TN: The Penfolds Bin Series Releases at Magill Estate 6/3/11

[n4sir]

I wasn’t able to get up to the Kalimna Club’s previews this year at Nuriootpa, so last week I tried the latest Penfolds Bin series releases at the Magill Estate Cellar Door, the only weekend they are all available for tasting there. All of the following wines were bottled under screwcap except for the Bin 389, which was under natural cork - all bottles were opened the evening before, and all were served in XL5 glasses. The drinking windows listed here were supplied with the Penfolds Kalimna Club literature:

2010 Penfolds Bin 51 Riesling (Eden Valley, 12.5% alc, now-2020): Pale green/straw colour. Fresh limes, citrus and slate, still some sulphur on the nose; a pithy entry leads to a tight, mineraly palate full of sweet lime/lemon and spice, finishing long like Bickfords’s lime juice and mineral water, mineraly and tight. A classic Eden Valley riesling, very elegant and mineraly, but not quite as impressive as its immediate predecessor - it’s still the best of the Bins this year, and also the cheapest.

2010 Penfolds Bin 311 Chardonnay (Tumbarumba, 12.0% alc, now-2017): Very pale green colour, like the previous few vintages remarkably paler than the Riesling. A little stinky and closed at first, then quite spicy and mineraly, something like a Petit Chablis with grass and struck flint characters; the palate’s spicy and mineraly, medium-weight in the lime/citrus spectrum, then a hint of melon, finishing long, dry and slatey. The vintages of Bin 311 since the 2007 frost damage in Tumbarumba have been tight, austere, Chablis-like efforts, a world away from the first couple of fat, peachy and toasty vintages.

2010 Penfolds Bin 23 Pinot Noir (Adelaide Hills, 14.5% alc, now-2018): Light to medium purple/red. A sappy, ripe nose, jammy at times with sour cherries, plums and dual lifted varnish (VA) and nail polish remover (EA) elements to it; the palate’s ripe yet surprisingly thin with a green element, stalky cherries and rhubarb, some warmth on the finish despite the lack of weight. After two vintages I really don’t know where the Bin 23 label is going – it’s completely different to the inaugural vintage, and I still hate it.

2009 Penfolds Bin 138 Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre (Barossa Valley, 14.5% alc, now-2024): 68% Grenache, 21% Shiraz, and 11% Mourvedre this vintage. Medium purple/red. Very ripe and more than a little porty/jammy at first, fruitcake characters and a little apricot/brandy, but it does settle down to be more meaty, jubey and juicy; the palate opens with a big bang of blueberry/red berries and black pepper, medium-weight with pan juices on the finish. It’s a classic, Grenache-dominant Barossa GSM that’s attractive drinking now, but it’s not a keeper – I reckon this should be polished off in the next five years tops.

2009 Penfolds Bin 128 Shiraz (Coonawarra, 14.0% alc, now-2024): Medium (to almost) dark purple with legs on the glass. Slightly rubbery nose at first, followed by black cherries and stalks, and a quite off-putting vegetal and heat/bite to the nose – is it the alcohol or volatility? A stalky entry is followed by medium-weight cherries and a hint of rhubarb, a little warmth mid-palate and very dry, chalky tannins that flow through to the slightly bitter finish. Of all the regular Bin releases this year, this one was the hardest work, the least satisfying, and the ultimately most disappointing.

2008 Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz (South Australia with significant parcels from Barossa Valley, Langhorne Creek and McLaren Vale, 14.5% alc, now-2030+): Medium to very dark purple with legs on the glass. Noticeably riper, sweeter and oakier bouquet than the 2009 Bin 128, opening with a salvo of blueberries and plum, violets and earth, camphor wood and caramel, all lifted by a touch of EA. The palate’s perhaps surprisingly still only medium-weight, very dry with some mid-palate heat and grippy and chalky tannins on the finish. A solid result, nothing more, nothing less.

2008 Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon (South Australia with significant parcels from Coonawarra, Robe, Wrattonbully and Padthaway, 14.5% alc, 2014-2025): Medium to dark red/purple. A beautiful, complex, classic cool-climate cabernet bouquet of blackcurrants and black olives/tapenade, hints of soy sauce, umami, menthol and cedar; a spicy/chalky entry leads to a very dry, chalky and tarry, medium-weight palate with herbal characters and a long, mineraly finish. It’s balance is impressive, but it is also a noticeably lighter-weight Bin 407, best suited to medium-term cellaring – that said, it continues the impressive consistency of this label the last few vintages.

2008 Penfolds Bin 150 Marananga Shiraz (Barossa Valley, 14.5% alc, 2012-2025): Dark to inky purple/red with legs on the glass. Inky and perfumed, violets and blackberries, plums and dried thyme/herbs, some camphor and cedar, lifted by volatile VA & EA characters. The entry of the palate is just as fruit-sweet and spicy, blueberries leading to plums and berry compote, followed by a surprisingly chalky/minty mid-palate, finishing very dry with chalky tannins, dried herbs and noticeable warmth, a little freshly sawn timber popping up on the very end. It is a step up on the Bin 28, and it does a pretty good job representing the sub-region in a tough vintage, but to be brutally honest I think there’s a lot better value elsewhere for the money.

2008 Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz (South Australia with significant parcels from Barossa Valley, Coonawarra, Langhorne Creek and McLaren Vale, 14.5% alc, 2013-2036): 52% Cabernet Sauvignon & 48% Shiraz this vintage. Medium to very dark red/purple. Like quite a few of the 2008 vintage wines at first there’s very noticeable VA on the nose, then it settles down to show blueberries and violets, cherries and cedar, some sweet raspberry/musk sticks and even some strawberry with breathing. The palate’s surprisingly elegant for a Bin 389, better balanced and fleshier than the previous vintage but still only just over medium-weight, fruit sweet with red berry fruits and chalky tannins, finishing with great length and cool, herbal characters.

Penfolds have pre-addressed possible negative preconceptions to the 2008 reds in their accompanying release notes, saying that the 15 day South Australian heatwave in March 2008 created a vintage of two distinct halves so weighted average vintage charts may judge the year harshly, and in their case unfairly. To their credit, most of the wines are well balanced with structure and chalky tannins to ensure they will age – no doubt some early picking and sourcing from cooler areas not as affected by the heatwave has helped. On the other hand, the wines are notably leaner, and in nearly all the above reds there is a distinct whiff of both EA & VA that I’ve also noticed with other 2008s which is off-putting. It’s also worth noting that Penfolds own drinking windows for the Bin 128, 138 & 407 isn’t much different to last years 2008/2007 wines, which were significantly lower than previous years. In my opinion these are solid wines, they are notably better and will possibly age more gracefully than many other 2008 South Australian reds I've tried to date, but they’re not classics either.


Cheers
Ian

[Luke W]

I'll go out on a limb here and say the Penfolds Kalimna 2008 is the best one ever made. I opened and decanted a bottle and for the first couple of hours would agree with you Ian, but after 6 hours this became one of my wines of the year. I'm a great fan of the 1990/1/8's but this particular 28 has better fruit and is more approachable now. It is a wine with beautiful balance and outstanding elegance.

I loved the 138 as well and thought it opened like a great CO pinot.

FWIW

Cheers

Luke

[ticklenow1]

I'll go out on a limb here and say the Penfolds Kalimna 2008 is the best one ever made. I opened and decanted a bottle and for the first couple of hours would agree with you Ian, but after 6 hours this became one of my wines of the year. I'm a great fan of the 1990/1/8's but this particular 28 has better fruit and is more approachable now. It is a wine with beautiful balance and outstanding elegance.

I loved the 138 as well and thought it opened like a great CO pinot.

FWIW

Cheers

Luke

Luke, Ian,

What do you think of the Bin 28's and the Bin 138's aging potential. It would be interesting to hear your thoughts. This will help guide whether I buy more or not.

Cheers
Ian

[Luke W]

Hi Ian

Hope ur going to make the next offline- I reckon the 28's got at least 20 years if its cellared well. The 138 I can't decide - someone mentioned that they had left a bottle for the next day and it had faded which is usually a good guide to limited longevity and Ian suggests it won't improve after 5 years but I'm not so dogmatic and will keep and sample them over the next 5 years (and if they start to fade - drink them). The 138 is such a lovely wine now, I reckon its worth buying a few to enjoy now anyway.

Cheers

Luke

[bacchaebabe]

I tasted the Bin 28, Bin 128, Bin 138 and Bin 407. I must say the Bin 28 stood out for my tastes. Not sure how long the bottles had been open but probably not that long, I'd guess. I bought Bin 28 (case), Bin 407 (six pack) and Bin 389 (5 someone had already snaffled one from the six pack and it was the last that they had) in the end.

[Michael McNally]

Hi Luke
That was me saying that the Bin 138 had faded a bit the next day, so I agree with Ian (n4sir) it's a sub-5 year prospect, but no problem as it is delish now.
My thoughts on the Bin 28 were only based on an instore tasting and I need to do what you did Luke and drink a whole bottle to get a better idea of longevity, but I agree it's the best Bin 28 in a long time. I got six on the strength of the instore.
Cheers
Michael

[n4sir]

I'll go out on a limb here and say the Penfolds Kalimna 2008 is the best one ever made. I opened and decanted a bottle and for the first couple of hours would agree with you Ian, but after 6 hours this became one of my wines of the year. I'm a great fan of the 1990/1/8's but this particular 28 has better fruit and is more approachable now. It is a wine with beautiful balance and outstanding elegance.

Huge call there Luke - I thought the '90, '96, '98, '02 & '04 were a lot better on release (I didn't try the '91 & '94 when they first came out). My immediate impressions are this one doesn't have the weight of those vintages, and the mid-palate heat and obvious EA character are concerns - that's being picky, but then we are comparing them to their highest recent benchmarks.

I plan on revisiting a few (if not all) of these new releases in the next few months (and possibly some of the other vintages above too) - sometimes they do come up a bit better when the weather drifts into winter. I do hope you're right that the extra time will make a significant difference.

Cheers,
Ian

[rwatkins]

Any thoughts on the 2007 Bin 389 - now available in our market? I stocked up on the 2006 and I am wondering if the 2007 is as good? Thanks - Rick

[hungus]

I didn't like the 2007 Bin 389, the 06 was much better

[ticklenow1]

Hi Ian

Hope ur going to make the next offline- I reckon the 28's got at least 20 years if its cellared well. The 138 I can't decide - someone mentioned that they had left a bottle for the next day and it had faded which is usually a good guide to limited longevity and Ian suggests it won't improve after 5 years but I'm not so dogmatic and will keep and sample them over the next 5 years (and if they start to fade - drink them). The 138 is such a lovely wine now, I reckon its worth buying a few to enjoy now anyway.

Cheers

Luke

Luke,

I have noted that many critics have rated the Bin 138 very highly. It seems that the jury is out on the Bin 28 for the ageing potential though. Some think that it will be a keeper for at least the medium term and others are saying short term only. I will put a couple in the cellar and just forget about them for at least 5 years. I think I will drink the 138's over the next few years (on yours as well as others suggestions). I have a couple of 2002 138's in the cellar and I think I will give one a go this weekend. Should be interesting.

Unfortunately I can't make the next Brissie offline (working). As I am part of the anything but Pinot Club, (I will get slated for that, but each to their own) I would probably not have appreciated the wines as much as others will. I think I have about 3 bottles of Pinot in the cellar and they were all gifts. Hope you guys have a great time though and I have heard good things about the restaurant. I thoroughly enjoyed the last offline at Brent's. This thread does give the idea of a Penfolds Bin theme for another offline in the future.

[Luke W]

Thank Ian

I hope you like the latest 138 given your dislike of pinots because it tastes very pinot like to me - sorry to miss you. By the way I didn't become a pinot fan easily - it took a week of serious pinot abuse at the hands of the Kiwis in Central Otago before I came around - I'd still only drink a bottle every couple of weeks but instead I now enjoy it.

cheers

Luke

[Rednick]

Great idea for an offline theme - a Penfolds Bin night, and Brent's have a new menu

Nick

[rens]

Great idea for an offline theme - a Penfolds Bin night, and Brent's have a new menu

Nick

My thoughts too.

[Rednick]

Especially as they now do a Pinot

[n4sir]

Any thoughts on the 2007 Bin 389 - now available in our market? I stocked up on the 2006 and I am wondering if the 2007 is as good? Thanks - Rick

Hi Rick,

I recommend you avoid buying the 2007 vintage after trying it again last night (blind) - it confirms my impressions last year that it is the worst vintage of Bin 389 I have ever tried and not worth the money (even after heavy discounting).

Cheers,
Ian

[ticklenow1]

Especially as they now do a Pinot

I guess you will bring that then

[ChrisV]

Interesting range of opinions. I finally tried most of these today and was underwhelmed for the most part. The 389 was very unapproachable and inscrutable but could end up being a very good wine. The 407 was good again, but it would want to be considering what the price is now. Nothing else stood out, I thought everything was average at best for the price.