The other notes on this wine are hard to argue with. You have to be ok with the house style, of course. I can't drink this too often but every now and again, when I hear the call of Molly Hatchet, Blackfoot, Black Oak Arkansas and Grand Funk Railroad, then yes, the jungle beat of Penfolds will be heard and must be obeyed.
This is a really good vintage of the Bin 28. You get all the usual rococo fruit and oak, velvety tannins and a finish as long and smooth as the Stuart Highway. But, dammit, you also get some lovely floral notes. I am sure Penfolds docked the wine maker a few days' pay for introducing such a pansy note into their wine.
I could have scored this higher, I guess, but the main thing is this - it is comfortably in the 'excellent' range, you can get it at auction at laughable prices and still have change for some really good hookers and blow and it offers that touch more than the usual Penfolds fare. Jolly good stuff.
Getting late in the evening and we had 2 of the 389 so time for a finale. The bin 28 is a lower priced Penfolds wine but with age it gets really good. Needs 10 years and becomes the grand wine of its destiny. This bottle was a great follow up to the 389’s. Low tannin, pepper and wood.
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Deep red color. Aromas of violets, crushed stone, toasted eucalyptus and red berries. Dark cherry fruit on the pallet with hints of earth, coffee, grilled herbs and spices. Touch of toasted almond and firm tannins on the finish. Fresh and lively. Well balanced with nice symmetry. Though ripe and full bodied, there is also an elegance to this wine.
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Luscious wine, balance of fruit, wood, tannins and a nice line of supporting acid. Opened up during dinner, should have been decanted an hour before. Still a baby with many years ahead of it. 93
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Ripe raspberry and cherry with a touch of vanilla and eucalyptus. The fruit is very good so I think this will be a great wine in the future, but the acidity is still a bit aggressive so I think this will be better in another 3-6yrs than it is now.
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Day 4's glass 2017 (leaving bottle corked each day), had an amazing added taste and aroma dimension...I could not believe it was the same wine! Definitely will be adding to my stock, see if I can get '15 & '16...
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En stil jag gillade tidigare men numera får mindre o mindre till övers för. Snäll och söt Aussie. Saknar struktur och tanniner. Funkade ganska bra till en mild curry där den söta frukten inte blev så påtaglig. Inte dålig men finns mycket mer spännande i denna prisklass!
Medium purple. Nose of eucalyptus, black pepper, black plums and other black fruits. Very ripe and broad on the palate. Still primary and a little raw.
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Deep ruby almost black in the glass, this wine is overpowered by oak at the moment, pronounced aromas of black currant, black raspberry, eucalyptus, charred wood and cedar, palate is dry and full bodied with medium + acidity, high tannins and alcohol, cedar leads, charred wood, licorice, tobacco, black currant, medium finish. This wine is good quality.
WSET3 tasting
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Nose: I guess this is what tight/closed means on the nose. I can barely get anything real.. however, it feels like it wants to show itself but it can't.. like it's shy or something. Green grape stems, brambly, a slight briny smell to it. I want to say some soil from a forest floor but it's really slight.. putting the glass on the table and not actively smelling it smells better somehow. It smells floral from really far away with some red fruits.. this is so odd.
Palate: Same as the nose but with additional oak, some heat and slight vanilla. It's a back and forth between those last three.. first few initial tastes showed earth and vanilla.. whereas following tastes exhibited some oak and heat. Dark blue fruit but it's standing in the background.
Really dark garnet colored and slightly transparent. Dry with medium, strong tannins.. smooth yet with a good grip. Medium body. Good finish of about 6-7 seconds. I poured a separate glass to air out for more than an hour and it does get a little better. The grape stems, brambles and slight briny tastes goes away some leaving more of the forest floor and deeper dark fruits (that's still in the background though). Still a bit of heat and slight oak. If you're gonna enjoy this wine, I suggest you decant it for at least an hour for it to open up. Started off about 85 but got better, good price too. Not exactly my preference but it's good, great length and appears to be a good effort. If you liked my description, go for it; you're gonna enjoy it.
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Decanted The nose shows smashed blueberries, plum and blackberry with violet pastilles, incense, coal smoke, rubbed eucalyptus, sassafras, spices and vanilla. The palate is youthful with deep, exuberant and penetrating fruit; blueberry, huckleberry and blackberry that come macerated in flavors of violets, vanilla and floral pastilles with hints of baking spices, sassafras and a hint of smoke and resin. Showing above moderate, juicy acid with fine tannins. The finish lingers. Overall delicious now, but should improve significantly with time.
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Very typical and intense aromas of plum skin, eucalyptus, spice and toasted nuts. Palpable heat on the nose. Big, ripe mouth-coating fruit redolent of plums and dark cherries, with a hint of prune. Soft ripe tannins and good persistence on the finish. Great sipper with or without food.
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Really deep and full bodied. Bold and delicious. Initial oak, followed by dark flavors; a bit earthy and maybe tobacco. Deep dark fruits, plum. Incredibly smooth and well balanced. Really delicious. Will buy more and cellar.
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Deep colour. Early alcohol note dissipating after 2 hours decant. Black currant but not much else. Tannins mild. Maybe flavour will develop with cellaring. One to leave for a few years yet. Not up to the price for an early taste.
Unlike most Shiraz, this is much more refined and balance on the palate with nice juicy plums with a little cocktail cherries and espresso on the finish. Tannins still a little harsh now but I am confindent that this will be much better in 2-3years
Day 2 was even better, the espresso and current nose was more pronounced and the tannins were less abrasive making the fruits more lushes and the cranberry on the finish was more obvious. 91 Pts.
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Very young, ripe, forward, and primary. Mild tannic structure. Long legs, inky. A wine that at this stage is fun and fruity with decent depth. Don't look for any complexity here. I'll open the '15 Bin 389 and Bin 128 soon.
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Nose: Clearly oak and fruit. Blackberries. Liqourice. Well balanced. This is good. But maybe not worth it's cost. Probably wait some extra days to finnish it off. Give it a chance to blossom.
Day 4: A bit jammy. Feeling the alcohole. But it taste better. Pancakes with blackberry jam. Rich. Very hard for me to grade. Extremely long. 88-90. Less the first day. Must get a bottle to drink in +5 years.
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Sensational value for only $25! I'd heard wonderful things about the Penfolds 2017 collection (including this 2015 Bin 28) and I'm thrilled that it lived up to the hype. Upon opening this was a bit shy and disjointed but a little air brought it into perfect focus. Such a dark purple/maroon it's almost black. Pretty much the most fruity, exuberant nose I've ever encountered in a red wine. I won't repeat the cliche flavor descriptors of Shiraz, but they're all in perfect balance here and under-girded with muscular but smooth tannins. It hides its 14.5% alcohol very well, and was a perfect foil for a grilled rib-eye tonight.
I can't wait to try the 389 (half Shiraz, half Cabernet) and the 404 (100% Cabernet Savignon) to see what this vintage can really do!
I realise it is fashionable, in an inner city kinda way, to shy away from Penfolds. Indeed, I am guilty of it myself sometimes. But it is hard to maintain the rage when they deliver so reliably and one whiff is usually a summons for a flood of fond memories.
This is good wine, despite its youth. In time it will be very good wine. What I admire most though is that it is nothing more or less than what it has always been. It just does its thing without any sign of effort. A style resolutely fixed, unmoved by the winds of change. Good on them I say.
Festival of Alex - Penfolds Kalimna with Stephanie Dutton: Fairly shy on the nose, some earthy spice and light red berries. Sweetness of the fruit is more apparent on the palate, there is some good tannin that stitches it all together well. Would like to see it again in another 5 years.
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Drank @ Penfolds Tasting with Sean. It was big but very drinkable... could be drunk young with a couple of hours of decanting.
GAGO: Palate sleek & Slender tannins, dark black-cherry, 12 month American Oak. Nose of Vanilla, Marshmallow & teacake, ground coffee and hazelnut biscuit.
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2/23/2024 - Frede84 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Great value.
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9/25/2023 - Rote Kappelle Likes this wine: 91 Points
The other notes on this wine are hard to argue with. You have to be ok with the house style, of course. I can't drink this too often but every now and again, when I hear the call of Molly Hatchet, Blackfoot, Black Oak Arkansas and Grand Funk Railroad, then yes, the jungle beat of Penfolds will be heard and must be obeyed.
This is a really good vintage of the Bin 28. You get all the usual rococo fruit and oak, velvety tannins and a finish as long and smooth as the Stuart Highway. But, dammit, you also get some lovely floral notes. I am sure Penfolds docked the wine maker a few days' pay for introducing such a pansy note into their wine.
I could have scored this higher, I guess, but the main thing is this - it is comfortably in the 'excellent' range, you can get it at auction at laughable prices and still have change for some really good hookers and blow and it offers that touch more than the usual Penfolds fare. Jolly good stuff.
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7/9/2023 - Waza Likes this wine: 91 Points
Lovely drinking, mid winter is a bit cool for it, but warmed a little in the glass and fantastic.
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4/8/2023 - DrinkerTrev Likes this wine: 90 Points
Getting late in the evening and we had 2 of the 389 so time for a finale. The bin 28 is a lower priced Penfolds wine but with age it gets really good. Needs 10 years and becomes the grand wine of its destiny. This bottle was a great follow up to the 389’s. Low tannin, pepper and wood.
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5/26/2022 - vandal16 wrote: 91 Points
Deep red color. Aromas of violets, crushed stone, toasted eucalyptus and red berries. Dark cherry fruit on the pallet with hints of earth, coffee, grilled herbs and spices. Touch of toasted almond and firm tannins on the finish. Fresh and lively. Well balanced with nice symmetry. Though ripe and full bodied, there is also an elegance to this wine.
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3/25/2022 - nulla wrote: 93 Points
Luscious wine, balance of fruit, wood, tannins and a nice line of supporting acid. Opened up during dinner, should have been decanted an hour before. Still a baby with many years ahead of it. 93
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1/15/2022 - kassim10 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Delicious and always good. Solid Shiraz as always.
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9/5/2021 - colinscellar Likes this wine: 92 Points
Ripe raspberry and cherry with a touch of vanilla and eucalyptus.
The fruit is very good so I think this will be a great wine in the future, but the acidity is still a bit aggressive so I think this will be better in another 3-6yrs than it is now.
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5/12/2021 - CC-OZ Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very dark, still elemental and fresh, powerful and intense, good acdity. Revist in another 3 years.
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9/18/2020 - nbarty1 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Day 4's glass 2017 (leaving bottle corked each day), had an amazing added taste and aroma dimension...I could not believe it was the same wine! Definitely will be adding to my stock, see if I can get '15 & '16...
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8/21/2020 - Giggs wrote: 92 Points
Awesome, red raspberry, all kinds of tension and energy. This will be mind-bending in 4-5 years. Tasted alongside the 2016 and 2011.
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2/23/2020 - adamanko wrote:
No grade, nor notes, but it showed no signs of weakness at a family dinner.
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1/29/2020 - Lars1974 wrote: 83 Points
En stil jag gillade tidigare men numera får mindre o mindre till övers för.
Snäll och söt Aussie. Saknar struktur och tanniner. Funkade ganska bra till en mild curry där den söta frukten inte blev så påtaglig.
Inte dålig men finns mycket mer spännande i denna prisklass!
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10/28/2019 - DavidWong168 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Medium purple. Nose of eucalyptus, black pepper, black plums and other black fruits. Very ripe and broad on the palate. Still primary and a little raw.
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8/2/2019 - BrendanMcS wrote: 92 Points
Not as blown away by this one as the first, but still a really good bottle.
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1/11/2019 - WineCenturyAZ Likes this wine:
Deep ruby almost black in the glass, this wine is overpowered by oak at the moment, pronounced aromas of black currant, black raspberry, eucalyptus, charred wood and cedar, palate is dry and full bodied with medium + acidity, high tannins and alcohol, cedar leads, charred wood, licorice, tobacco, black currant, medium finish. This wine is good quality.
WSET3 tasting
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12/9/2018 - Lars1974 Likes this wine: 87 Points
Bit tame and sweet. Good Shiraz and enjoyable but there are more exiting wines in that pricerange.
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10/25/2018 - Markus IWC wrote: 83 Points
clima tasting #8: vulgo wine, lots of everything and all over the place. BBQ wine.
Dense and fiery nose with warm fruit, blackberries, meaty notes, blood, smoke, bacon and vanilla.
Massive oak treatment.
BV=3
WV=5
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10/19/2018 - WineBurrowingWombat Likes this wine: 87 Points
Nose: I guess this is what tight/closed means on the nose. I can barely get anything real.. however, it feels like it wants to show itself but it can't.. like it's shy or something. Green grape stems, brambly, a slight briny smell to it. I want to say some soil from a forest floor but it's really slight.. putting the glass on the table and not actively smelling it smells better somehow. It smells floral from really far away with some red fruits.. this is so odd.
Palate: Same as the nose but with additional oak, some heat and slight vanilla. It's a back and forth between those last three.. first few initial tastes showed earth and vanilla.. whereas following tastes exhibited some oak and heat. Dark blue fruit but it's standing in the background.
Really dark garnet colored and slightly transparent. Dry with medium, strong tannins.. smooth yet with a good grip. Medium body. Good finish of about 6-7 seconds. I poured a separate glass to air out for more than an hour and it does get a little better. The grape stems, brambles and slight briny tastes goes away some leaving more of the forest floor and deeper dark fruits (that's still in the background though). Still a bit of heat and slight oak. If you're gonna enjoy this wine, I suggest you decant it for at least an hour for it to open up. Started off about 85 but got better, good price too. Not exactly my preference but it's good, great length and appears to be a good effort. If you liked my description, go for it; you're gonna enjoy it.
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10/10/2018 - CC-OZ Likes this wine: 91 Points
Still young, but already enjoyable. Should revisit in 3~5 years.
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9/30/2018 - bjamesclark wrote: 90 Points
Decanted
The nose shows smashed blueberries, plum and blackberry with violet pastilles, incense, coal smoke, rubbed eucalyptus, sassafras, spices and vanilla.
The palate is youthful with deep, exuberant and penetrating fruit; blueberry, huckleberry and blackberry that come macerated in flavors of violets, vanilla and floral pastilles with hints of baking spices, sassafras and a hint of smoke and resin. Showing above moderate, juicy acid with fine tannins. The finish lingers.
Overall delicious now, but should improve significantly with time.
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9/9/2018 - DavidWong168 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Very typical and intense aromas of plum skin, eucalyptus, spice and toasted nuts. Palpable heat on the nose. Big, ripe mouth-coating fruit redolent of plums and dark cherries, with a hint of prune. Soft ripe tannins and good persistence on the finish. Great sipper with or without food.
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9/1/2018 - wineotim wrote: 91 Points
Same as first bottle, delicious.
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8/31/2018 - BrendanMcS wrote: 94 Points
Really deep and full bodied. Bold and delicious. Initial oak, followed by dark flavors; a bit earthy and maybe tobacco. Deep dark fruits, plum. Incredibly smooth and well balanced. Really delicious. Will buy more and cellar.
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5/25/2018 - Gezzanet wrote: 89 Points
Deep colour. Early alcohol note dissipating after 2 hours decant. Black currant but not much else. Tannins mild. Maybe flavour will develop with cellaring. One to leave for a few years yet. Not up to the price for an early taste.
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4/27/2018 - marcellevi Likes this wine: 90 Points
"Tame" fruit bomb, juicy and full, good tannins and balance. Very good, I should pick up more.
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4/13/2018 - The wine yummy wise Likes this wine: 90 Points
Unlike most Shiraz, this is much more refined and balance on the palate with nice juicy plums with a little cocktail cherries and espresso on the finish. Tannins still a little harsh now but I am confindent that this will be much better in 2-3years
Day 2 was even better, the espresso and current nose was more pronounced and the tannins were less abrasive making the fruits more lushes and the cranberry on the finish was more obvious. 91 Pts.
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4/12/2018 - wineotim Likes this wine: 91 Points
Very young, ripe, forward, and primary. Mild tannic structure. Long legs, inky. A wine that at this stage is fun and fruity with decent depth. Don't look for any complexity here. I'll open the '15 Bin 389 and Bin 128 soon.
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4/4/2018 - adamanko wrote: 88 Points
Will drink over two days.
Nose: Clearly oak and fruit. Blackberries. Liqourice. Well balanced. This is good. But maybe not worth it's cost. Probably wait some extra days to finnish it off. Give it a chance to blossom.
Day 4: A bit jammy. Feeling the alcohole. But it taste better. Pancakes with blackberry jam. Rich. Very hard for me to grade. Extremely long. 88-90. Less the first day. Must get a bottle to drink in +5 years.
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3/15/2018 - M.Y. Chong Likes this wine:
Lovely big wine. Vanilla, chocolate. Memorable wine. Very retrospective tasting note. Good contrast to the cool climate Syrah/Shiraz.
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1/27/2018 - Stevelayden Likes this wine: 93 Points
Sensational value for only $25! I'd heard wonderful things about the Penfolds 2017 collection (including this 2015 Bin 28) and I'm thrilled that it lived up to the hype. Upon opening this was a bit shy and disjointed but a little air brought it into perfect focus. Such a dark purple/maroon it's almost black. Pretty much the most fruity, exuberant nose I've ever encountered in a red wine. I won't repeat the cliche flavor descriptors of Shiraz, but they're all in perfect balance here and under-girded with muscular but smooth tannins. It hides its 14.5% alcohol very well, and was a perfect foil for a grilled rib-eye tonight.
I can't wait to try the 389 (half Shiraz, half Cabernet) and the 404 (100% Cabernet Savignon) to see what this vintage can really do!
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1/15/2018 - BBPP Likes this wine:
I realise it is fashionable, in an inner city kinda way, to shy away from Penfolds. Indeed, I am guilty of it myself sometimes. But it is hard to maintain the rage when they deliver so reliably and one whiff is usually a summons for a flood of fond memories.
This is good wine, despite its youth. In time it will be very good wine. What I admire most though is that it is nothing more or less than what it has always been. It just does its thing without any sign of effort. A style resolutely fixed, unmoved by the winds of change. Good on them I say.
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11/10/2017 - CamWheeler wrote: 89 Points
Festival of Alex - Penfolds Kalimna with Stephanie Dutton: Fairly shy on the nose, some earthy spice and light red berries. Sweetness of the fruit is more apparent on the palate, there is some good tannin that stitches it all together well. Would like to see it again in another 5 years.
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11/2/2017 - RC1967 wrote: 98 Points
Drank @ Penfolds Tasting with Sean. It was big but very drinkable... could be drunk young with a couple of hours of decanting.
GAGO: Palate sleek & Slender tannins, dark black-cherry, 12 month American Oak. Nose of Vanilla, Marshmallow & teacake, ground coffee and hazelnut biscuit.
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