June 2011, Singapore – With Fathers’ Day just around the corner, why not indulge your father with Penfolds recent release of flagship wines in May this year. Penfolds has loudly proclaimed the worth and depth of all wines, especially those that spawn from the 2008 vintage.
The core of the 2011 release is 2008 where the South Australian heatwave that happened during 3 to 17 March has been well documented. The wines below are testament to viticultural and winemaking sensitivities in vineyards in the Nuriootpa and Magill wineries.
- 2006 Penfolds Grange—RRP: from $849 DFS Changi, specialist wine stores
- 2008 Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay—RRP: from $181 specialist wine stores
- 2008 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon—RRP: from $299 DFS Changi, specialist wine stores
- 2008 Penfolds RWT Barossa Valley Shiraz—RRP: from $269 DFS Changi, specialist wine stores
- 2008 Penfolds Magill Estate Shiraz—– not available South East Asia
- 2007 Penfolds St Henri Shiraz— RRP: from $127 DFS Changi, specialist wine stores
- 2009 Penfolds Reserve Bin 09A Adelaide Hills Chardonnay—– not available South East Asia
Conditions leading into the 2008 vintage provided the perfect environment to craft classic and long-lived Penfolds wines. 2008 reflects impressive wines of great quality, colour and fruit intensity.
Check out the Penfolds Grange – a Grange release that you would expect from the 2006 vintage. Penfolds 2008 Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon is benchmark 707 displaying fruit definition, complexed flavours and aromatics, density, harmony and persistence. Penfolds 2008 RWT Barossa Valley Shiraz is a contender for their best Penfolds RWT Shiraz. The 2009 Penfolds Bin A Chardonnay Adelaide Hills won itself eight trophies and gold medals at the National Wine Shows, pre-release.
Five wines have been included in Langton’s Classification V, a recognized indicator of Australia’s best performing and most prized wines in the secondary market.
If dad’s a wine enthusiast, you better check out the descriptions of the various labels below before making the choice to get him the best wine to suit his tastes. You’ll want to pamper him and make sure he enjoys only the best.
2006 Grange
Officially listed as a Heritage Icon of South Australia, the Grange style is the original and most powerful expression of Penfolds multi-vineyard, multi-district blending philosophy.
The 2006 Grange follows a Penfolds pattern of great ‗sixes‘. Classically proportioned and deftly balanced, it lies in the footsteps of the 1966, 1976, 1986 and 1996 vintages. Peter Gago says, ―There is plenty of substance, fruit sweetness and latent power. With its overall richness, buoyancy of fruit and layered textures, it will take some time to unravel and evolve. Deceptively approachable at release… don‘t be fooled!‖
―A profound and complete offer — akin to a mix of the 2002 and 2004 Grange vintages… not a bad credential on any curriculum vitae. Very Penfolds! Very Barossa! Very Grange!‖
2008 Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay
Described by the late Len Evans at the inaugural 1995 vintage launch as ―a revelation‖ and ―a step forward for Australian Chardonnay‖ the release of Penfolds Bin 144 Yattarna Chardonnay marked a new chapter in the Penfolds story. The wine is about respecting the character of individual sites where each component plays an essential part in the final blend. As well as material from the Adelaide Hills, the desire to make something singularly fine and lasting has seen winemakers rely on vineyard resources from NSW (Tumbarumba), Victoria (Henty) and Tasmania (Derwent Valley). ―Minerality, texture, layering and longevity‖ are the key characteristics of Bin 144 Yattarna Chardonnay.
Peter Gago says, ―This Yattarna release, our fourteenth, adds to the credibility of this vintage across Tasmania and the Adelaide Hills. Only our best fruit from our best barriques for our best white‖.
2008 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon
The second of two Penfolds wines to be classified ‗Exceptional‘ in Langton‘s Classification V, Penfolds Bin 707 is one of Australia‘s most important Cabernet Sauvignons. Peter Gago says, ―Bin 707 is a Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon reflection of Bin 95 Grange. The selection process is as complicated as Grange, with stylistic fruit profile, weight and tannin structures, it‘s like laying down a mosaic‖.
The 2008 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon may well be remembered as one of the finest ever. ―Impactful. Multi-dimensional… A few years ago we thought the 2004 Bin 707 would be difficult to beat—perhaps we should revisit… maybe not… no losers here!‖ says Peter Gago.
2008 Penfolds RWT Barossa Valley Shiraz
First released in 1997 after several years of Red Winemaking Trials, the 2008 Penfolds RWT Shiraz may well be the best so far.
As always, the success of the 2008 Penfolds RWT Barossa Valley Shiraz comes from identification of the best vineyard sites around the Barossa Valley drawing perfumed, richly-textured and seductive fruit from several mature (20 to 100-year-old) vineyards. The overall winemaking is identical to Grange, differing only because of its regional identity and maturation in French oak.
One of 36 wines to be classified as ‗Excellent‘ in the Langton‘s Classification, this wine is no longer a ―Trial‖! Peter Gago says, ―This release will complete the conversion of many Penfolds loyalists… their RWT is no longer on probation. Shiraz / Barossa / French Oak / Penfolds. Yes, it does work‖.
Having graduated from its ‗trial‘ status over the past dozen vintages, the Penfolds winemaking team is ready to promote this wine into a new regional tier from 2012. This, the 2008 Penfolds RWT, is the last account of the wine in this guise.
2008 Penfolds Magill Estate Shiraz
An elegant, modern, classic, single-vineyard wine based on the historic vineyard first planted in 1844 by Dr Christopher Rawson Penfold.
This 19th Century vineyard has played a critical role in the development of contemporary Australian winemaking. It is also the spiritual home of Penfolds. This is a unique and evocative wine in Penfolds luxury portfolio; it offers the Penfolds wine experience in the context of a single vineyard of great historic provenance.
Peter Gago says ―Picking started on February 6, almost a month before the well-documented South Australia March 2008 heatwave–extracting the very best from what was an exemplary harvest entrée to the 2008 vintage. An A-Grade Magill Estate Shiraz. Very different to Barossa Shiraz… very different to St Henri… very different. A prized Penfolds monopole‖.
2007 Penfolds St Henri Shiraz
Penfolds St Henri Shiraz is a highly successful (in the 1950s and early 1960s Penfolds St Henri often achieved greater commercial success than Grange) and alternative expression of Shiraz and an intriguing counterpoint to Grange. It is a perfumed, elegant wine with features so striking they need no enhancement or highlighting with oak. This fruit driven Shiraz is propelled by skin and seed tannins alone. Whilst maturation in large old oak allows an alternative textural experience, it certainly doesn‘t compromise longevity or stature.
Peter Gago says ―A modern St Henri classic… one that defies the dictates pronounced by the year of vintage. But then again, that‘s very St Henri (aka 1974!)‖.
2009 Penfolds Reserve Bin 09A Adelaide Hills Chardonnay
Celebrated before release, the 2009 Penfolds Reserve Bin 09A Adelaide Hills Chardonnay has amassed eight trophies at National Wine Shows in the previous 12 months. A deliberate counterpoint to the elegantly proportioned 2008 Penfolds Yattarna, it is distinctly Penfolds in style, possessing a strong regional voice.
Since its first release in 1994, Penfolds Reserve Bin A Adelaide Hills Chardonnay has established a strong following for its fresh minerally style that lies at the vanguard of the Chardonnay genre in Australia. All fruit is hand-picked into small bins and then whole-bunch pressed. The juice is allowed to undergo natural fermentation, sans inoculation. Enhanced mouthfeel and complexities are achieved by fermenting on solids using new and aged French oak.
Peter Gago says ―Twelve calendar months later—a wine not afraid to follow the highly acclaimed and awarded 2008 Bin 08A. Different vintage, same DNA. Relative qualities, preferred vintage? That‘s your job!‖
