WTN: Extremely short notes from birthday Penfolds dinner

For my birthday last November 4 I decided on dinner with nearly all the Penfolds wine I have excluding only the Grange 1983 and 1986. Some non-Penfolds wines were included such as some Leeuwin Chardonnays, a Reynella, and a Sauternes. As host, I couldn't devote too much attention to the wines hence these very basic notes.

Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay 1999 - Orange rind, gentle oak. Super smooth. Drink it now. Super wine.

Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay 2002 - Very young. Slightly woody and acidic. Same aroma as the 1999. Needs time to come together. Best to leave this alone for another 3 or 4 years. For now, pales in comparison to the 1999 but should turn out very good as well with age.

Reynella Basket Pressed Cabernet Sauvignon McLaren Vale 1998 - Starts out lean, elegant but gains body with airing. Still grippy tannins in the finish. Good fruit and varietal Cabernet character. Long finish. Can still age. Very good for me and deserving of additional purchase.

Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon 1996 - Subdued nose, soft, smooth. A little musty. Mint and dill. Good but not a great bottle.

Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 - Mocha. Very fruity, fresh. Dry. Beautifully balanced. Vigorous, lively wine. Drinking very well now but has a long life ahead of it. Everyone lioked it better than the 1996.

Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz 1998 - Spicy, medium-bodied. Really nice. Drinking very well now.

Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Sauvignon?Shiraz 2001 - A little minty. Mocha. Full. Young. Needs a bit more time but showing well.

Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz 2002 - Chocolate. Very spicy and long. Well balanced. Good wine but best to leave it alone for a couple of years.

Penfolds St. Henri Shiraz 1998 - Very fruity. Soft. A little chocolate. Nice but not as good as another bottle of this tried a few months back.

Penfolds St. Henri Shiraz 2001 - Chocolate again. A little herby.

Penfolds St. Henri Shiraz 2002 - Figgy, plummy wine. Way too young but should turn out pretty good.

Penfolds RWT Shiraz 1997 - Curry, Indian spices. A little meaty but very smooth. Drink it if you have it. Oak is fully integrated and doesn't stick out.

Penfolds RWT Shiraz 2001 - Candyish nose. Caramel. Very young, tannic, closed. Leave this alone for a few years.

Penfolds Grange 1996 - Cherries, Very young, tannic. Powerful stuff. Very concentrated like a liqueur. Dry. Obviously too young despite the 3 hours of airing. Should be an awesome wine when it is ready. Try again in 5 years?

Carmes de Rieussec Sauternes 2003 - Classic Sauternes nose. Good botrytis character but medium-light body. Nicely balanced and well put together. Not overwhelmingly sweet. Good to drink now. Nothing complicated or complex but a good enough wine for me to buy a few more bottles.

Jay
Happy birthday and good to read these notes.

I have two of the 98's - the St Henri and Bin 389. I hadn't planned to open them for a while, maybe the 1st 389 in a year or two (I have 3 bottles) and the remainder + the St Henri, probably not in this decade. The last Bin389 I opened was a 1996 earlier this year and it felt slightly vinfanticidal.

Never have taken to 707, but haven't tasted it in years.

Does this reflect a clearing out of the stocks of Pennies wines, or something you'd been meaning to set up for a while?

regards

Ian

It's something I've wanted to do for a long time now but now that I've done it, it seems like overkill to me. Better to have smaller more focused tastings of maybe just 389 etc. Or one other tasting that would be interesting is Grange, RWT and St. Henri to see the different styles of Shiraz.