TN: Penfolds 2005 Grange & Luxury Wines Preview 27/4/10

[n4sir]

A few days ago I got an advanced look at the latest Penfolds Icon & Luxury wines at a function arranged for the Penfolds Kalimna Club at Magill Estate, presented by senior white winemaker Kym Schroeter; all of the wines were double decanted a couple of hours prior to serving. Like last year, there was such a small amount of the 2007 Yattarna & Magill Estate made they're only available direct from the Cellar Door; the prices of the new releases are ex Penfolds Cellar Door from 1st May 2010 (it should be noted that Campbell Mattinson's review at Wine Front has a figure for RRP of Grange more than $100 less than the CD price).

The suggested drinking windows are their estimates supplied with the reading material - it may be of interest that their suggested windows of the new Grange & Bin 707 are significantly less than last year's releases (20 & 10 years respectively), but the rest are (perhaps surprisingly) roughly the same. All of the wines presented were bottled under screwcap apart from the Grange, which was sealed with natural cork:


2008 Penfolds Reserve Bin 08A Chardonnay (Adelaide Hills, 13.0% alc) $89.99, drink now-2016: Very pale green/straw colour. Lots of nutty oak and milky malolactic characters lead to tight lemons/grapefruit with a whiff of wild yeast & struck match; very complex with breathing, bouncing between hazelnut, cheesy/flinty and perfumed nuances. The tightly knit palate's just as complex and powerful, a puckery entry of melon, then grapefruit with a little dash of tobacco; it has significant grip mid-palate, and a long, flinty finish with zippy/lemony acid. I agree with Kym's comment it has some resemblances to Meursault (and for that matter Giaconda), but the price tag is approaching somewhere around the same neighbourhood too.

2007 Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay (Tasmania, Adelaide Hills, Henty, 13.0%) $129.99, drink now-2015: Very pale green, almost colourless. In contrast to the Bin 08A the first thing that's noticeable is the crystal-clear purity of sweet, melony fruit with mineraly/fennel nuances; with breathing the 9 months in 35% new French barriques begins to appear as some toasty notes, wool carpet and peach surface. The palate's loose-knit too, a soft entry followed by surprisingly sweet peaches and then apricot, finishing spicy and a little hot, some cashew with breathing. In comparison to the Bin 08A and the previous three vintages it appears a tad disjointed and it isn't as convincing; the comparatively shorter drinking window is a pretty good guide.

2006 Penfolds St Henri (89% Shiraz, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon - Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Robe, 14.5% alc) $89.99, drink 2014-2032: Dark to inky crimson. Inky/dusty nose of black coal, violets and blackberries quickly replaced by sweeter blueberries; with breathing some gamey/caramel characters appear along with some rum and raisin chocolate and black pepper. Tobacco and liquorice lead to a spicy, grippy, medium to full weight palate with blackberries/kirsch and meaty/gamey nuances, finishing very dry and fine. It reminds me a little of the unusual 2001 vintage, but overall it is far more faithful to the St. Henri blueprint; that said, I don't think it's a top vintage for the marque either.

2007 Penfolds Magill Estate Shiraz (Magill Estate Vineyard, 14.5% alc) $114.99, drink 2011-2030: The Magill Vineyard was only recently set up with drip irrigation, and I remember this was the first time they had to switch it on to save the vintage - it was also (at the time) the lowest crush on record and the earliest vintage, commencing February the 8th. Dark to inky crimson with just a hint of purple. Herbal and spicy bouquet with saturated plums, black liquorice and dusty cocoa, always treading a very fine line between the very ripe and the slightly green, not unlike some McLaren Vale shiraz. There's noticeable VA and vanillin oak on the entry of the palate, leading to chocolaty/mulberry fruit mid-palate that also has the same herbal/slightly green nuances, finishing long but very slender and dry with puckery acid and minty warmth. It may work a little better with food, but on its own the wine shows all the rough edges of a difficult vintage and will never be a great Magill Estate.

2007 Penfolds RWT Shiraz (Barossa Valley, 14.5% alc) $174.99, drink now-2030: Dark to inky red with a hint of purple. Very perfumed/plummy bouquet with hints of sweet musk, dried oregano and a dash of white pepper, some vanilla slice, more dried herbs and milk chocolate appearing with breathing. The medium to full weight palate opens with equally rich and plummy with traces of tobacco, then choc-mint, becoming rather herbal mid-palate and finishing long and tannic with chocolate and black liquorice, but also minty alcohol heat. While I loved the bouquet the palate is more of a struggle, which makes for an unusual and challenging but not a particularly satisfying wine - again it's easy to point to the tough vintage.

2007 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon (Padthaway, Barossa Valley, Coonawarra, 14.4% alc) $189.99, drink 2012-2025: Winner of the prestigious Stodart Trophy for the best gold medal winning one year old red at the 2008 Queensland Wine Show, and there's something about it that reminds me of the 2002 Saltram Mamre Brook that was a previous winner, not to mention some strong resemblances to the 2006 Bin 707. Dark to very inky red/purple with noticeable legs on the glass. A glorious bouquet of sweet vanilla and musk over dusty, slightly floral cassis fruit at first, then crushed ants, cranberries, tomato leaf, exotic star anise and tea chest characters with breathing. The powerful palate's just as impressive, dusty, medium to full weight cassis and cranberry leading to a classic cabernet donut profile, finishing extremely long with chalky tannins and a lick of black olive. This is an outstanding result for such a difficult vintage; that said I agree it will peak earlier than the previous three superb vintages, and oak-Nazis should give this one a wide berth.

2005 Penfolds Grange (96% Shiraz, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon - Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, 14.5% alc) $649.99, drink 2012-2030: The first sample was randomly oxidised, and quickly replaced. Dark to inky crimson/blood red with legs on the glass. Sweet, dusty plums, game and caramel with a hint of soy, becoming rather stocky with air, some raisin and vanilla appearing with further breathing, then tobacco, crushed ants, black soy and liquorice. The palate opens with black liquorice and plums with meaty/vanilla nuances before what can only be described as a tannin bulldozer cranks up and ploughs everything into every crevice around the mouth, culminating in an extremely long finish with some sweet tobacco, milk chocolate, cocoa butter and coconut taking turns showing up on the rebound. The structure of the palate is outstanding, but there's something about the ripe and stocky characters that has me a little concerned; maybe the oxidised glass planted the seeds of doubt in advance, but to be brutally honest I would have slightly preferred the 2003 vintage to this at the same stage two years ago. I would be reluctant to call it a 'great' Grange at this early stage; that may be a harsh assessment, but that's how it looked on the night.


Cheers
Ian

[pokolbinguy]

2005 Penfolds Grange $649.99

Cellar Door price is $549.99....so sounds like Campbell Mattinson's price was right.

[Brucer]

Amazing! The first bottle of Grange for tasting was stuffed due to cork.
Why dont they put this in screwcap, like the rest? .
Seems crazy to me.

[n4sir]

2005 Penfolds Grange $649.99

Cellar Door price is $549.99....so sounds like Campbell Mattinson's price was right.

Well, the mailer I received definitely has a CD price of $649.99, which was backed up by Philip White's article in the Independent Weekly yesterday:

The chaos and destruction rife in the wine business makes it seem impossible that anybody, Fosters/Penfolds included, could be launching a wine like the 2005 Grange at the natty price of $650. But that’s the deal, and don’t believe a word about the price not holding.

http://www.independentweekly.com.au/new ... 17129.aspx

That said, someone at the Winestar forum has mentioned they've already seen the 05 Grange available for $499 which makes a mockery of it all really, not that it's surprising since it's happened the last couple of years too.

Cheers,
Ian

[Red]

Amazing! The first bottle of Grange for tasting was stuffed due to cork.
Why dont they put this in screwcap, like the rest? .
Seems crazy to me.

Couldn't agree more. Every day there seems to be a new study coming out showing a) wines under screwcap do age, b) wines under screwcap have far less incidence of closure issues when compared to cork.

Ironic then that the only Australian wines still using cork are the most expensive ones! As though it is somehow more acceptable to have a $200 wine stuffed because of the cork rather than have a $20 wine have the same problem.

[Craig(NZ)]

That said, someone at the Winestar forum has mentioned they've already seen the 05 Grange available for $499 which makes a mockery of it all really, not that it's surprising since it's happened the last couple of years too

$499 is the best I have seen in NZ. Thats about $3.50 Australian with current exchange rates?? Briefly flew through FWDC today. Plenty of Asians buying 6 packs + magnums etc so it is obviusly a cool wine in that part of the world. As the guy at the shop said "only a certain type of person can buy this stuff anymore". it is now a status symbol, not a drink.

Shame, after the few old vintages rattling round in the cellar drinking it will just be a memory for me.

[platinum]

Tried them today and agree with your thoughts. Grange about what you would expect for the vintage but you would have to be a buyer of every vintage to buy this when the 04 can be had for the same $ still. This was no 96 or 04.

08 Chard is something very special

[pokolbinguy]

2005 Penfolds Grange $649.99

Cellar Door price is $549.99....so sounds like Campbell Mattinson's price was right.

Well, the mailer I received definitely has a CD price of $649.99, which was backed up by Philip White's article in the Independent Weekly yesterday:

Cheers,
Ian

Sorry I tell a slight white lie....RRP is $649.99...but CD price is $549.99 demand dependent (could go up to $650 tomorrow...or may take a week, month etc).

[GraemeG]

2005 Penfolds Grange (96% Shiraz, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon – Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, 14.5% alc) $649.99, drink 2012-2030: The first sample was randomly oxidised, and quickly replaced.

Ha. And will that be the case for the poor numpty who buys one, takes it home, and opens it for Christmas, I wonder?
cheers,
G

[KMP]

I see one listing for the 2005 Grange in the US at $340/btl. But that's probably a tease to get site traffic because I can't find any listing for the current vintages of St Henri or RWT etc.

Mike

PS - I tell a lie - just found 707 at $165USD.

[n4sir]

Amazing! The first bottle of Grange for tasting was stuffed due to cork.
Why dont they put this in screwcap, like the rest? .
Seems crazy to me.

Couldn't agree more. Every day there seems to be a new study coming out showing a) wines under screwcap do age, b) wines under screwcap have far less incidence of closure issues when compared to cork.

Ironic then that the only Australian wines still using cork are the most expensive ones! As though it is somehow more acceptable to have a $200 wine stuffed because of the cork rather than have a $20 wine have the same problem.

The question got asked on the night - as I think has been mentioned here previously, Penfolds are having designed for them a completely new glass-on-glass closure (which will be different from the Vinoloc seals used by Henschke, among others). Unfortunately Kym wasn't able to say when this new seal is likely to go into production, but stressed in the meantime Penfolds "are sourcing the best corks that are currently available."

Cheers,
Ian

[Brucer]

The 2004 Bin90A I bought are under screwcap. Same q

[n4sir]

The 2004 Bin90A I bought are under screwcap. Same q

The Special Bins would be a different proposition because they are not made every year and the production volume is nothing like Grange.

One Winemaker of a small business said to me this year there's no way he'd consider moving to screwcap for his premium wines because there's a risk of losing a whole vintage if there's a bottling line fault. As I've mentioned here a couple of times this is very rare but has happened to others in the past (eg. Grant Burge lost two whole vintages of his Thorn riesling), and while usually it's covered by insurance it's a major pain in the butt (and potentially damaging to a wine's brand when it disappears off the shelf for a year).

Grange is not only an icon of the industry that has a history of being made every vintage come rain, hail or shine, it's also a major cash-cow for Penfolds/Fosters and I don't see them taking any risks with it. They may lose a small-batch Special Bin vintage and it could be swept under the carpet without anyone knowing, but the loss of a vintage of Grange would make international headlines. Kym also repeated the usual mantra that we don't really know how premium red wines under screwcap will fair in 20-30+ years time (which Grange is expected to cellar for), and pointed to the mylar liner as being the specific source of concern; the glass-on-glass closure they're working on as a possible future closure for Grange will have no liners or no synthetics.

While the 2004 Special Bins and (for a while at least) RWT & Bin 707 etc were offered under both cork & screwcap for different markets, I'm not sure if continuing a choice of the two is realistically sustainable (particularly if one option is tailored to an increasingly fickle export market). I think you'll find they will settle quickly on one closure for almost all (if not all) bottling runs in future, even the small batch wines (eg. The number of cases of the 2005 Cellar Reserve Cabernet & Cabernet Shiraz were around the same mark as the 2004 Special Bins, and these were bottled solely under screwcap instead of the 50% screwcap, 50% cork option).

Cheers,
Ian