Penfolds Bin 138 Barossa Valley Shiraz Grenache Mataro 2019

From a hot Barossa vintage comes a mighty fine Bin 138. Originally inspired by the wines of the Southern Rhone, it lives up to that expectation with a full-bodied, rich and flavoursome beat. The sweet confection qualities of the past, often an annoying interruption, to be frank, are but a memory.

Warm, summer earth, black plums, chocolate-covered cherries, dusty oak. Shiraz takes the lead as usual – 70% – and it’s sourced from the Kalimna vineyard (older vines are preferred for Bin 138) which lends itself to dense, concentrated earthy fruit. The winemaker suggests this wine is “Barossa translated differently.” Not sure what he means. This is how I like the Barossa, an expression of ripeness and boldness, but delivered within a taut frame of tannins that finishes clean. Maybe not as long as previous releases, but it hits the spot.

Jeni Port

Wine critic at Winepilot

Jeni Port is one of Australia’s top wine communicators. Based in Melbourne, Jeni created the first wine column in the (then) Sun News-Pictorial before moving over to The Age and becoming that paper’s longest-serving wine writer. Over the years she has written for most Australian wine magazines and these days calls WinePilot home. She is also a Tasting Panel member on the Halliday Wine Companion. She was named Wine Communicator of the Year and Legend of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in 2014 and in 2018 Legend of the Vine. She is a founding board member of Australian Women In Wine and is the co-deputy chair of Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards and China’s Wine List of the Year Awards.

Wine writer and critic