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Penfolds 2024 collection: tasting notes

18 July 2024 By Colin Hay

Penfolds is set to release its 2024 collection, comprising 25 wines, on 1 August. db’s Bordeaux correspondent Colin Hay gives his verdict on the range.

Bin 23 Pinot Noir 2023 (100% Pinot Noir; the fruit is sourced from Tasmania; pH 3.49; aged for 7 months in French oak barriques; 13.5% alcohol). Cool-climate Pinot Noir from Penfolds’ Tasmanian vineyards, this is also very ‘Penfolds’ – with lots of freshness, brightness, crispness and energising acidity. The nose is lifted and quite aerial and the palate fluid and limpid, with quite gracious tannins and a pleasing pinch releasing sapidity on the gently tapering finish. 92. RRP: £33.

Bin 28 Shiraz 2022 (100% Shiraz; the fruit sourced from McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, Padthaway and Wrattonbully; pH 3.68; aged for 12 months in American hogsheads; 14.5% alcohol). Peppery. Spicy. Not perhaps the tannic quality or finesse of the Shiraz-based wines in the portfolio, but we’re at a very different price point too. The tannins themselves are grippy and chewy tannins and they certainly bring a sense of structure to the mid- and back-palate. Long, if lacking a little in delineation. But I find this both ambitious and impressive considering its price point. 92. RRP: £35.

Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 (100%; the fruit sourced from Coonawarra, Padthaway, Wrattonbully, McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley; pH 3.63; aged for 12 months in American hogsheads and French oak barrels; 14.5% alcohol). Interestingly, I find this both fresher and chewier than its Napa Valley equivalent. Rich, deep and compact, with a slightly broader frame and with plenty of density and concentration. Impressive. I particularly like the bulby note of hyacinth and peony. 94. RRP: £85.

Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2022 (‘Baby Grange’; 51% Cabernet Sauvignon; 49% Shiraz; the fruit is sourced from McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, Barossa Valley, Padthaway and Wrattonbully; pH 3.62; aged for 12 months in American hogsheads, 36% of which are new; 14.5% alcohol). Again, quite floral. Plenty of cracked black peppercorns too. Aromatically expressive and lifted, inky and rich, but with incredibly soft and caressing tannins. Gentle for Bin 389. Long and sustained by the very fine-grained but present tannins. Quite sapid and lifted on the finish, though there’s a sustained low note too (like a Russian basso profondo!). 94. RRP: £80.

Magill Estate Shiraz 2022 (100% Shiraz; sourced from Penfolds’ Magill vineyard on the edge of Adelaide’s eastern suburbs; aged for 18 months in French and American oak hogsheads; pH 3.64; 14.5% alcohol). Classic, dark, rich, plummy, intensely spicy and extremely peppery Shiraz, with a lovely intensity, freshness and sense of vertical lift. Hazelnut shell and a sprinkling of the finest chocolate powder. The tannins are incredibly soft yet considerable and they give this quite a restricted frame that brings a great sense of concentration and an oily density to the mid-palate. A wine of great purity and one of the stars, for me, of the entire collection. 96+. RRP: £120.

Bin 180 Coonawarra Cabernet Shiraz 2021 (57% Cabernet Sauvignon; 43% Shiraz; sourced from Coonawarra, Penfolds Blocks 10 and 5; aged for 16 months in second use French oak hogsheads; pH 3.63; 14.5% alcohol). A special limited production cuvée to mark the 180^th anniversary of Penfolds. Aromatically, this is immediately hyper-fresh, lifted and aerial. A wine of today but also timeless in its elegance and, indeed, its ageability. It is fascinating, in a way, that this is the wine chosen to mark Penfolds’ 180^th anniversary. For that freshness, lift and elegance is very much the direction of travel here now and this wine is the sublimation of that – a statement of intent. Cassis, plum stone, damson, cherry and maybe a hint of cherry preserve. Black pen ink and a hint of dark florality, with just a touch of the finest spice and assorted freshly crushed peppercorns. There’s no new oak here, which is also something of a statement and entirely the right choice I feel, bringing as it does an additional precision, clarity and dynamism to the wine. On the palate this is soft, svelte, rich but agile, tense and very tightly structured by the miraculously fine-grained but considerable Cabernet Sauvignon tannins. The fruit profile, too, is very Cabernet-dominated, with the Shiraz bringing additional substance between the structural parameters set by the Cabernet tannins and a gentle sweet spice. Impressively limpid, lithe and crystalline in and through the mid-palate despite the disguised power, depth and concentration. And juicy, fresh and long on the finish. Accessible yet ageless. 98+. RRP: £650.

Wines of the world: French, Californian and Chinese

French Wine Trial FWT Bin 585 2021 (Vin de France; 78% Cabernet Sauvignon; 8% Merlot; 14% Petit Verdot; pH 3.59; aged for 12 months in a combination of French and American oak barrels, around 32% new French and 9% new American oak; 13.5% alcohol). A very different composition here to the 2020. Impressive. A nice touch of Cabernet cassis and blackcurrant leaf. Silky. Soft. Round. Quite floral. That ‘environs de Margaux’ thing – you can tell where this comes from (as I noted with the 2020). Tender. Lithe. A pleasing natural sweetness for the vintage. Grippy yet fine-grained tannins. Lots of silk and polish. Relatively early drinking as you’d expect from the vintage. 93. RRP: £75.

Chinese Wine Trial CWT 521 Cabernet Sauvignon Marselan 2022 (77% Cabernet Sauvignon; 23% Marselan; sourced from the Shangri-La, Ningxia region; pH 3.57; 14.5% alcohol). Not yet released in Europe. Tasting note to follow in September. RRP: $150.00 (AUD).

Bin 704 Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 (Napa Valley; 100% Cabernet Sauvignon; pH 3.53; aged for 16 months in French oak barrels, just under half of which are new; 14.5% alcohol). Rich, bright, sunny – as the French would have it, ‘solaire’. Richly spiced too and quite exotic. Hoisin. Soy. Szechuan peppercorns. A little clove. On the palate, this is soft and lithe. The frame is not too broad frame and this intensifies the sense of concentration. Naturally sweet and enticing on the lingering finish. 93. RRP: £70.

Bin 149 Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 (91% Napa Valley & 9% Southern Australia, bottled in St Helena, California; 91% Cabernet Sauvignon; 9% Cabernet Franc; aged for 16 months in a combination of French and American oak barriques; pH 3.55; 14.5% alcohol). The 2018 was the first vintage of this bold ‘wine of the world’ bottling from Penfolds. Dark, lithe and quite subtle aromatically, even delicate – rather more so than I anticipated. The Cabernet Franc here brings great elegance and lift with that lovely cedary, slightly herbaceous, juicy fresh pulpy character. Blueberry, bramble, cassis and black currant leaf, a little chocolate ganache and a good twist of black pepper fresh from the mill. On the palate, the tannins are soft and sumptuous and the more elevated acidity (and low pH) bring great tension. A wine of considerable depth and layering, with significant aging potential. Very fine indeed. I much prefer this to the 2020 edition (with no Cabernet Franc as I recall). 96. RRP: £160.

Howell Mountain Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc 2021 (78% Cabernet Sauvignon; 22% Cabernet Franc; all the fruit is sourced from the Steinhauer Vineyard Blocks 1A and 1D of the Howell Mountain single-vineyard; aged for 16 months in new French oak barriques; pH 3.57; 14.5% alcohol). The first use of Cabernet Franc in the Penfolds Californian collection and I’m already a fan. Aromatically, this is wonderful, the Cabernet Franc really elegant, fresh, lifted and yet perfectly ripe, accentuating the more cedary notes with crushed blueberry and cranberry, a hint of wild thyme, rosemary and a little violet. Kalamata tapenade. Plush, yet lively and titillating on the tongue, there’s impressive depth, layering and mid-palate impact here, beautiful freshness and, in short, grace and charm. Effortless, sleek, stylist and utterly delightful, this sumptuous wine is perhaps my favourite of the entire collection. 97+. RRP: $450.00 (AUD).

Penfolds II Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 (100% Cabernet Sauvignon; sourced 64% Bordeaux from Dourthe, 32% Coonawarra from Penfolds; aged for 12 months (for the Bordeaux) and 18 months (for the Coonawarra) in a combination of French oak barriques and hogsheads; pH 3.63; 14.5% alcohol). The French component of this wine was made at two Dourthe-owned wineries with the Australian components coming from Penfolds’ Nuriootpa Winery. The final blend of the wine was put together in Australia. The concept of this wine takes a certain time to get used to. But either I’m more used to it now as a concept, or this is simply a better wine than the previous release, for I like this much more than last year’s MV edition (a 2020-2021 combination). The aromatics are very authentically Cabernet Sauvignon, with lifted, soaring cassis, bramble and walnut shell, just a little hint of the forest floor and a touch of menthol that returns on the finish. Fine-grained grippy tannins grab the fruit, announcing their presence immediately, sculpting and shaping the lean, quite sleek yet taut and tense frame and driving the wine over the palate. As that implies, this is quite muscular and brawny at this stage – but that is all part of its Cabernet authenticity. I like that a lot; and I like this a lot. One could easily imagine this to come fully from Bordeaux, though the Coonawarra component surely brings that additional depth and concentration. 96. RRP: £260.

Whites

Bin 51 Eden Valley Riesling 2024 (100% Riesling; sourced from high altitude vineyards in the Eden Valley; 13% alcohol). An enticing greenish tinge to this translucent and limpid wine. Very ‘Penfolds’ in style, which means this is not at all a clichéd Riesling whose aromatics hail from the filling station forecourt. Fine and refined, fragrant and fresh, crisp and intense, with almost a slight chalkiness to its texture. Jasmin and green tea, white currant, citron pressé and lime sorbet, a flinty/stony minerality. On the palate this is rich and dense over quite a tight frame with lots of citrus-inflected energy and dynamism in the mid-palate. Sapid on the well-focussed finish. Impressive. 92. RRP: £30.

Bin 311 2023 Chardonnay (100% Chardonnay; the fruit sourced from South Eastern Australia; pH 3.17; barrel fermented; 13% alcohol). Fresh and waxy, with a nice, tight spine. Baby Yattarna. Spicy too. Fresh and lifted. Aerial. Impressive. Tense, more so than the 2021 or 2022 as I recall them. Mineral. Flinty. Grapefruit, passionflower, a touch of peach skin – with some of its texture. Fennel. A little thyme. Impressive. Lithe and sapid on the finish. 92. RRP: £32.

Reserve Bin A Chardonnay 2023 (Adelaide Hills; 100% Chardonnay; entirely barrel-fermented and aged for 7 months in French oak barrels, 60% of which were new; pH 3.07; 12.5% alcohol; not presented at the French collection launch, but tasted from a sample sent to me in Paris). Not the easiest vintage to negotiate, with unusually high and sustained rainfall in the spring and early summer along with hail reducing the size of the crop before the weather changed. Gloriously bright, crisp and fresh aromatically, with quinine, white grapefruit, citron pressé, quince and white pear vying for attention alongside the subtler flinty and crushed rock mineral notes and that signature candlewax element. Brilliantly engaging on the attack with, once again, great freshness accentuated by the almost oily viscosity and the mirror-pool clarity. The zesty citrus elements here play a role equivalent to that of the tannins in a limestone plateau Saint Emilion, gripping and sculpting the fruit to for the delicate and beautifully sustained finish. Very much a highlight, like Yattarna, of the Penfolds Collection releases in 2024. 96. RRP: £70.

The wines which comprise Penfolds’ six-strong Luxury & Icon range – Grange, Yattarna Bin 144 Chardonnay, Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon, Bin 789 RWT Shiraz, Bin 169 Cabernet Sauvignon and St Henri Shiraz – will be released in Europe, the Middle East and Africa exclusively through La Place de Bordeaux in September. See here for tasting notes.

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