TN: 2008 Penfolds Grange & Luxury Wines at Magill 3/5/13

[n4sir]

There was no preview of the Icon & Luxury wines arranged for Adelaide-based Kalimna Club members this year and they were only available to the public for tasting in a four day period, so I shot up to the Magill Estate Cellar Door the day after release. The drinking windows listed here are those suggested by Penfolds on their website literature and all the wines were served in Reidel magnum glasses. There was no Penfolds Reserve Bin A Chardonnay release for the 2011 vintage because of the terribly wet conditions in the Adelaide Hills.


2010 Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay (Tasmania, Adelaide Hills, 13% alc, drink 2013-2017): Bottle sealed under screwcap. Bright straw/green colour. Still a little sulphur on the nose (in bite rather than odour), it's tight and spicy with grapefruit, flint, and a touch of lanolin. The palate's powerful and still just as unevolved but very attractive, grapefruit with a more obvious milky/malolactic texture mid-palate, finishing flinty/minerally with a touch of nougat and caramel right at the very end. A little more approachable than last years release and probably an equally good match for lobster right now, but I also think it needs a year or two to really strut its stuff.

2009 Penfolds St. Henri (97% Shiraz, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon: Robe, Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills, Clare Valley, McLaren Vale, 14.5% alc, drink 2016-2030): Bottle sealed under screwcap. Medium to almost dark red/purple with legs on the glass. Surprisingly savoury and gamey nose with a burst of initial heat, followed by sour cherries, black pepper, mint and menthol. At times I swear it's Sangiovese-like, but it also has a touch of citrus rind/stonefruit in the background that's typical of some vintages of St. Henri. A soft entry leads to a powerful punch of tangy, medium to full weight red liquorice followed by a very surprising mid-palate hole, finishing slender and minty with fine, chalky tannins. This is a very odd St. Henri, probably a direct result of the difficult year; I have found almost all of Penfolds 2009 reds to be a struggle, so this wasn't a huge surprise.

2010 Penfolds Magill Estate Shiraz (Magill in the Adelaide Suburbs, 14.5% alc, 2015-2032): Bottle sealed under cork. Medium to very dark purple/red. Stunning nose, opening with smoky chocolate, tobacco, concentrated plums and black cherry, touches of paneforte and vanilla, earth and black pepper, just about the perfect balance of fruit and oak with the most subtle VA lift imaginable. The palate's just as good, full of slushy red liquorice and black cherry, cedar, mixed spices and black olive, finishing with velvety, soft but considerable tannins, fantastic grip and length. This is a benchmark Magill Estate, easily the biggest I've tried at medium to full weight, its balance impeccable; it also has the food-friendly tannin structure of recent vintages, but is much, much better in just about every other facet. A taste of a tank sample three years ago promised greatness, and it's delivered in spades - easily the best Magill Estate under Peter Gago's stewardship, quite possibly the best ever.

2010 Penfolds RWT Shiraz (Barossa Valley, 14.5% alc, drink 2015-2035): Bottle sealed under cork. Dark to almost inky purple/red with legs on the glass. Blackberries and plums, fresh herbs, nettles, dark chocolate and orange peel, smoked meats and tobacco, classic cool-vintage Barossa characters with obvious VA lift. A soft entry leads to a full weight palate of red liquorice, malty oak and dark chocolate, sweet and plush with no sign of any heat, finishing with chewy, velvety tannins. Another benchmark vintage, the best RWT in many years.

2010 Penfolds Bin 169 Cabernet Sauvignon (Coonawarra, 14.5% alc, drink 2016-2036): Bottle sealed under screwcap. Medium to very dark purple/red with legs on the glass. Coming after the RWT the nose is very herbal, red and blackcurrants matched to fresh garden herbs (thyme, oregano, parsley), black olive/tapenade and just a touch of cedar oak way off in the background. Right from the entry the palate's all about structure at this early stage, medium to full weight with a powerful mid-palate full of red cherries, raspberries and chewy tannins, finishing very long and very chalky. At this point in time I just prefer the equally superb 2008 vintage, but this is extremely young with enormous potential, enough potential to surpass it given enough time.

2010 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon (Barossa Valley, Padthaway, Coonawarra, Wrattonbully & Adelaide Hills, 14.5% alc, drink 2016-2040): Bottle sealed under screwcap. Dark to inky red/purple. There's immediately more noticeable volatility on the nose compared to the Bin 169, but it's also more reserved than last year's vintage, with redcurrants and red liquorice, fresh herbs, tobacco and earth, the American oak well in the background. A soft entry is followed by a slow, massive build up of fruit and tannin (the phrase '“wall of sound" immediately comes to mind), a minty mid-palate, finishing just a touch bitter with black liquorice and mint. It's a big improvement on the 2009 vintage, but I'¢m not convinced this is a truly great Bin 707; while it's listed as a minor player, I can't help wondering if that touch of greenness this year is due to the Adelaide Hills component?

2008 Penfolds Grange (98% Shiraz, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon: Barossa Valley, Clare Valley & Magill Estate, 14.5% alc, drink 2016-2056): Bottle sealed under cork. Medium to very dark, almost inky purple/red with legs on the glass. Opens with a salvo of malty oak, milk chocolate shavings, plum and noticeable VA lift, then a bare whiff in the background of citrus rind/florals in the style of a St. Henri, dried herbs and nettles, no sign of the March heatwave here! With breathing there's more cherry cola, cocoa dust, musk, darker chocolate, cedar, mushroom/umami characters, always accompanied by that typical Penfolds VA lift. A soft entry leads to a slow build up of the same fruit characters, leading to surprisingly bright, tangy acidity mid-palate that continues through to the finish; the tannins are more cabernet-like this vintage, chalky, soft and surrounding the cheeks, with more dark chocolate and tobacco characters appearing with breathing. On the surface it appears the 9% Clare component has tightened the wine up, resulting in an unexpected degree of elegance for Grange - it is definitely a classic with all the right characters, but remarkably approachable and attention grabbing right now. Make no mistake, I think this is a great Grange, but is it the best in over 30 years? I don't think so; I don't think it's even the best one this decade, that honour goes to the 2004 vintage.


Cheers
Ian

[phillisc]

Cheers for the notes Ian, apart from Magill which is a favourite, I will not be troubled by the others.
2010 St Henri looks promising though, when released may get a few.

BTW what were the ridiculous CD prices for the range and two, did they charge you for this tasting?

Craig.

[dlo]

Plaudits to Ian for another invaluable and classy write-up.

Why is it Penfolds are stuck on 14.5% for their A/V almost across the board with every red and every vintage of late? Or is it just some form of "posturing"? I believe I was told way back there was 1% - 1.5% A/V allowable tolerance in alcohol levels by the labelling authorities. If this is the case, 14.5% could mean 13% or 16% - something I find laughable.

[wheel]

I believe its under 14.8% alc they can be labelled within 1.5% and over 14.8 within .5%.
St henri $76
Magill $104
Rwt $140
Yattarna $104
169 $350 ($297 6pk)
707 same
Grange $785. 3@$648 6@628.
No charge for tasting when I went