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Wine of the World

DAVID SLY: Penfolds' newest Wine of the World, following very much in the footsteps of the Quantum Bin 98 and Bin 149 Californian/South Australian Cabernet-Shiraz wines released in 2021. Built as a monument and very much a loud statement, this seems to be manufactured by design rather than allowing fruit personality or terroir to enter the conversation. Fusing Bordeaux Cabernet Sauvignon with South Australian Shiraz offers a delicious prospect, but there’s none of the warmth or affection in this wine that is seen in other great Australian versions of this blend. The magic of combining these two varieties should be evident in the delicious mid-palate satisfaction it brings, but here’s it’s all harsh edges and bossy dark fruit that needs a long time in the cellar to settle. GEORGINA HINDLE: 94 points (Tasted in London on 28 June 2022) This project sees Penfolds partner with Dourthe, which manages more than 500ha across Bordeaux. Dourthe provided the Cabernet (59%) and Merlot (12%) from its Château Belgrave and La Garde properties, vinifying them in France together with Shiraz from Penfolds’ Barossa Valley vineyards. A trial that has been in the works since 2013 saw the final blend determined via Zoom (due to Covid-19 restrictions), with the vinified juice sent from France to Australia to be aged and bottled. It saw 18 months in French (70% new) and American (30% new) barriques and hogsheads. The rich, bold, heady nose is hard to place, offering a mixture of menthol and herbal blackcurrant fruit tinged with sweet black-pepper spiced red cherries and strawberries. There's a soft grip of fine-grained tannins with bold, concentrated flavours expanding through a full, textured mid palate, with enough freshness and concentration to sustain attention through the finish. Despite only 29% Shiraz in the blend, the grape's pepper and spice, ripeness and alcohol heat (along with the sweet oak) dominates the more nuanced minty-blackcurrant Cabernet and Merlot. An interesting wine that will no doubt delight' fans of Penfolds' increasingly pioneering projects. Chief winemaker Peter Gago indicated it won't necessarily be made every year and won't always comprise grapes from the same properties (Dourthe also has Château Le Boscq in St-Estèphe from which to source). Indeed, Gago confirmed that the 2020 won’t even be a blend of Cabernet and Shiraz… Released at A$500/bottle.

Cabernet Sauvignon

Merlot

Syrah / Shiraz

Penfolds, Penfolds II, Wine of the World, 2019

Dourthe x Penfolds II.jpg

Penfolds' newest Wine of the World, following very much in the footsteps of the Quantum Bin 98 and Bin 600 Californian/South Aus

Penfolds, Penfolds II, Wine of the World 2019

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