TN: '97 Bin 28

Penfolds suggest that this one is drinking well "now 'til 2010". I have three left, and I shall certainly keep one that long just to see. I had the first in 2002 (the night Canada won the Olympic hockey gold!) and a couple more last year, the latter showing a significant improvement. I wonder if your "hotness" may be a particularly persistent manifestation of the classic Shiraz pepper. My son insisted on decanting the last bottle we had, and that seemed to smooth the edge a bit. Sadly I missed out on the highly praised 1998 vintage, but I have some '99s. Penfolds website suggests that the 2001 has been released, but I can't find any in UK yet. I have yet to taste a bad 2001 South Oz anything, so that should be a classic. Do you have any experience of Penfolds St. Henri?

Ian

Ian,

by "hotness" I was referring to apparent alcohol . This was listed at 14%, and I'm aware there are Shirazes out there with 15+%. But I don't always find perception to be in line with technical %. I've had 15% wines that didn't seem hot, and 13.5% that did. Just my impressions.

Do you have any

Just the '96, which was excellent.

best, Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

I've had a few years' of the St. Henri, most recently the '98. Great wine, if a bit on the pricey side (but a bargain when compared to Grange).

Mark Lipton

I am not convinced that one can detect how much alcohol there is in a wine. I have had the same experiences you describe. Alcohol has no smell and I can only tell that I have had a 16 degree mourvedre from the aftereffects...

Mike

Mike Tommasi, Six Fours, France email link

Now that Dale has expanded upon his description I think I can empathise. I have recently had the pleasure of a couple of bottles of Sam Trimboli's 15% Shiraz, and the "hit" of the alcohol manifests itself in my experience as a warm nasal rising that permeates the tear ducts too, a milder example perhaps of the shock of Stolichnaya at -18c. I don't generally select wines on the basis of alcohol content, but a lot of my favourites, both red and white, are >13.5% and often Australian. I have also had some interesting Grenache/Garnacha from the Rhone and Spain with similar a alcohol content which have been delicious. Alcohol is no substitute for fruit, but it's certainly a part of the enjoyment IMO.

Ian

I recently tasted the 2001 Bin 28, having had the '99 the day before. I must say that I was a bit disappointed. Very sweet, but somehow lacking the overall richness of the '99 to back the fruit. The whole thing tasted more like a well blended "brand wine" conceived to please a certain taste. Subjectively, the 2001 was quite similar to Penfold's "Thomas Hyland" Shiraz (which, at only about $3 less!) tastes like a half bottle of Kalimna Bin 28 from a good year diluted with some generic red).

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