WTN: Penfolds dinner

Short notes from last night's Penfolds dinner at Decanter.

Rawson's Retreat Semillon Chardonnay 2007 - Light smoke on the nose. Tart and quite dry. Lemon custard and grape skins texture. Some bitterness on the finish. Quite full-bodied but with a very gentle use of oak. I have never thought much of Semillon Chardonnay blends and generally don't like them but this is one of the better ones out there.

Koonunga Hill Chardonnay 2007 - Very gentle oak. A little peach and even lychee. Easy and round but with a crisp, dry finish. Rather nice.

Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz 2007 - Very dark and rather hot on the nose which also presents sweet fruit and some leafiness. High acidity. Very dry. Spicy, cherry fruit, just a hint of candy and bitter chocolate. Later on, some caramel and orange scents also make an appearance. Although not particularly tannic, this probably should be left alone for another year or two for everything to come together. Not too interesting at this point.

Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 - Practically black. Sweet, complex perfume. Leather and coffee. Tannic and tight. This needs serious aging before it becomes approachable. Leave alone for 5 years.

Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 - Showing much better than the 2006. Complex nose. A bit of armpit and menthol. Smoky. Complex and many layered. Also sweeter and a little less ponderous than the 2006. Even though it is extremely attractive now, patience will be rewarded. Leave alone for 3 years. Excellent.

After a bit of coaxing, James du Vivier, Managing Director of Future Trade, the importers of Penfolds, gifted our table with a bottle of the Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2006 - Beautiful nose. Very tannic. Coffee and fragrant wood. Menthol and mocha. Real tight on the palate. Don't even think of opening this before 5 years is up. Should be great when mature.

We ended the night with a very refreshing and rather fruity Charles Heidsieck Brut NV. Many thanks to Future Trade and Decanter for a great evening.

What, no Bin 28!!!! You were robbed.

I think the Bin 389 is pretty smart. Just needs some decanting for now.

I'm a great fan of Penfolds. One of the reasons is that they seem to be fairly clear about what each of their ranges is setting out to do. They also work, in most cases, with multi-regional sources - which indicates that they place a good deal of value on the skills of the wine maker and blender.

Looks like this dinner was put together to showcase the more affordable of Penfolds ranges, starting at the cheap and cheerful end and working up through to mid-range wines. The Bin 389 would have provided extra insight into the breadth of their mid-range wines. 389 is a personal favourite of mine; I try to buy some most years, and I've found it to be consistently long-lived and great value for money. And as Jay observes, it appreciates a few years in the bottle before it begins to show itself at its best.

What, no Bin 28!!!! You were robbed.

I think the Bin 389 is pretty smart. Just needs some decanting for now.

That's OK. I had the Bin 28 about 2 months back when the importers put a couple of bottles on sale. There was a 707 on Display at the dinner but definitely not for drinking that night.

I'm a great fan of Penfolds. One of the reasons is that they seem to be fairly clear about what each of their ranges is setting out to do. They also work, in most cases, with multi-regional sources - which indicates that they place a good deal of value on the skills of the wine maker and blender.

Looks like this dinner was put together to showcase the more affordable of Penfolds ranges, starting at the cheap and cheerful end and working up through to mid-range wines. The Bin 389 would have provided extra insight into the breadth of their mid-range wines. 389 is a personal favourite of mine; I try to buy some most years, and I've found it to be consistently long-lived and great value for money. And as Jay observes, it appreciates a few years in the bottle before it begins to show itself at its best.

I'm also a Penfolds fan. I've got more bottles of Penfolds in my cellar than any other winery. 389 is a great wine. I'm holding back a few bottles of each vintage starting with the '98.

Alas and alack, I have drunk all my 1998 Bin 389s. And I enjoyed every last one of them.

Alas and alack, I have drunk all my 1998 Bin 389s. And I enjoyed every last one of them.

You were lucky. 1998 was the vintage I stopped buying large volumes of 389 because of cork problems and very noticeable bottle variation in several tastings attended. Now the 1996 - OMG - that was a sublime vintage.

Still got my 3 1998 Bin389s. I had a 1996 a year or two ago and found it somewhat primary, so with the Bin389 track record, have squirreled my 1998s away. Fingers crossed I don't suffer too badly on bottle variation...

regards

Ian