I've been pretty anti Penfolds lately...with their huge price hikes in the last few years, they've gone from being pretty good value in their bin series to really poor value in their bin series. I can only assume they've been so popular in China that they have been able to get away with their ridiculous price hikes...more power to them if they can keep it up...
I've been rather unimpressed by most of the bin series lately at their price points...with maybe the exception being the 2010 Bin 389 which, while overpriced, was still a pretty good wine.
All that aside, I recently had two older Penfolds that were definitely shining...
Penfolds St. Henri 1993. St. Henri has always been a favorite of mine...No new oak...High quality fruit...It used to be right there with the Grange but less understood and a bit more quirky....To be honest, I'm a bit surprised they still make this and seeing how recent ones have been, it is almost a shame what they've done with it..but that said, THIS St Henri was absolutely fantastic. Because it was a lesser vintage, I think the expectations were pretty low but once I got a sniff I knew this would be good. Strawberries, mocha, pepper and spice...on the palate this still had some bright red fruit, but layers of mocha and herbs..some meaty characters coming through. One of the guys I was with commented this is what the Grange he opened for his birthday should have been. Fully resolved tannins, good acidity, great complexity, fantastic mouthfeel. I'm a bit of a fan of trying to get off vintages..I think they offer better value and the wines often really surprise people. Maybe the structure isn't quite as good as it would be in a great year but sometimes that ends up being a really good thing. This is a great example of that. Fantastic wine, punching way above its weight but I'd probably drink up now if I had any left.
Penfolds Bin 389 1998. A great year in South Australia so the wines all had great fruit..a lot were made with really good structure and were expected to hold up. Bin 389s were always really great values...VERY VERY cellarable and not too long ago you were buying them in the 20s. With fewer labels to split fruit with, the 389 still got some really high quality fruit, used barrels from the previous year's Grange and was made in a similar fashion. This is a fantastic example of that. Dark fruits, mocha, vanilla and herbs on the nose. Great complexity on the palate. Very similar to the St. Henri but most definitely younger. Penfolds has a very "clean" profile to me..they're generally well made, no flaws and this is showing that very well. To me the St. Henri was showing better (although only slightly) but the St. Henri was probably on its last few years...This 389 is going to outlast it and will easily go another 10+ years. If I knew the 2010 bin 389 would end up like this, 60ish dollars wouldn't seem too bad and coming from someone that has pretty much bashed Penfolds the last 4 years, that is saying a lot about how good this wine was.
