Penfolds Masterclass with the Grange ‘18
I’m a much greater fan of masterclasses than walk-around tasting or maybe even than winery tasting. These are usually well-organised, unforgettable events held by true experts. This Penfolds masterclass was organised in majestic settings in the legendary Hotel Post in Lech. The wisdom was spread by a true Australian native, Tony Amphlett, Penfold Brand ambassador. Guarantee for success and everlasting learning expereince.
11 wines (9 reds of course) with a true firework: Grange Bin 95 2018. But let me come back to it later.
All in all, I would put these wines in 3 main clusters:
Old-World-like, spice-driven and precise with eclipsing fruit ripeness and only lingering oak notes. (e.g. Bin 407 Cabernet)
The harsh opposite of the first: definitive New-World vibe with Mediterranean fruit ripeness, melting tannin and minimal spice, no particular sense of place. (e.g. Bin 138 Shiraz)
Masterful blends that encapsulate the “Penfolds” style, whatever it may be. (e.g. Grange)
I’ve learned that Penfolds tend to use American oak for its “warmer characters” like those primarily come from Barossa, and they use French oak for there more “delicate” (if you can even use this term for these wines) and structured, spice-driven bottling. I’ve found this approach very compelling and it makes a lot of sense to offer these two primary taste experiences for the consumers.
Penfolds is known for its multi-regional blending, brought to life by Max Schubert, Penfold’s late legend. It allows the producer to have a great consistency between vintages and of course a great toolbox to croute a perfectly balanced and enjoyable wine in the cellar. Similar to a Champagne non-vintage approach. The “famous” Penfolds style in Mr. Amphlett’s words:
“a lot of mid-palate fruity weight with refreshing acidity in the finish”. I can certainly relate to that to a certain extent.
I want to feature only 5 of the wines that truly caught my attention and caught me in a more meaningful way.
#1 Riesling Bin 51 2021
What a COOL Riesling. The nose was super Granny Smith dominated with wet shite stones playing the second fiddle.
Upon sipping, the wine had a continuing cool climate character, steeliness, zesty tones and inorganic buzz, light weight in the slightly salty finish, very expressive in the middle with bright acidity. It was a very uplifting first wines that showed the surprising richness of the Penfolds portfolio. The moderator said that in 5-6 years, these wines always tend to get an expressive petrol note.
#2 Chardonnay Bin 311 2019
As Tony said, Chardonnay has been getting more and more attention in the portfolio, especially as the brand try to relocate some of his planting due to bush fires and of course extreme temperatures. Tasmania is getting a hotter topic every year as temperatures on the island show a huge drop compared to the mainland. (No wonder that the best Australian sparkling wines come from Tasmania.)
This bottling comes from 3 different regions, has seen some batonnage and sulphur only before bottling. The perfume was full of fresh citrus fruits with present oak spice. The lemon-lime, red apple and burnt grapefruit were my first impression in the mouth with noticeable nutmeg curtains. Linear start and then wide finish and then coming back pretty lively for the applause.
#3 Bin 407 Cabernet 2019
What a tight, animating Cabernet! The nose was full of herbaceous notes (sage, spearmint and Co). The nose was almost hell-fruited with red currant and bright red cherry. The palate has a lot of richness built around a tight texture and only slightly present oak skeleton. Elegant body with a lingering, animating “greenness”, earthiness, meaty memories and spice.
The wine was sourced from 5 different regions, and the regions will change depending on the “hotness” of the year. For example, they also source fruit from Barossa and McLaren in cooler years. It only saw 1/3 used oak (French and American).
#4 St. Henri Shiraz 2018
The perfect example for untouched Shiraz perfectly supported in the winemakers’ hands. Only old, used oak (Slavonian). The palace showed wonderful grace. elegance and harmony, silky tannin with dreamy weight and great carrying acidity. The finale was extremely long and continuously evolving. For me, this wine was the best of the session. A celebratory Shiraz that I would expect in a restaurant for around 250 Euros.
As Peter Gago, chief winemaker at Penfolds, said:
“A wine that can proudly grace any dinner table, in any establishment, anywhere.”
#5 Grange Bin 95 2018
Well, what I still say about a wine that has received 100 points from 7 (!!!) respected wine wine panels. This wine has never gained less than 98 points from major publications in the last 5 years. This brand is refined, I bet you’ll never find a more perfect structure in a wine. Everything is fine tuned by a skilful team of “equalisers”, namely the Penfold winemaking team, like a Mozart Symphony.
Tony said that this is a Grange vintage that people are going to talk about in 50 years from now. I guess they will as I could find any minuscule thing about the wine that wasn’t perfect.
On the other hand, I must say that I wasn’t blown away or shaken to the core. For me, the wine lacking a fundamental quality: a true character of a well-defined terroir with its unmistakable signature. But maybe that is only me. A European sommelier who seeks the originality in every sip to link it to a specific vineyard character with all its “virtues and faults”. Even though this wine is truly immaculate, it is more of a trademark for me rather than a DNA.
By the way, Penfolds was generous enough to present us with an excellent (and stunning) book on the brand’s history, vintages and labels. You can even find your guide as a Penfolds collector how long your wines should be kept. So if you still have som 1955 Grange in your cellar lying around waiting for the big moment, the booklet stays drink now. What a cheerful optimism.