Penfolds, Bin 128 Shiraz, Coonawarra

A bit of portiness on the nose blows off after a half hour to spicy, cedar notes with a hint of dill. On the palate - exquisitely mature deep spicy currants and blackberries with perhaps a small dollop of mocha. Surprisingly strong tannins give excellent structure. Blind tasters loved this, but thought it had a large dose of Cabernet (maybe a result of the cooler climate Shiraz from Coonawarra?). Drink these soon while they are still in prime. Of course, …

1990 vintage

The BIN 128 was launched in 1962 and until relatively recently was the only wine it the Penfolds stable was a straight regional wine and also matured in French oak. Little sediment on opening. One hour decant. Wine starting to turn red-brick. Hint of savoury fruit but tastes tired. Despite a great vintage, I don't think there is any left in the 'tank' that warrants further cellaring. This is the last BIN 128 in the cellar and given better QPR …

2004 vintage

Not tasted

2004 vintage

Drinking well still

2004 vintage

Perfect!

2004 vintage

Drinking perfectly right now. Silky texture and great tannin structure. Pleasantly surprised.

2004 vintage

Really good, you see it is on another level. Strong spice flavor and terroir taste.

2004 vintage

{cork, 14%} Still a dark ruby. Marginally developing aromas of black pepper, spiced raspberries and cinnamon. Some coconutty oak too, but not too much. The palate is quite lean; it's savoury with slightly hard acid, rather nebulous yet heavily worked fruit; there's not much tannin to speak of, but you can almost sense the pips in the grapes. Mostly it's a bit too warm in the mouth for its light-medium-bodied weight. Once upon a time 15 years ago this would …

2004 vintage

a little tired

1992 vintage

Although this wasn't very tannic it still may need a little more time. Right now I found this to be very one dimensional up front and slightly acidic/sour on the back-end, not the cleansing food friendly acidity. I still enjoyed this but not as much as some others have.

2004 vintage

{cork, 14%} Mid ruby red with a crimson touch. Generally youthful nose of light spices, rich plum and mulberry. The palate is a bit more developed; ripe plummy shiraz fruit with a malty chaser, medium-bodied, not clumsy, soft fine powdery tannins that almost make me wonder about the longevity; the structure may peak before the fruit does. Still, it's a very pleasant and enjoyable wine now for not too much cash (A$20-ish on release) - easily the best Bin 128 …

2004 vintage

Really drinking well: fine tannin and good rich fruit commanding a balanced profile in the signature Penfolds style. Enjoyed immensely with a steak dinner, really a great lesson about the value of cellaring even modestly priced wines with the right pedigree. Now fully halfway through the case purchased two and a half years ago.

2004 vintage

Showed a little younger and more vibrant than the tasting on 12/17/09 but that could be due to it being pop and pour and shared amongst four. Great foil to a rich beef carrot daube.

2004 vintage

Tannins highly resolved, fruit showed strong at first then came olives, herbs, hints of meat all against a subtle but present oak treatment. Based on this showing I'm revising my drinking window upward to try and consume the rest of these over the next two years or so.

2004 vintage

Failed to decant, and did not quite open up. The last glass (of course) was magnificent with currant, romery, and black chocolate on the nose. As to the palata, it meets my personal flavor profile.

2004 vintage

Single Blind Syrah Showdown (Chateau Taylor) : Very Australian character, no denying this. Alcohol (14.5%) is present but in control, fantastic spicy balance, good grip and elegance. When we saw that this was the Penfolds everyone was blown away, most of us thought this was the Dead Arm (which was a disappointment). Fabulous wine and I was very pleased to be sort of vindicated in a blind setting after finding it sort of ho-hum last month. My #1, Group #2.

2004 vintage

Relatively elegant for an Australian, lots of good fruit and a touch of meat, smoke, and pepper. Enjoyable all around but I have to say there was more tannin than I expected and it never really subsided, so for now, better to have this one with food. Still recomended though.

2004 vintage

Had a bottle of this just over a year ago, and it has evolved slightly, into a less 'bomby', more elegant example of this varietal, really a fantastic bottle of wine for under $50 - Dark purple, well concentrated with notes of pepper, plum, black fruit and vanilla oak, elegant in texture, concentrated yet balanced, gaining complexity as it matures, smooth on the palate with excellent length, very well done (91 Points).

2004 vintage

Dark colour with a medium body. A hint of mint on the nose with blackcurrant and cherry. A touch of fruit cake on the mid palate. Traditional shiraz spice characteristics and a decent finish.

2004 vintage

Initial tasting pour was a little tight. One hour of decanting opened up to a nose of milk chocolate red berries and black licorice. After three hours nose of dark berries and smoke, nicely balanced with a nice even acidity. Decanter still had a glass worth the next day (14 hours), Stil holding together with aromas of smoke, anis and black berries. One of the top wines tasted by me this year!

2004 vintage

Smokey cassis, red cherry, and a bit of spearmint on the nose. Well balanced acidity and fruit gives it good structure. Moderate finish.

2004 vintage

Decanted for 1 hour. Deep purple, medium bodied wine. Blackberry explosion on the nose, same on the palate with some spice, just a touch of pepper, and a very nice finish. Very good but still seemed slightly obscured by the tannins. Finished the bottle 24 hours later - even more expressive, smoother. Good acidity, went well with a variety of food. Nice wine,to me this is still pretty tight/closed and will try to wait a year before opening the next.

2004 vintage

A slightly more elegant Shiraz, due to the cool climate of the Coonawarra region, this wine shows cherry red colour. The nose shows plum and white pepper. The plate is dense, earthy and rich. More savoury than fruity.

2004 vintage

Purple with Red edges.Nice nose, vanilla and mostly red fruits. Nice balance of fruit and spice, with not too much heat. Very, very good, and at $16 I plan to get more.

2004 vintage

Extremely enjoyable and an excellent accompaniment to grilled lamb. Very pleased to have 12 more of these and I can't wait to see how it evolves over the next 5-6 years.

2004 vintage

this is such a nice wine for a low price - it has a great nose - deep smooth taste- its a nice wine and it goes with a variety of foods - also very nice to drink by the fire just by itself....I keep buying it.

2004 vintage

Very nice, dark purple, young looking with notes of pepper, plum, black fruit and vanilla oak, elegant in texture, concentrated yet balanced with nice length (90 Points).

2004 vintage

deep brick red colour; strong cherry, strawberry & chocolate nose; soft tannins & hint of pepper in the end

1992 vintage

very smooth tannins; restrained nose. hint of cherry. despite what guides say could use another year or two of cellaring, however, try again. had headache next day

1990 vintage

A very deep, even purple, with very firm legs - an incredilby deep colour. Matur-ish nose, with oak and spicy woody tones predominant. Good smooth attack. Full and rich on the palate. Nice. Very Good.

1990 vintage

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Penfolds, Bin 128 Shiraz, Coonawarra

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