Penfolds Bin 51 Eden Valley Riesling 2025 ($45)
A classic Bin 51. It might be early days but this wine suggests that the Eden Valley has enjoyed another impressive vintage with 2025. The colour is near water transparent, just the palest hint of lemon, with the most alluring aromas of limes and lemon blossom notes, hints of green tea, riverstones and florals with a touch of spice. A hint of talc lurks in the background, along with a steely backing. This is energetic, crisp, clean, fresh and slightly nervy. Obviously young, there is medium to good length. The best is yet to come. Pure pristine Riesling, there is fine, bright acidity and immaculate balance. The wine has fifteen years ahead of it and the score can be expected to rise during that period. 94.

Penfolds Bin 311 Chardonnay 2024 ($55)
The fruit for this fine release of Bin 311 is sourced from vineyards in the Adelaide Hills, Tasmania and Tumbarumba. 2024 was considered a good vintage in all three regions, especially Tumbarumba. Maturation was for a year and a half in French oak barriques, 18% of them new. Straw yellow in colour, a slightly leaner style than some, but clean, fresh, bright and inevitably youthful. Notes of lemon, there is even a hint of pineapple, with spices and a very gentle touch of oak. Appealing fragrances lead to an enticing palate with a move to stonefruits and florals, and a flick of ginger. A few years will see it build to advantage. A wine of medium length with good lemony acidity running the journey. Enjoy over the next three to six years. 92.

Penfolds Reserve Bin A Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2024 ($125)
Bin A is sourced from the Adelaide Hills. It enjoys full barrel fermentation, part of which is with natural yeasts, as well as regular bâtonnage and 100% malolactic. Maturation was for eight months in French oak barriques, half of them new and 20% just a year old. This vintage requires some time in the glass for Bin A’s free-spirited typicity to emerge. The wine is a straw lemon hue and more elegant than is usual. It is balanced and yet intense at all times. This is a quality Chardonnay, with hints of lemons and grapefruit, peaches and nutty, cashewy oak. There is a hint of gunsmoke and minerality and, as it opens up with time in the glass, we see that richer, more exotic nature of Bin A. A brightness is always evident, as is the very fine acidity, all leading to a lingering finish. Worth giving it three or four years in the cellar and then enjoying over the next decade. 95.

Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay 2023 ($220)
The fruit for this very fine Yattarna, a standout for the vintage, comes from Tumbarumba, Adelaide Hills and Tasmania. The wine spent eight months in French oak barriques, 60% of which were new, the remaining 40% just one year in age. The colour offers hints of straw and there is perhaps more oak evident at this early stage than we sometimes see with Yattarna, but it is deftly handled and integration is proceeding apace. There is a spiciness already apparent, and notes of stonefruits, citrus and peaches, along with fresh oystershells and limes. The wine has that exemplary Yattarna refinement. On the palate, those alluring lemon and peach notes are even more to the fore, while the oak fades to a minor supporting role. The wine has focus, serious length and is already exhibiting the first hints of the complexity which will surely continue to emerge. A ten year proposition, there is plenty of room for this wine to improve even further. This might not be a great Yattarna, but it is an extremely good one. 97.

Penfolds Bin 23 Pinot Noir 2024 ($55)
The fruit here is sourced from Tasmania and maturation is in French oak barriques, 30% of which were new, with a dribble – 1.8% – spending time in Italian cocciopesto amphorae. A crimson/purple hue, there is an initial hint of stemminess, suggesting that the winemakers have incorporated a portion of whole bunches. The nose offers raspberries, truffles, freshly unearthed beetroots, dried herbs, plums, a touch of earth, smoked meats and a pleasing savouriness. A Pinot of weight and density, of length and intensity. This is most impressive with extra weight and complexity, a welcome transformation from the early, albeit very pleasant, incarnations. The wine finishes with abundant tannins and surely has everything in place for the next six to ten years. One of the best Bin 23s to date. 93.

Penfolds Bin 21 Grenache 2024 ($60)
Top notch Grenache from old vines is very much flavour of the month. Maturation is in French oak (17% new and 69% seasoned) and American hogsheads (14% seasoned). The colour is a deep purple, considerably deeper than we see with many top Grenache releases of late. The nose exhibits notes of violets and plums, cranberries and mulberries. This is a ripe and full-flavoured style of Grenache, quite powerful, with milk chocolate emerging on the palate. It offers that varietally typical mix of silty and silky tannins, with a fine line of acidity, through to gentle grip and a lingering finish. Time in the glass saw it become more expressive, with notes of ripe cherries, florals and orange rind. No one will complain if you can give it two to three years in your cellar and then drink it for the next seven to ten. 92.

Penfolds Bin 138 Barossa Valley Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2023 ($60)
This vintage, the blend is 56% Grenache, 38% Shiraz and 6% Mataro. Maturation was for a year in a mix of seasoned French and American oak hogsheads, with the different varieties blended just before bottling. A riveting purple, a wine if class which screams Barossa. Notes of chocolate, mocha, violets, coffee beans, licorice, cassis, and more chocolate. Anyone who has ever enjoyed a Cherry Ripe, and that would be almost every schoolkid in the country, will be immediately transported back to the days when that luscious choc/cherry flavour seemed the most decadent thing on earth. The wine continues with power, direction and focus, excellent balance and a persistent finish. There is juicy acidity here. A wine which will undoubtedly continue to build, develop and improve over the next ten to fifteen years. Even a brief twenty to thirty minutes in the glass saw it simply exploding with flavour and chocolatey goodness. 94.

Penfolds Bin 28 Shiraz 2023 ($50)
Today, the fruit is sourced from the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Padthaway, rather than just the Kalimna vineyard which gave the wine its name. Maturation is for a year in American oak, 15% new. The colour in the glass was a shimmering, yet opaque maroon. A little more dense than some, yet it appears almost demure, indeed reticent, in comparison. Black fruits rule, with leather, cloves, black olives, dark chocolate, blackberries, licorice and graphite. In those brief moments when the black fruits loosen their grip, we see notes of blueberries and even blood sausage scrapings sneak through. Well-handled oak, which will be near invisible in a few short years, and the wine has serious concentration. Demure and reticent to open, certainly, but it did not take all that long for it to emerge from its shell. A juicy fruit style with very dark chocolate notes on the palate and sour cherries on the finish, there is good balance here. Fine, firm tannins finish the wine, which is of medium length. Ten years will be a doddle for it. 92.

Penfolds Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz 2023 ($75)
A cooler climate Coonawarra Shiraz, maturation was for a year in French oak hogsheads, 26% new and 39% one-year-old. An opaque purple hue, there are vestiges of oak still in evidence, but it is early days and full integration should take place within a year or two. There are notes of kirsch, aniseed, mint, herbs, cloves, chocolate, bay leaves, a touch of delicatessen meats, woodsmoke, plums and blackberries. Ripe flavours abound throughout this wine, with juicy acidity, balance, focus and medium length. A fine Bin 128 which will drink well for the next ten to fifteen years. 93.

Penfolds Bin 150 Marananga Shiraz 2023 ($100)
A very successful, sub-regional release from the heart of the Barossa, maturation is for 17 months, in a mix of French and American hogsheads, 29% one-year-old and 25% older French, and 20% one-year-old and 26% two-year-old American. Very successful for the vintage. A dark, blood red hue, this is a wine of power and concentration. There is oak evident, but deftly handled. Expect integration to proceed until it is barely more than a whisper. The nose is redolent of coffee beans, plums, blackberries, mocha, soy, chocolate, spices, beefstock, cloves, dried herbs, licorice and a touch of mushrooms. The texture has that gorgeous Barossa creaminess to it. There is balance, focus and excellent length here, with fine satiny tannins. This will easily provide pleasure for the next fifteen years. Really good. 94.

Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 ($130)

Bin 407 is never my favourite red from the annual release – there is always better value, and more excitement, to be had elsewhere – but this is one of the better examples from recent vintages. The fruit is widely sourced, this time from Padthaway, Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, the Barossa Valley and Wrattonbully. An opaque black colour, the nose is all tar, graphite, axle grease, bay leaves, dark chocolate, soy, licorice, spices and blackberries, with hints of dried herbs intruding. Even a touch of raspberries. An intense style, it is perhaps a little straightforward, but a very good 407. Seamless, with fresh acidity and medium length, there is still noticeable vanillin oak here. A wine which is not giving us complexity at this stage, nor the suggestion it will emerge in the future, but it is what it is – full of flavour and a rather enjoyable wine. Enjoy over the next ten to twelve years. It may even surprise those prepared to cellar it for longer. 92.

Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2023 ($120)
Always a star of the Collection, year after year. The blend, as it almost always is, falls marginally in favour of Cabernet – 51% Cab to 49% Shiraz this time. The fruit hails from McLaren Vale, Padthaway and the Barossa Valley. Maturation is in American oak hogsheads for one year, one third of which are new. A triumph for the vintage. Opaque purple, this is lifted, generous and really rather exciting. Glorious aromatics, there are notes of plums, aniseed, tobacco leaves, dark chocolate, espresso, blackberries, coffee beans, with a touch of blueberries peeking through. Black pudding and chocolate mudcake may not sound like the most enticing combination, but here it works wonderfully well. Seamless in structure with bright energy and immaculate balance, this is very long. There is fine acidity here, and even finer tannins with a sleekness to them. Early complexity is very much evident, and we can expect that to really develop further in the coming years. Power, yes, but this is also effortlessly elegant. Delicious now, this will surely drink beautifully for the next fifteen years, considerably longer if you really do have the patience. Love it. 96.

Penfolds St Henri Shiraz 2022 ($135)
This is certainly a very fine St Henri, although unlikely to sit with the absolute greats. Maturation is a very different regime from the usual Penfolds modus operandi, with the wine spending time in very large format, very old oak, meaning the oak influence is minimal at best. This release saw fourteen months maturation. 96% Shiraz with 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, the fruit is sourced from the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Padthaway – again, no Clare material, although there is no Clare reason why. The colour is a vibrant yet near black/purple. As much as any wine in the Collection, this one did step up with time in the glass to reveal hidden layers. We have a range of aromas through dried herbs, chocolate, aniseed, cloves, black and red berries, plums, tobacco leaves and cassis. There is a juiciness to the palate and those aniseed notes really start to come forth. The wine finishes with notes of sour cherries. There is very good length here, along with balance and intensity, sleek tannins and a lingering finish. This is perhaps a little more powerful than some recent St Henri releases at this early stage and there is certainly room for the wine to improve even further. It will provide pleasure for at least twenty years. 95.

Penfolds Magill Estate Shiraz 2023 ($180)
A stunning Magill, Penfolds’ single vineyard release. 100% Shiraz, maturation is for seventeen months in a mix of French barriques, 34% new, and American hogsheads, 33% new. Very close to the best wine of the day, aside from the Grange. Great buying. Opaque purple/maroon, this really is a bit exciting. The nose offers notes of licorice, graphite, blackfruits, cloves, soy, dark chocolate, cassis and coffee beans. Seamlessly structured with an alluring texture, this is exceptionally long. It has concentration and power, yet more refinement than one expects from 2023. Despite the length, the intensity and balance never waver for a moment. This will sing for at least the next two decades. A great Magill. 98.

Penfolds RWT Bin 798 Barossa Valley Shiraz 2023 ($220)
Penfolds’ non-Grange Barossa Shiraz. 100% French oak, all hogsheads, with 69% new, the remaining 31% one-year-old, this cracking red certainly exceeds what the vintage might be expected to offer. A very dark purple magenta, plenty of oak here, but early days and all is proceeding according to plan. Along with those vanillin notes on the nose, we have a touch of toast, dark chocolate, espresso, mocha, aniseed, bay leaves, a burst of ripe raspberries, blackberries and root vegetables. There are spices – notably a whiff of black pepper and nutmeg. So young, time will very much be to its benefit. Anyone leaving this wine in the cellar for the next five to six years before opening will reap the rewards. A move to the palate sees the wine give the impression of being more approachable than at first it seems – time is the key here. The wine is seamless, of medium weight and good length, with fine tannins and a finish which lingers beautifully, with roasted coffee notes. This is a very fine RWT. A twenty to twenty-five year proposition. 97.

Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 ($800)
This vintage hails from vineyards in McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley and Padthaway. Maturation is in American oak for a year and a half, all of it new. This release is a monumental wine.  Impressive, exhibiting such length and exuberance. The highlight is a sweet core of dark cherry/chocolate. The colour is an opaque maroon while the nose opens with plums, chocolate (which never really abandons us), spices, bergamot, plenty of oak deftly handled, cassis, licorice, spices, nutmeg, cold tea, smoked meats, graphite and black cherries. Time in the glass saw the cassis/dark cherries/kirsch notes emerge more and more. There is refinement here, though it quickly morphs into a hedonistic energy, balance and focus, with fresh acidity running the length. This will easily sail through the next twenty to thirty years. 98.

Penfolds Grange 2021 ($1,000)
Always the focus of the Collection, especially so when it hails from what has become a legendary vintage. The expectations for the 2021 Grange, were simply that this had to be a great Grange. Anything short of that might even be deemed a failure and this is indeed an extraordinary Grange. Quite simply, a wow wine. As always, a variety of regions contributed – the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Clare Valley. As is usual, though not inevitable, there is a dollop of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, 6% for 2021, and the wine spent a year and a half maturing in new American hogsheads. No wonder Peter Gago’s response was a face-splitting smile and to confirm he was “very, very pleased”. Maroon/black in hue, one simply gets lost in the nose, just endlessly sniffing the most glorious cassis notes, along with black fruits, blueberries, coffee beans, aniseed, mulberries, delicatessen meats, tobacco leaves, plums and graphite. The wine is seamless, intense and immaculate with knife-edge balance. It simply dances with joy. There oak is there, undeniably, but it is so well handled that you almost have to think twice. So complex already, and yet so harmonious and decadent. Silky tannins, bright acidity, the intensity never wavers for an instant and there is incredible length – Rutherglen muscat length. This is as close to a perfect Grange as I can imagine. Fifty years, if you think you can last that long (or want very grateful grandkids). A Lord-take-me-now wine, if ever there was one. 100.