Savour this lip smacking amazing, jammy Australian wine from Coonawarra!

Read this Wine Tasting note: Penfolds Bin 128 to learn more about this lovely wine!

Background

• Bottle: Penfold’s Bin 128 – Coonawarra Shiraz
• Country: Australia
• Description on bottle:   A wine with finesse, accessibility in youth and aging potential.            
• ABV:  14.5%
• Producer:   Penfolds

Country Information

The Coonawarra wine region is a wine region centred on the town of Coonawarra in South Australia. It is known for the Cabernet Sauvignon wines produced on its ” terra rossa ” soil.

In the early days Shiraz was the most widely planted grape, and it produces some star wines such as Wynns Coonawarra Estate Michael Shiraz (formerly Michael Hermitage). The limestone geology also suits Chardonnay, Riesling, and Sauvignon blanc.

Wineries:  Wineries Archive – Coonawarra Vignerons

Winemaking Approach

From the Penfold’s website:

“Our single vineyard and single block wines are celebrated for their unique terroir and sense of place. These include Magill Estate Shiraz, Kalimna Block 42 Cabernet Sauvignon, Cellar Reserve Kalimna Block 25 Mataro, and Bin 170 Kalimna Shiraz.

Similarly, our wines sourced from a single region or sub-region represent the best of what that region or sub-region can offer. These wines are regarded for their optimised regional character and microclimate variants such as soil, drainage and aspect. Examples include RWT Barossa Valley Shiraz, Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz, Reserve Bin A Adelaide Hills Chardonnay, Bin 150 Marananga Shiraz and Bin 23 Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir.”

From Penfold’s website: https://www.penfolds.com/en-us/about-penfolds/winemaking/winemaking-philosophy.html

Summary 

Based on previous tastings of shiraz from Australia, I was anticipating jamminess and some bold fruit flavour.  A rich deep purple wine with lots of kick!  

Wine Tasting Note

We settled in for a lovely evening for Valentine’s Day during COVID. Osso Buco with veggies and mashed potatoes were on the menu.  Thank you Charelli’s for another beautiful dinner! Anticipating some lovely complementary tastes with the shiraz, we opened this bottle a few minutes early to give it some time to open up.

• Nose:  Intensity – Pronounced; Primary Aroma: Red cherry, jamminess, strawberry; Tertiary Aroma: tobacco
• Colour:  Deep Red, Purple in colour
• Flavour: Full bodied dry shiraz with high acidity.  Pronounced red fruit including plum.
• Tannins:  High
• Acidity:  High
• ABV:  High – 14.5%
• Quality: Outstanding

A plummy jammy great wine!  Excellent smooth taste, clean pronounced finish.

In addition to this Wine Tasting note: Penfolds Bin 128, check out our posts on wine and food and travel!