet Shiraz recently, and it was so unpalatable that I popped the cap back on and thought about what rust I could clean with it. I don't recall the KH label being quite as bad as this? Higher prices, lower quality?
There's plenty of other large producers who are continually raising their game (De Bortoli, Angoves, Yalumba to name a couple) and while they may not have the 'icon' status of Penfolds, it won't be long before the un-erudite consumer sends a message by not buying Penfolds wines. You can't fool all the people all the time.
The Dog of Wine
Bick wrote:it will interesting to see how they're priced this year. Shirley they can't raise the prices again...
My last vintage of bins was 1998 when I was still in the restaurant business. After the 1998 vintage I stopped selling and buying their bins. Yes, there are other better value wines around.
alan
Alan Foo wrote:Bick wrote:it will interesting to see how they're priced this year. Shirley they can't raise the prices again...
My last vintage of bins was 1998 when I was still in the restaurant business. After the 1998 vintage I stopped selling and buying their bins. Yes, there are other better value wines around.
alan
I think They did. I saw $34 retail on Bin28,128 somewhere this year.
-
Mike Hawkins
- Posts: 2747
- Joined: Fri Aug 29, 2003 9:39 am
I had stopped buying Bin 389 for some time, but got around to pulling a few older vintages out of the cellar in Oz over the past couple of years - 71,86, 90, 91, 94 & 96 to be precise - and they were universally awesome wines.
That being the case, I stocked up on the 04, 05 and 06 even though the grapes these days are from different regions. Sure, they're not that cheap, but even at AUD45 pb, 389s in good vintages are super wines if you can leave them alone for 10 - 20 years.
That having been said, its impossible to justify purchasing them in poor years IMO.
Cheers
Mike
That being the case, I stocked up on the 04, 05 and 06 even though the grapes these days are from different regions. Sure, they're not that cheap, but even at AUD45 pb, 389s in good vintages are super wines if you can leave them alone for 10 - 20 years.
That having been said, its impossible to justify purchasing them in poor years IMO.
Cheers
Mike
-
Mike Hawkins
- Posts: 2747
- Joined: Fri Aug 29, 2003 9:39 am