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TN Some penfolds bin 389, bin407 and a teaser.

As mentioned in previous post on Friday before our national holiday our wine group had a look at some Aussie reds.

General comments first then brief on individuals.

4 bin 389's, 4 bin 407's and to see if anyone was awake a St Henri. All wines tasted blind, but the wine list was known to all. Randomly selected for tasting. Tasted over about 3 hours with food. Starter of breads with dips, cheeses, pate. Main: an indian spicy chicken and rice dish with green salad, green beans, and carrots. (missed the title) The wines: All big reds in the Aussie style. I especially noticed the sameness of the wines. Since these are made to a template/formula I should have expected this. Apart from wine #2 and #7 where my notes don' tmention it, was the eucalypt/minty note. Company did not seem so over whelmed by this but I found it a real distraction. Big plum, black fruits, herbs, lashings of oak and solid tannins in most wines.
  1. '94 Bin 407 Cabernet C-
  2. '98 St Henri Shiraz Came across as younger than 98, very woody. One persons WOTN, and only one to pick as St Henri. C-
  3. '98 Bin 407 Warm, smooth wine clearly from a warmer year B
  4. '2000 Bin 407 Young warm smooth, very nice Most peoples 2nd WOTN B+
  5. '99 Bin 389 Cab/Shiraz C
  6. '97 Bin 389 More mellow than most/ cool year? C
  7. '96 Bin 389. Distinctly creamy on the nose and palate, added palate weight and smooth silky texture. Great balance, lacks the minty aspect. Easy stand out wine. WOTN for me and half the others, solid A
  8. '98 Bin 389. Young, hot, some rough edges. C
  9. '96 Bin 407 Youngish sweet fruit, hot, lacks structure. These last two wines I think suffered from palate overload from the plummelling beforehand. Always going be tough following wotn. C-

Also consummed during unveiling and discussion after. '95?/96? Leasingham Bin 61 Noticeable bottle development, Earthy '98 Villa Maria '98 Reserve Hawkes Bay Merlot. Young, sweet, hot. Infanticide '98 Church Road Reserve Cab Sav. Drinking well, as always for the 98.

Good company, good food, nice wines, excellent night.

greybeard

Reply to
greybeard
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389 is probably my favorite Australian wine. I'm very fond of the '96, but thought the '98 almost as good. Thanks for notes.
Reply to
DaleW

At a recent tasting, I also found the Penfolds offerings to be uniformly overwhelmed by a minty character with additional notes of volatile acidity.

Wow! When I tasted this in '03, this is what I found:

Inky, dark purple in color; slightly medicinal notes in the nose, alongside mint and a slightly hot note; thick and rich on the palate, loaded with fruit, slightly tannic, with peppery spice and acidity in the finish.

I don't recall it being in the least bit woody. Is it possible that your bottle was slightly corked?

Mark Lipton

Reply to
Mark Lipton

Hi Mark, Hmm hadn't considered that. Provenance on that bottle maybe a little risky (I know which of the wine groups cellar it came from and it is a rather warm situation which may have advanced aging) If the fruit had been scoured, then the oak my have given a youthful impression. I rated it 7th in terms of wotn, and others were in that area, but as I say one person gobbled it up. Must say I didn't pick it as the St Henri, I had it as a poor 407 example. My excuse was advancing years. Should have said corked wine! Darn!

cheers greybeard

Reply to
greybeard

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