Penfolds Bin 128 Shiraz, Coonawarra, South Australia, 2020

Grape: 100% Shiraz, 12 months' ageing in French oak (20% new)

Producer Tasting Note:

COLOUR: Black cherry core with ruby highlights.

NOSE: Coonawarra terra rossa motif... cocoa powder dust, blackboard chalk, white peppercorns. Cool fruits: punnets of mulberries and blueberries. From the butcher, fresh lamb with rosemary, cold black pudding with pepper and allspice. Sweet notes of black forest clafoutis, cherry ripe chocolate. Enticing.

PALATE: Structurally impressive. Mouthcoating chalky tannins balanced by cranberry succulence and barely ripe mulberries. Italian herb garden: sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano. Bruschetta with sun-warm freshly picked tomatoes and basil drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Succulent moreish acidity and tension. A mouth-watering wine, silky the finish. Deserves food.

With each vintage release the cool-climate Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz provides an interesting counterpoint to the more opulent and richly concentrated warm climate Bin 28 Shiraz. Bin 128 comprises fruit sourced from the unique terra rossa soils of Coonawarra, a region that exemplifies the perfume, transparency and seductive nature of cool-climate red table wines.  In order to further enhance the regional qualities of Bin 128, the wine is matured in a mixture of new and seasoned French oak hogsheads.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"A shiraz that always offers a comparative opportunity within the Penfolds portfolio, this time solely derived from the cooler climate Coonawarra region in South Australia’s south-eastern corner. The result is a more crimson-coloured fruit and berry profile, rather than blacker fruits. Importantly, this comes hand in hand with a good smatter of white pepper that confirms its cool climate credentials. Deftly crafted, this is a compact and neatly concentrated wine without excessive extraction, its bouquet suggesting old-fashioned butcher shops, lamb and sawdust, yet never denying its core vibrant shiraz fruit, tickled with garden herbs and finishing with mouth-coating, dusty talc-like tannins. A wine that desires a rich lamb dish."

94/100 points, Tony Love, WINE PILOT, July 2022

"This fruit for the 2020 Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz is from Coonawarra as usual, matured for 12 months in French hogsheads (20% new). The nose is aromatically layered with blood plum, raspberry, red licorice and blueberries and loaded with exotic spice and pink peppercorns. This is a gorgeous wine—totally supple and blue fruited, but all in balance with savory tannin. Elegance 101. For now, it is still frisky and energetic—give it a year to let it settle down."  Drink 2023-2032

92/100 points, Erin Larkin, WINE ADVOCATE, July 2022

Food Match: Perfect with game or beef.