Penfolds: The Australian Collection 2021 London Tasting
It was with absolute and unadulterated pleasure that I attended a press tasting of Penfolds Australia Collection 2021 at 67 Pall Mall recently. Whatever else I had planned that day was swept aside and swiftly forgotten about. Was I really going to be one of the first people in this country to taste these newborns, which included the 70th edition of Australia’s most celebrated treasure, Grange, and have an audience with the legendary Peter Gago?
According to the Eighth Edition of Penfolds: The Rewards of Patience by Andrew Caillard MW, Peter Gago “reinvented the role of Chief Winemaker” at the estate. It has been during his 30 plus year tenure that Penfolds has received such accolades as the perfect 100 point score from Robert Parker for the 2008 Grange and the comment from James Halliday about the 2008 Bin 620 Coonawarra Cabernet Shiraz being one of their greatest wines in 50 years. So, was I excited to see Peter beam into our tasting room live from Australia to guide us through the collection, peppering his tasting notes with personal anecdotes and insights? You bet.
For those of you not so familiar with Penfolds, it is a brand that has played a definitively key part in Australia’s winemaking heritage. Across more than 175 years, they have built a name that is synonymous with quality, consistency and longevity – and wines that live on past their makers, tying past, present and future together. Their most famous wine, Grange, could be Australia’s most celebrated wine and is listed as a Heritage Icon of South Australia. One of the most notable vintages of Grange is the 1953, which is still drinking majestically today. Some of the 2021 collection wines that I sampled will probably outlive me and will still be drinking well past 2080. How mind-blowing is that?
More than the sum of its parts
As I took a seat on at a row of tables next to Anne Krebiehl MW, I surveyed the 16 glasses in front of me, while Peter gave us the introduction to the collection, musing that his role is “more about the craft of creating a wine that is more than the sum of its parts”.
We start with the three whites: Bin 51 Eden Valley Riesling 2021; Bin 311 Tasmania Chardonnay 2020 and Yattarna Chardonnay 2019. With grapes picked in April of this year, the Riesling possesses the zestiness of youth, though it could still be enjoyed just as much (or even more) in 10 years’ time. It’s everything you would want in a bright, young Riesling: honey, petrol, stone fruits on the nose; citrus and lean minerality on the palate. In contrast, the 2020 Tasmanian Chardonnay is apples, cream and a whiff of vanilla from the French oak barriques – a baby Yattana, if you’re familiar with its mother. It inherits a bit of new oak (41% compared to Yattana’s 55%), which keeps it light and fresh, though we’re advised it would drink well for another seven years.
When we taste the Yattana straight after, it is clear to see why she rules the roost. Sumptuous, confident, yet soft and elegant. I decorate my notes with several stars of enthusiasm. Peter tells us that ‘Yattana’ is the indigenous word for ‘little by little or gradually’ and that Yattana has evolved into its own style over the past few years. It’s interesting to hear about how the use of oak has changed over the years: in 1997, there was 100% new oak used; in 2004 there was zero % new oak; now there is a comforting toasty hug of 55%. As Peter says, “It’s not what you put into the blend; it’s the results you take out”. This Chardonnay is pure class.
Peter’s favourite Bin
We move onto the reds, starting with the Bin 23 Pinot Noir 2020, then a steady wave of Shiraz wines, until the Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 and then a crescendo of Icon Wines, finishing with the Superblend 802-A.
The Pinot Noir kicks off a theme of expert balance and intricate layers. There are aromas of wild berries and roses, both of which make their way to the palate for a gorgeously smooth and textured expression of Pinot.
The Shiraz odyssey begins with Bin 138 Barossa Valley Shiraz Grenache Mataro 2019, which shows lovely lush, plummy fruit and that tell-tale Barossa spice. Moving onto Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz 2019, Peter tells us that this was his favourite Bin for a number of years. Influenced by the cooling Coonawarra and the sole use of French oak, this wine is perfumed and vibrant, thanks to those famous terra rossa soils. It’s a completely different expression from the bold, rich, opulent styles of Shiraz that Penfolds is so well-known for, but no less seductive with its silky tannins and cool finish.
Two illustrious Shiraz wines next, one with a dedicated mass following and one with a dedicated cult following: the Bin 28 Shiraz 2019 and Bin 150 Maranga Shiraz 2019. The Bin 28 has been released uninterrupted since 1929 and in the UK we started our love affair with it in the 1980s, with sales soaring through the 1990s. It is the embodiment of a Penfolds warm climate Shiraz, enveloping the palate with its generous flavours of ripe berries, dark chocolate and tobacco, velvety-smooth mouthfeel and supple tannins. The Bin 150 is, in Peter’s words, a “step up from 28” (hence the more cult-like fanbase) and comes from a tiny parcel in sub-regional Barossa. More structure, more warmth, more spice, more smoke... this one needs time to soften and will be at its peak in three to 18 years.
We briefly head to Cabernet (Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 and Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2019) before embarking on the Icon Wines (St Henri, Magill, RWT, 707 and, the daddy, Grange). Bin 407 is a “varietally-driven style”, for which they could shop around the regions of Padthaway, Coonawarra, Wrattonbully, McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley. Peter comments: “Some Cabernets will push you away for a while”, yet free of hard tannins, “this is a friendly Cabernet, but will go the distance”. Peter prefers it at 10 years of age, so, as Andrew Caillard MW’s book suggests, patience will be rewarded with this one. In contrast, the Bin 389 is much more expressive and is nicknamed “Baby Grange”. It just celebrated its 60th anniversary last year, so they must be doing something right!
The Icon Wines
And now, the Icon Wines, starting with St Henri Shiraz 2018.
The St Henri style goes back to the 1890s. Peter describes it as “a style that can sit comfortably on any dinner table in the world.” There is never any new oak used (instead, 50 year old large oak vats), which results in a gloriously rich, traditional 100% Shiraz wine.
As Anne, next to me, says, “It’s about which wine speaks to you”, I find it is the next wine that speaks to me the most: The Magill Estate Shiraz 2019. This is a single vineyard wine with a real sense of place and identity (Peter notes that it smells like… “Magill Shiraz!”). To me it seems like it has the best of what Shiraz can offer – a mix of the rich, concentrated, traditional style and the sleek, medium-weight contemporary style. I love the lushness of the fruit, the fine, silky tannins, the lift of acidity and the Black Forest gateaux flavour profile. Peter says: “You can even taste the weave of the wine”, as integrated as it is. Comparatively, the RWT Bin 798 Barossa Valley Shiraz is a much bigger style, with herbal notes, spice and leather. 100% Barossa!
Me with happily purple teeth and a glass of Magill Estate Shiraz
The Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 is a wine that Peter is unapologetically proud of. “People love this wine and we can never make enough of it.” Made identically to Grange from low yield, thick-skinned tiny berries from very, very old vines (“We are so spoiled with this kind of material”, says Peter) it’s had 18 months in 100% new American oak, making it a smooth, full-bodied, ripe-fruited wine without any greenness. Peter tells us that they’ve had many misses with the 707 as it has to get to a certain quality level or above (for example there will be no 2020) but he will never compromise on this style. “It’s such a complete wine”, he says.
Then, finally it is time for Grange. That’s a nice thought to have, especially when you are about to taste it. Vintage 2017, it is 100% Shiraz, making it only the seventh year ever without a touch of Cabernet. Grange is the ultimate expression of the Penfolds blending philosophy, across several vineyards and districts.
A surprising hit of coconut in the first sniff, this wine has many, many layers that beg to be revealed swirl after swirl. Lush black fruits, balsamic reduction, vanilla pod, something meaty… then the spice comes through to tingle the tongue. Although the peak drinking window wouldn’t open until another several years (and may stay open until 2060!) this wine has accessibility even now, with its velvety texture and mouthwatering acidity. A venison dinner would be made sublime with this wine.
“Nothing stands still at Penfolds”
We finish this incredible tour of the Penfolds Australia Collection 2021 with a surprise addition: Superblend 802-A. There is a 802-B, too, which will be out next year. According to Peter, this is the “quintessential Australian blend,” which has the “quality level of Grange but not style.” A beautifully evocative and powerful blend of Shiraz and Cabernet at the highest level, it’s a celebration of Australian gumption, and it is an absolute privilege to be able to taste it. It is part of an experiment: 802-A is stored in American oak and 802-B is stored in French oak. Whatever is the most popular, they will keep and move forward with.
Peter’s enthusiasm, curiosity and energy is captivating as he explains the idea behind this experiment, and I think to myself that it could have been so easy for Penfolds to rest on their laurels and push the sell-out Icon Wines year after year. But that just wouldn’t be Penfolds, would it? “Nothing stands still at Penfolds,” Peter says in the The Rewards of Patience, as they still push to innovate, just as Max Schubert did in the 1950s.
But, Penfolds disciples can sleep easy in the knowledge that their favourite wines aren’t going anywhere. While the grape blends and sourcing might change through the years, the style stays the same, and the estate remains devoted to its Bins. Whatever year it may be, Penfolds is unmistakably Penfolds: bold, bewitching and brilliant.