Sly reviews the 2020 Penfolds Collection
Penfolds, Yattarna Chardonnay, Tasmania/ Tumbarumba/Adelaide Hills, Australia 2018 97
£ 149
A model of beautifully integrated components and an exercise in good measure and balance. Bright citrus and sharp struck flint grab your attention as the fruit talks confidently, underpinned by dark savoury notes. But it’s not a simple equation: tight Tasmanian fruit is augmented by luscious white peach notes from Tumbarumba and Adelaide Hills. The oak influence bites in places, then the fruit influence surges back. It’s quite a long, undulating journey, with more poise and assurance in its youth than most Yattarna predecessors. Drink 2020-2035 Alcohol 13%
Penfolds, Reserve Bin A Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia 2019 94 £79
Formerly an attention-seeking siren that won all the wine show trophies, this is a redefined style. The French oak is far less obvious, and its pungent struck-match sulphide note is now less pronounced. The result is altogether more alluring, allowing the richness of the fruit to speak more clearly. Textures slide through many levels, the flavours rolling from a sharp lemon kiss at the front of the palate through ripe, firm white peach, to a sensual lick of honey at the end. Discreetly attractive. Drink 2020-2030 Alc 13%
Penfolds, Bin 311 Chadonnay, Tasmania/Adelaide Hills/ Tumbarumba, Australia 2019 90
£ 29.99
Deceptively delicate, even though it has been framed within quite a sturdy oak outline. The body of the wine is quite fragile – a fine porcelain vase. A whiff of toasty oak rides ahead of very gentle peach blossom. The sliver of lemon has surprising persistence, revealing some pleasing roasted cashew and a mineral bite, before a squeeze of tart grapefruit that provides pucker at the finish. It’s all very prim and elegant, straight-backed and on its best behaviour, but one wonders whether it can loosen up with age. Drink 2020-2030 Alc 13%
Penfolds, Bin 51 Riesling, Eden Valley,
South Australia 2020 92
N/A UK
Nothing like what you’d expect from Eden Valley; this has power and drive in its fruit flavours rather than steely acid focus. The nose is light – lemon blossom and fresh citrus oil – but the palate has a surprisingly solid frame, with a big squeeze of brown lime running through the long, persistent and rich flavours, supported by a mere hint of minerality. It sits apart from typical Eden Valley characteristics as a Riesling with its own identity: square-shouldered and solid on its feet. Drink 2020-2030 Alc 12%
Penfolds, g4, South Australia NV 98 £ 2,000
This was a risk definitely worth taking by winemaker Peter Gago, combining disparate but familiar elements from four vintages of Grange that add up to something much more beguiling than the individual parts. The influence brought to bear by each component is unexpected: wafts of dried sage from the cooler 2002 vintage dominate the nose, while fresh, fruity acidity from the 2016 vintage brightens the mid-palate and ensures extraordinary length and persistence. The opulent 2004 vintage adds plush, velvety blueberry, while the lauded 2008 Grange provides a sturdy spine wrapped in a luxurious roll of mulberry, dark chocolate, cinnamon, dark plum and aniseed. It’s supple, seductive and needs no extra time in bottle to be enjoyed to the fullest. Only 2,500 bottles produced. Drink 2020-2050 Alc 14.5%
Penfolds, Grange, South Australia 2016 98
£589
So much going on in the glass; it’s a tempestuous opera with a big cast. On the nose, there’s high lift from a big, generous swirl of fruity aromas that carry a hint of fermented fig among the blackberry, dark plum and aniseed. Investigate further on the palate and there’s a lot going on within its dense hedge of dark berries and secondary flavours of mocha and liquorice. Ultimately, it’s the heavy black notes that win out and persist, but there is so much to ponder, even after the event has concluded. A Grange worth mulling over. Drink 2022-2065 Alc 14.5%
Penfolds, RWT Bin 798 Shiraz, Barossa Valley, South Australia 2018 96 £ 132
Plush and opulent, this bombshell in a striking oak corset makes an exuberant entry, striding down the red carpet with its ample fruit talking in a bright, effusive voice. After that brassy beginning it settles in the glass, blackberry and brûlée singing softly atop a bed of powdery tannins, and the nutty cedar tones framing a long finish. Having changed so much since its inaugural 1997 vintage, RWT (‘ Red Winemaking Trial’) has never presented its fruit so voluptuously and immediately, with oak now part of the supporting cast rather than playing the star role. Drink 2022-2050 Alc 14.5%
Penfolds, St Henri Shiraz,
South Australia 2017 96
£95
There’s a lot to love about this wine: its calm modesty, assured sense of purpose, and long, steady procession of flavours. The elastic palate stretches and shifts through rich savoury notes over a measured meld of sweet berries. If you regard Shiraz as being too much of a playful puppy, then this represents a more docile, loyal companion. It’s a comforting wine; reliable and secure. A slowly bowed cello rather than a shrill violin; an evocative slow dance to a timeless ballad. Watch its allure grow with time in the cellar. Drink 2022-2055 Alc 14.5%
Penfolds, Bin 150 Shiraz, Marananga, Barossa Valley, South Australia 2018 94 £60.99
Although recognisable as a true subregional signature of the Barossa, this wine doesn’t show the brute power of many Marananga predecessors. A very rich perfume has spice skipping over the edge of generous dark fruits – a comforting fruit cake cuddle that gets tighter as it lingers in the glass. Then cinders and soot start to bite in the deceptively firm back-palate. It suggests a long life, with many twists and turns ahead in the cellar. Drink 2020-2035 Alc 14.5%
Penfolds, Bin 128 Shiraz, Coonawarra, South Australia, 2018 91
£ 34.99
Generous in body and aroma, this presents a heavily laden berry patch with abundant ripe fruits and a heady waft of violets, iodine and sage. While this big-berry presence fills the front palate, there is a regiment of stern black tannins that pull the structure abruptly back into line. With its ungainly top and tail currently teetering on a high wire, this needs time in the bottle to find its balance. Drink 2022-2035 Alc 14.5%
Penfolds, Magill Estate Shiraz, Adelaide, South Australia 2018 91
£ 139
Always a more fine-boned Shiraz expression, this year’s model has higher, lighter notes of nutmeg and clove with a waft of anise and liquorice. While deliberately medium-bodied, the palate weight seems a bit gaunt, abruptly shifting gears and lurching from a solid black
cherry entry to a taut acid seam that stretches out the mid-palate. Compared with previous vintages, this seems wanting – a likely sign that vineyard restoration of
this site has drastically reduced grape volumes and selection options for this vintage. 2022‑2040 Alc 14.5%
Penfolds, Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz, South Australia 2018 89
£ 31.99
Sourcing this fruit from far and wide has robbed Kalimna of any specific identify, being an orderly, homogenised dry red rather than being a Shiraz that’s any way reflective of its namesake vineyard’s particular qualities. While the plum‑ pudding richness is warm and friendly, it lacks specific definition. The fleshy mid‑palate delivers a lusty fruit song at present, but the ample tannins and bitter anise note on the finish suggest it may develop into something quite different with age. Drink 2020‑2035 Alc 14.5%
Penfolds, Bin 138 Shiraz- GrenacheMataro, Barossa Valley, South Australia 2018 88
£ 34.99
Black‑browed and brooding, this SGM shows the overt influence of the 10% of inky Mataro ahead of peppery, dark
Shiraz. Conditions conspired against Grenache being able to exert its influence more, even at 22% of the blend; instead it’s all blackberry, tar and liquorice, with some violet and a volatile lift – and quite a bitter seam lacing its heavy aftertaste. One wonders if this would be such a scowling wine if there had been more Grenache to go around? Drink 2020‑2035 Alc 14.5%
Penfolds, Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon, South Australia 2018 97
£421
It’s all about the bass. High violet notes are followed by rich black plums and tight blackberry, coming at you with a low, persistent rumble. If at first this wine appears understated and reserved, taste again and it starts to reveal much more – black olive, rhubarb, iodine, coal and slate. Still a tight‑fisted velvet glove in its youth, although there’s great warmth and comfort in all these intricately meshed elements. Enjoy trying to figure out the whole delightful puzzle throughout its incredible palate length. Drink 2020‑2050 Alc 14.5%
Penfolds, Bin 169 Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra, South Australia 2018 96
N/A UK
Everything alluring about Cabernet is on show here: there’s regal lift and power on the nose, followed by a more subtle reveal on the palate through gossamer layers of cranberry, cassis and raspberry fruit with notes of fresh‑cut herbs. Nothing showy, but every component is in its right place. This proud declaration speaks deliberately of region and varietal character, and its bedrock of firm black tannins suggests that it has much more to reveal as it matures. Not available in the UK, though. Drink 2022‑2040 Alc 14.5%
Penfolds, Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon, South Australia 2018 96 £60.99
The complete Cabernet chorus sings its way out of the glass – fruit, leaf and flower, all in perfect harmony. Rich from the outset, it draws together a full body with grace and elegance, while fine tannins sustain the velvet plushness that rolls through. You’re left with a complex aftertaste that provides exactly what the nose suggests. The circle is complete. An inspiring wine. Drink 2020‑2040 Alc 14.5%
Penfolds, Bin 389 Cabernet-Shiraz, South Australia 2018 96
£60.99
Confident Cabernet Sauvignon (57% of the blend) leads this high‑spirited, swirling dance, as a breezy wisp of blue and black berries wafts over the earthy bulk of sturdy Shiraz. It’s a clever trick for such bright fruit to be contained by tannins in an interlocked embrace, while avoiding smothering the obvious exuberance of this marriage. Supple and nimble, this is a wine that keeps shifting and changing in the glass. A truly beautiful blend. Drink 2020‑2050 Alc 14.5%
Penfolds, Bin 23 Pinot Noir, Tamar Valley/Adelaide Hills/Henty, Australia 2019 88
N/A UK
The melange of fruit from different sites robs the chance for clear definition here. Rich and powerful on entry, flavours of red cherry and berry compote flecked with graphite shavings are quite broad and grunty – despite the fresh stalkiness in the aromas. However, despite tasting a bit fat‑fruited in the mid‑palate, these flavours pull up short. It’s an unusual tug‑of‑war, seeming overly generous in one instance, then pulling the reins too tight and stopping short on satisfaction. Drink 2020‑2030 Alc 13.5%