Penfolds Bin 311 Chardonnay 2020
- 93
- $50
- Drink by: 2021 - 2027
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The maker makes no bones of the fact that the sourcing of grapes for Bin 311 is vintage dependent, capitalising on regions that shine in any particular year. In 2020, it was Tasmania, the Adelaide Hills and Henty, cool wine regions all. The logistics in fruit-sourcing sound horrendous. The result is well worth the trouble.
A picture of cool climate linearity, a fine-edged, almost brittle beauty, which belies a solid base of mouth-filling flavours. White peach, grapefruit pith, citrus and pistachio nougat aromas indicate a budding complexity. Some serious intensity on the palate: lemon curd and citrus skin, white peach and a sea salt tang join in with a delicate touch of French oak-inspired oatmeal/oatcake flavours to create a warm, textural mouthfeel.
Highish acidity – 8.4 grams/litre for those at home – creates a firm, pleasing base for the wine and its future.
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.
