Critics Ratings

Penfolds RWT Barossa Valley Shiraz 1998
‘Medium-deep crimson. Redcurrant, plum, blackberry and boysenberry aromas with espresso and toast notes. Concentrated redcurrant, plum and blackberry fruits, fine and plentiful ripe tannins, roasted walnut, chestnut complexity and integrated linear acidity. Well-balanced wine with demi-glace aged notes.’ - James Halliday, 5/5, Rewards of Patience tasting panel 2021 for Penfolds Wines

‘Seamless luxury from stem to stern, this ‘baby Grange' is impressive juice. Blackberry, menthol and smoke play unusually elegantly on the nose, the texture is velvet on the tongue with dark berry, coffee, licorice and muted black pepper flavors. The superb, very long finish combines all the elements with wonderful finesse and a rare grace. Not inexpensive, but fairly priced; you could pay twice as much for half the wine, almost any day in any fine wine store in the country.’ - Wine Enthusiast, 95/100 (Mar 2001)

Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon 1998
‘Still very densely coloured with only the slightest brown hint on the very edge of the rim. Drenched in sweet coconut style oak on the nose. The fruit only comes through on the palate, and then only discreetly. In fact there is more leather and milk chocolate than fruit and it finishes with a wood varnish sort of persistence.’ - Richard Hemming MW, JancisRobinson.com, 17/20 (Mar 2016)

‘The rich blackberry, vanilla and toast nose sets you up for a lush, supple wine and this one does not disappoint. Full and dense, it offers rich black-cherry and cassis flavors on the palate, and a huge finish with fine-grained tannins. Very well poised for its size, it's approachable now. Nevertheless, it will be much more nuanced and show more finesse in 5–8 years. Keep for a decade or two, maybe more.’ - Wine Enthusiast, 93/100 (Mar 2001)

Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz 1998
‘Blackberry fruit with loads of tannin still on the palate. Potent and vocal, with almost overwhelming intensity. Certainly still ageable – for decades, perhaps. The most muscular of the vintages on display. 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Shiraz.’ - Richard Hemming MW, JancisRobinson.com, 17.5+/20 (Jun 2017)

‘Medium-deep crimson. Developed mulberry, dark berry, dark chocolate, espresso and bay leaf aromas. Well-developed with mulberry, choco-berry, inky and spicy sous bois flavours, attractive mid-palate richness, fine grainy/firm but persistent tannins and underlying roasted chestnut and mocha oak complexity. Finishes chalky firm. A famous Penfolds vintage.’ - James Halliday, 4/5, Rewards of Patience tasting panel 2021 for Penfolds Wines

Penfolds St Henri Shiraz 1998
‘Firm in texture, with youthful fruit and a slight touch of earth. Focused and elegant. Persists beautifully on the long, elegant finish.’ - Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator, 92/100 (Oct 2008)

‘Put big, rich fruit in a tightly wound package without new oak influence and you have a very ageworthy wine that might not be ready until 2008, and should last through 2020. Blackberries, black pepper, earth, spice and leather provide plenty of complexity without any oak embellishments.’ - Wine Enthusiast, 90/100 (Sept 2003)

Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 2003
‘Ripe and rich, with a supple core of currant and dried blueberry flavor that lingers effectively against refined tannins. A hint of gaminess weaves around the edges, but the finish and the style has immense appeal.’ - Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator, 90/100 (Aug 2006)

Provenance

Private Client