The Buyer | Why tasting Penfolds Collection 2023 was like sitting your Finals

Two of Dean’s standout wines from the Penfolds Collection 2023 were from California, evidence of the company’s multi-territory projects.

“Did you hear the one about?”: Peter Gago leads proceedings at London’s Penfolds Collection 2023 tasting, June 27, 2023

“Any questions?” Peter Gago asks peering over my desk. “Errr no sir,” is what I want to say, as I am transported back momentarily to sitting exams during my undergraduate days. Silence hangs in the air for two hours in an all-white room on The Mall – desks all facing the front – 20 of us including such luminaries as Australian wine expert Matthew Jukes, Jancis Robinson MW OBE and Jamie Goode who ‘finishes his paper’ halfway through the allotted time and leaves the room early. The swot.

For sure, it is pleasurable and a great honour to be tasting the new Penfolds Collection 2023 in such rarified company but 26 new wines that demand intense scrutiny – whilst Penfolds chief winemaker Gago prowls the room like an invigilator – is a little like sitting your Penfolds Finals. And the 25 wines, incidentally, don’t include the three wines from a Grange vertical going back to 1989 “for context”.

“We’re doing self-drive this year,” Gago announced casually at the beginning of the tasting held at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts, “there’s just so many wines now.”

Not half. The Penfolds stable has been multiplying ‘by the power of’ in recent years rather than plain additions to the portfolio. There are two Bordeaux wines, a Champagne, five Californian wines (two of which are billed as Wine of the World on account of them blending fruit from Napa and South Australia) and 18, count ‘em, new wines from Australia, including debut cuvées.

‘Self-drive’ means a studious hush to proceedings with the hugely amenable and gregarious Gago wandering round being on hand to answer any questions, a change to his MC/ stand-up comic style of previous years or circus ringmaster. This man loves an audience and has the uncanny knack of connecting with everyone in the room, giving each and every person a little bit of one-to-one time and making everyone feel special with it. He’s like that perfect sommelier who recognises you when you return to a top end restaurant after a lengthy hiatus, remembers your name, makes you feel good alongside your fellow guests, and knows everything but everything about the wines on the list down to which rows of vines they were pressed from and at what time of day.

Gago’s brilliant and playful observations of each wine are included in an exhaustive catalogue, that has the appearance of a Christmas catalogue (sat on the tasting desk next to a free Penfolds pen, free Penfolds moleskin notebook, free Penfolds hardback); it’s hard not to allude to his tasting notes during the event because, as one critic mentioned afterwards, they just hit the nail so perfectly on the head. Observations that might in the cold light of day seem fanciful or pretentious are so brilliantly detailed and poeticised that they are truly revelatory and help you peel away the layers of a wine to a much greater understanding.

So what follows is a wine-by-wine tasting by yours truly. But with so many wines, with so much detail, all those bloody Bin numbers, and the way Penfolds is expanding it won’t be long before Penfolds Collection will be a Specialist Subject on Mastermind…..

“The Quantum ‘Wine of the World’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 that Penfolds produces using fruit from Napa Valley and South Australia is referred to by what Bin number?”

I can already see Jukes squirming in the leather chair.

Let battle commence

So what were the highlights of the Penfolds Collection 2023?

Before we started tasting Gago pointed out that all wines were being poured straight from the bottle with no double-decanting.

PENFOLDS WHITES

Bin 51 Eden Valley Riesling 2023

A wetter and colder vintage in Eden Valley, whose high altitude and cool climate already helps produce racy, citrus-driven Rieslings.

This is a lime bomb of a wine – lime zest and lemon blossom on the nose – in the mouth it has a zesty, mineral-driven intensity, beautifully sweet fruit, pure, clean with a touch of slate. Lip-smacking acidity (7.8 g/l) defines the wine which has a beautiful Apple Sour and lime finish. Tidy 11% ABV too.

Bin 311 Chardonnay 2022

Made from a blend of fruit from three cool climate regions (including some declassified Yattarna and Reserve Bin fruit) which spends eight months in French oak (34% new).

Overt smoky gunflint and wood dominates the wine at this early stage, which is not my favourite style, personally speaking. Coming back to the wine after tasting Yattarna this was even more apparent. After a while the fruit starts to peek through – white peach, citrus – the palate delivers more with a fine balance and a nice counterpoint between sharp, clean citrus and an oily texture with ripe, more primary orchard fruit and vanilla. Has a long finish, prickle on the tongue and a slight sour note.

Reserve Bin A Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2022

My favourite white of the tasting at this stage, a lovely fresh and clean style using 100% Adelaide Hills cool climate Chardonnay. Although the wine has spent eight months in 75% new French oak the vinification process (that involves whole bunch pressing, some wild ferment, maturing on solids with bâttonage and 100% malo.) gives the wine depth, weight and complexity that almost fully absorbs the wood.

There’s a hint of gunflint, fresh nuts and dried flowers perhaps? A dab of putty? In the mouth the wine is intense, complex with great balance – thanks to a lovely core of acidity. You detect crisp ripe apple, then a lifted (confected almost) finish. Splendid.

Yattarna Chardonnay 2021

After two years of abnormal weather, 2021 was a normal vintage with fine Chardonnay in Tasmania, Tumbarumba and Adeliade Hills – the three regions the fruit hails from, before spending nine months in French oak (70% new).

Penfolds believes this could be the best vintage ever of this fine Australian white. It is certainly a wine of massive power. The aromatics are dominated by struck match and a range of wood styles. Complexity comes from almond, patisserie, mineral and cheese notes. In the mouth the wine is concentrated, intense, with pink grapefruit and lemon curd; fine-grained texture with a core of acidity (7.08 g/l). It needs at least a couple more years in the bottle, being a wine of many parts (quite disjointed really). Huge with huge potential.

The razzmatazz started as soon as you arrived at the ICA (they were empty bottles of Grange FYI ;))

PENFOLDS FRENCH REDS

FWT 585 Vin de France, 2020

Cabernet Sauvignon (52%), Merlot (41%), Petit Verdot (7%)

The second release of Penfolds’ ‘French Winemaking Trial’ comes from a fine Bordeaux vintage with the three classic varieties spending a year in a mix of new and used French and American oak barriques.

Rich, black fruit hold court, with notes of cocoa dust, fruit tart – ripe with a sweet touch. In the mouth the wine is medium-bodied, youthful. Surprisingly approachable for such a young Bordeaux, and surprisingly complex, it is structured and has young, rounded tannins that still exercise a grip – but the quality of the fruit and the slightly polished winemaking makes early cork-popping a reality.

Penfolds II (collaboration with Dourthe) Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Multi-Vintage

A collaborative project with Dourthe which produced the Merlot in Bordeaux in 2020, the Cabernet Sauvignon component made in South Australia in 2021 where the wine was blended and bottled. Similar to last year’s inaugural release, and quite unique – this wine is similar in approach to Penfolds ‘Wines of the World’ made in California and Australia.

Hugely complex and quite mysterious, the aromas suggest ‘deep’ black and red fruit, sweet spices, sandalwood. On the palate the wine has a brightness and freshness you might not expect. The wine is youthful with a lovely expression of Cabernet in particular – tight, exact, micro-fine tannins, I liked this a lot but what each vintage and territory element brings is a bit of a guessing game. Maybe that’s part of the point or simply to enjoy it for what it is.

Brilliant people person: Gago and Jancis Robinson MW OBE prior to Penfolds Collection 2023 tasting

PENFOLDS CALIFORNIAN REDS

Oakville Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

A new addition to the Californian portfolio is this single vineyard expression of Cabernet Sauvignon from the prime gravels of Oakville within Napa Valley. The wine spends 16 months in 100% new French oak.

A trifle dumb on the nose at this early stage, biscuity, dried black fruit, a touch of airplane glue and a wisp of smoke. On the palate the wine exudes plush blue fruit, the powdery fine tannins are quite extraordinary and like cocoa dust. The wine is rich and intense with a chunky 14.5% ABV but there is terrific acidity here (6.9 g/l) achieving great balance and knitting all the components together well. Complex – there’s a lot of layers and mix of flavours. Gorgeous fruit on the finish like a summer pudding mélange. Needs time.

Bin 600 California 2020

Cabernet (68%) Shiraz (32%)

A classic multi-regional Penfolds House Blend from Napa and Paso Robles, the Cabernet bringing structure and floral aromatics the Shiraz adding fruit weight and generosity, particularly in the mid-palate. The wine spent 16 months in American oak (40% new). Like the previous wine it comes from a particularly difficult Californian vintage what with COVID restrictions and wildfires.

Much more to say about itself on the nose compared to the Oakville, you pick up red berries, North African bazaar, dark chocolate; on the palate this is altogether more dense with powder-fine tannins, soft acidity, summer pudding flavours and an attractive creamy quality. Approachable now.

Bin 704 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

Wow this is showing well and red wine of the tasting so far. 100% Napa Valley Cab Sauv vinified in 40% new French oak. It’s named Bin 704 to be a mirror image of Bin 407.

Classic Cabernet Sauvignon of a very high standard. Massively intense nose. Rich, dense, alluring, evolving in the glass – stunning cassis nose with added nuances of pencil shavings, dried herbs and sweet pastries. The wine has a softer entry into the mouth than you might expect (medium bodied), the tannins have a little bit of attitude – fine-boned but apparent – within this beautifully fine expression of Cabernet, which tastes almost like freshly squeezed blackcurrant juice. Fantastic structure aided by backbone of acidity. Firm, complete – such promise!

Bin 149 ‘Wine of the World’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

100% Cabernet Sauvignon from both Napa Valley and South Australia, the name is derived from the percentage of South Australian fruit that was used in the inaugural 2018 release (cue that Mastermind music!). The wine spent 16 months in French (80% new) and American (20% new) oak.

Complex nose and palate – slightly dumb at first. Black fruit, cocoa, leather, strips of peppered beef, blackcurrant leaf. The palate is a pointe – sharp, bright acidity with well-defined fruit. Crisp, firm, ultra-fine tannins, with great citrus-precision on the finish.

Quantum Bin 98 ‘Wine of the World’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

Penfolds held on to this wine for another year because “it needed it.” Just the second vintage with all the components the same as Bin 149 – 100% Cab from Napa Valley and South Australia – with the only difference being the swap around of oak used – 80% new American oak and 20% new French oak.

Blimey! The nose is astonishing, complex and nicely developed too (it obviously needed that extra year). Patisseries notes, meaty, floral – lovely interchange going on. On the palate the wine is concentrated, rounded, big in the mouth, with tannins starting to evolve – rich and ripe, layered, textured, generous. Flavours abound but you should be able to pick up dark chocolate, fennel, a ferrous quality. Fabulous wine – huge length – with a splash of satsuma juice on the tail. Acidity keeps everything in check. One of the stars of the tasting – that’s two reds so far both from California!

When Peter met Camilla: apparently she refused to spit the legendary vintage of Grange, prompting Charles to swallow

PENFOLDS AUSTRALIAN WINES

Bin 23 Tasmania Pinot Noir 2022

Fruit-sourcing has shifted to Tasmania (as part of an overall shift by Penfolds into cooler climes) after the wine debuted in 1997 from Adelaide Hills grapes. 35% of the wine was aged in French oak.

The black sheep in the Penfolds flock on account of its light, almost transparent red elegance. I’d call this a really pretty wine – it’s ripe, easy going, high acidity but nicely poised, and although it seems delicate it has a fair bit of attitude. Bright red berries, wild cherries, sour cranberries, a bit of earthiness. Light and accommodating,

Bin 21 Barossa Valley Grenache 2022

First release of Bin 21, named so because it is 21 years since Penfolds launched a Cellar Reserve Barossa Valley Grenache. The estate’s relationship with the grape variety dates back to the 1800s when it was used in fortified wine, then used as a GSM component in dry red table wines (Bin 138) and an occasional one-off solo varietal release.

Bags and bags of Grenache fruit, easily accommodating the French oak (6% new). Ripe, round, generous, strawberries, pomegranate juice, ferric; the wine feels a tad flabby at first but then the power drives through – micro-fine tannins/ texture with a nice crispness to the fruit especially on the finish.

Bin 138 Barossa Valley Grenache, Shiraz, Mataro 2021

Penfolds homage to the Southern Rhône has the Grenache dominating in this particular vintage (50% to Shiraz’s 44% and Mataro’s 6%). The wine spends 12 months in French (10% new) and American (2% new) oak

The Grenache fruit immediately dominates – spicy, musk, cola, balsamic notes abound. On the palate the wine is ripe, just-so with good balance, red and black fruit, taut, tight, structured – very gastronomic at this stage – olives on the finish. Approachable now.

Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz 2021

Cool climate Coonawarra Shiraz that owes its elegant expression to the terra rossa soils of the region and 12 months maturation in French oak hogsheads (21% new)… good to taste this alongside the warm climate Shiraz of Bin 28.

This is a medium-bodied wine that has blue fruit and strawberries on the nose and is more meaty than Bin 28. In the mouth the wine delivers pastries, vanilla cream, cured meats, cardamom. The balance is exceptional with a lovely, fine line in acidity (6.6 g/l), there’s also fine silky tannins, with a savoury note on the slightly-drying finish.

Bin 28 Shiraz 2021

Warm climate Aussie Shiraz – classic House style – that is a benchmark Bin 28 in this exceptional vintage. The fruit comes from many different vineyards from five different regions. The wine is matured for 12 months in American oak hogsheads (7% new).

The wine offers sweet and savoury aromatics with an abundance of dense, blue and black fruit. The palate is not subtle! Full-bodied, big and chunky concentration, profound acidity that has a juiciness and energy that helps bring balance to the hefty 14.5% ABV. Lots of fruit, lots of everything with the oak subsumed by the fruit and acidity, the finish showing off the grip of the tannins. A powerhouse package that will last another three decades, or more.

Bin 150 Marananga Shiraz 2021

From the small hamlet of Marananga in the centre of the Barossa Valley comes this Penfolds classic, showing very well with the fruit of the 2021 vintage. Determining factors include warm climes, red clay and sandy loam soils, plus a mixture of French and American oaks in different-sized formats in which the wine matures for 18 months.

Dense, glass-staining purple. Aromas of dark fruit, intense, plums, cinnamon bun, spice (dried rosemary), coal skuttle. In the mouth the wine is massive, sweet and savoury, chalky fine tannins, tart acidity (6.9 g/l), bags of fruit with a splash of cream. Quite a grip on the finish. Needs to be left on its own for two or three years.

Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Bin 707’s ‘little brother’ was originally developed in 1990 when there was an abundance of Cabernet Sauvignon fruit. Multi-regional (six) sourcing with the wine then matured for 12 months in a mix of new and one year-old French and American hogsheads.

Lots to unpack here with a medium to full-bodied wine that is hugely complex. The nose offers mulberries, red plums, a herbaceous quality (bay), brioche, tobacco. In the mouth the wine is concentrated with bags of dark fruit, creaminess, cocoa, graphite; this is intense, classic Cabernet Sauvignon with fine-grained tannins, energetic, full-on – a powerhouse of wine that has (remarkably) a satisfying coolness at its centre. Very zen. Needs time.

Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2021

Truly outstanding ‘baby Grange’ that, because of the strength of the 2021 vintage, benefits from Grange and Bin 707 parcels relegated post-classification. First made in 1960 by Max Schubert to display Penfolds skill at balancing fruit and oak with that classic ample mid-palate. Multi-region Cab (53%) Shiraz (47%) blend with the wine maturing for 12 months in American hogsheads (37% new). One of the wines of the tasting in my opinion.

Complex, ripe, fine and elegant wine that has searing beauty throughout. You first get red and black fruit aromas, mulberries, sweet pastries, black forest gâteaux, very moreish. The substantial palate has powerful, dense, ripe, ultra-fine tannins; the fruit is poised with a lovely line of acidity, beautifully textured. A wine full of superlatives in other words!

St Henri Shiraz 2020

It took some decades before the evolutionary style of St Henri was fully appreciated. Plush and approachable when young, it becomes earthy and mocha-like with age – this being realised in the 1990s after its first release in 1957. Shiraz from McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley and Clare Valley is matured for a year in large, old oak – unusually allowing the fruit to stand centre-stage and naked without any new oak influence. Although a tiny amount of Cabernet Sauvignon sneaks into the final wine there is none declared for the 2020 vintage.

I found the wine a bit dumb at first – forest fruit, rhubarb, strawberry, savoury and ferric notes. The palate is dense, micro-fine tannins, energetic with fresh blueberry and an umami presence. So many layers, with beautiful mulberry and blueberry fruit. Starting a long journey that will last well into the next half of the century.

Magill Estate Shiraz 2021

My tasting notes include “just drop dead gorgeous” which describes well this medium weight expression of Shiraz, taken from old vine fruit surrounding the Grange cottage and crafted in the traditional way – vinified in open top fermenters, basket pressed and then fermented and matured for 19 months in French (90% new) and American oak (10% new) hogsheads.

There’s a pretty edge to the generous and concentrated aromatics – stewed fruits, blackcurrant pastille. The gorgeous palate shows the wine’s youth with young, sweet fruits but there is a welcoming roundness here. Juicy, fruity, creamy, the structure is hidden at first, with beautifully ripe tannins – this wine is dense with nothing to prove. Approachable now this is one of my favourite wines of the tasting.

Bin 169 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

100% Coonawarra fruit from a perfectly formed vintage. The wine is matured in French hogsheads (51% new) for 16 months.

A bit shy at first – needs a swirl – in it you detect a complex mix of sweet dark fruit, mint, violets, brick dust, coffee, mahogany, leather, red pepper. In the mouth the wine is fresh, ripe, open, giving, with red fruits, blackcurrant fruit and leaf, black forest gâteaux, dried herbs (oregano) and a distinct ferric quality that is so distinctive, coming from the region’s terra rossa soil. Such a classy wine with lovely balance, terrifically long, acid-driven with a bright, confected lift at the finish of blackcurrant pastille.

RWT Bin 798 Barossa Valley Shiraz 2021

The first ‘Red Winemaking Trial’ Shiraz vintage was the 1997 (launched in 2000) with the RWT referring to how those letters appear on a phone dialling pad (bizarrely). This is a more contemporary style of Barossa Shiraz with plushness and opulence being key drivers in the vinification process where the wine matures for 14 months in French hogsheads (80% new).

On the nose you find blueberry tart and cream, violets, green olive, liquorice with a touch of blood orange. The wine is generous, mouth-filling, with an abundance of fruit. Ripe, fine tannins are layered, textured – with so much to offer. There’s a real powerhouse, tannic grip at end, which doesn’t want to let go of you or is that vice versa? Squirrel away for a few years before venturing anywhere near.

Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Back after a one-year hiatus (2020 was the fifth vintage this century missed as it did not have the level or quality of fruit required), comes this textbook multi-regional, multi-vineyard expression of Cabernet Sauvignon, matured for 16 months in 100% new American hogsheads.

This is textbook Bin 707 with all the necessary boxes ticked. On the nose the oak reveals itself as coconut and brandy snap, black fruit (blackcurrant and fig) and spice. In the mouth the wine is balanced, complete, engulfing. Ripe red and black fruits merge, fresh and juicy, with dark chocolate lurking in the shadows along with pixilated savoury notes (beef) and sweet pastry. The wine has this remarkable coolness to the fruit. A truly stunning wine with great structure and layers. One of the wines of the tasting.

Grange 2019 – “like a box of fireworks going off all at once”

Grange Shiraz 2019

Penfolds’ flagship wine and the apotheosis of its multi-vineyard, multi-region blending philosophy. This is Shiraz sourced from the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra and Clare Valley with 3% Cabernet Sauvignon thrown in for good measure, the blend then matured for 19 months in 100% new American hogsheads.

Dense, black and mysterious, this is so fresh, complex and alluring – like a box of fireworks going off all at once – although it is chock full of rich, ripe dark fruits there is this lively, high-pitched brilliance to the fruit like a black rose perfume. In the mouth the wine is rich and broad with layer upon layer of ‘blackness’ – olive, liquorice, anise, coffee grounds, berry coulis, beetroot, cola, black cherries and spices. A nuttiness too. Although this is just a pup and shouldn’t be drunk for another five or six years, there’s terrific cohesion with firm acidity (7 g/l), and micro-fine tannins holding in place the oodles of sweet, dark, complex, rich loveliness. Stunning.

Back vintages of Grange

Alongside Grange 2019 we tasted three other vintages of Grange – 1989, 1999 and 2009 – that were shown for rough context to see how the wine ages over successive decades rather than any stylist similarities to the 2019, although they are all regarded as being ‘sleeper’ vintages, which may indicate how Penfolds is viewing the 2019. “Don’t rashly pre-judge the 2019,” Gago says in the press notes.

The 1989 had blood red/ bricking, the wine was ripe, developed with sweet beetroot uppermost and fully integrated wood and tannins. It was fine but a little tired. A Clos des Papes CNdP 1990 I opened that evening knocked the Grange 1989 out of the park. The Grange 1999 tasted so young still with so much yet to give. So juicy with a lovely minty top note. The Grange 2009 was meaty, big and bouncy – clearly more primary, blackberry-charged, the alcohol taking more of a front seat, where there were also tasty savoury and mint notes. A wine with real power.

My standouts from the tasting