April 30, 2024 - Gorgeous. Yes Australian in style (although lesser so due to oak I assume), however drinking beautifully. Still lots of age left. Soft complex, silky tannins. Really enjoyed
March 31, 2024 - Fantasic wine, very smooth and easy to drink
January 6, 2024 - Impressive. This is a simple wine in the best possible way. Low oak, deep dry red fruits falling short of dark. Old fashioned perhaps? Seems like it’s 2yrs old, not 14.
December 15, 2023 - Very big and expressive wine with bursts of cherry. Strong nose that almost borders on overwhelming
November 10, 2023 - In the bouquet beautiful dark and red berries. On the palate the same juicy fruits, garrigue, beautifully fresh acidity and round very soft tannin. Really very beautiful wine in its early maturity stage. 93 – 94+
October 6, 2023 - Fully integrated, concentrated and powerful. Needs at least 2-3 hours to uncoil after first opening. This was rated at 100 by Andrew Caillard MW, but I think that’s overreach. Such high scores need the wine to have intensity and excitement and I felt the latter was lacking in this wine.
June 24, 2023 - Color is very dark, almost black, you can immediately see the high concentration of the wine.
A jaw-dropping bouquet consisting of a combination of blackberries, blueberries, plums and tar. It is concentrated, intense, heavy and reach every nook and cranny in the nose. Very similar to the best Cabernet Sauvignon from the Napa region I've had, but without the blackcurrant characteristic of the Cabernet Sauvignon variety. You can guess from the bouquet itself that the taste of wine simply has to be WOW.
When the wine spills over the tongue, the first thing you feel is the sweetness as if you were drinking a blackberry and blueberry liqueur, although the wine itself is not sweet, just the intensity of the super-ripe grapes used in the production must have been amazing and they created this sweet "core" surrounded by acidity and super soft tannins. A wine of sensational concentration, there is no trace of wateriness and at the same time it is not too big like Syrah wines from the central coast of California, rather it is medium body, elegant structure with very good refreshing acidity. A long, intense aftertaste with a hint of coffee, lingering in the mouth for over half a minute without any bitterness, wateriness or acidity. All the time, from the moment the wine spills over the tongue and palate until it is swallowed, you can feel the Penfolds trademark: the cashmere softness and suppleness of the wine, which feels like touching a pillow in the most expensive 5* luxury hotel. Anyone who has ever drunk Penfolds wine knows what I'm talking about. Of course, this applies to Penfolds wines of at least Bin 128 grade and above.
THIS IS a WOW wine and is one of the best I've had in my life.
June 4, 2023 - Open 36 hours. Ripe black plums are slightly dried out, sweet spice, a little black pepper, clay. Concentrated, ripe black fruits, chewy and chalky slightly coarse tannins, liquorice, touch of leather, cream, caramel, alcohol warmth on the finish - this has been opened a little too long.
May 17, 2023 - 170523 - lunch meetup with the gang at Super Tanker. Always a fav. Lovely nose - dark fruits & blueberry, chocolate, licorice, mocha & mint. Great layers and structure, with energetic finish
March 25, 2023 - Perfect balance, perfect timing. Will likely last however it’s hard to know until when