100-point G4 leads strong Penfolds release

Good news has been scarce in 2020 but the annual Penfolds release is awash with quality. Executive Editor Nick Stock was the first to taste the wines outside of the Penfolds team. He tasted with Penfolds Chief Winemaker Peter Gago at their Magill Estate restaurant in South Australia and was joined by James Suckling for a Zoom tasting of a trio of important releases, Bin 389, Grange and G4.

And it was the G4 that really shone. This is the second in what we are now told is a trio of special release multi-vintage Grange wines and is an amalgam of Grange 2002, 2004, 2008 and 2016 vintages (no percentages given but Gago states they are “all double digit”). The Penfolds G4 (100 points) really is a lot to fathom in one wine, like an essence of Grange, this has such bold, rich and expressive fruit drive and a finish that lasts so very long. It is impossible not to be impressed with this clever fusion of quite different base wines. Only 2,500 bottles of Penfolds G4 are available around the world and will be released globally, along with all other wines here, on Thursday August 6 2020. We saw the first of these, G3 (a blend of 2008, 2012 & 2014) released in 2018 and also rated it a perfect 100 points. Expect to see the G5 complete this trio soon, a blend of five vintages, although Penfolds are playing that card close to their chest. Checkout our comments and reactions in the video highlights below.

Also taking much of the limelight, the 2016 Grange Bin 95 (98 points) is right at the top of its game with an early, warm 2016 harvest producing plenty of the impenetrable dark fruit shiraz that is the engine of this wine. It does not have the raw muscle and power of 2015 but it has terrific freshness and genuine depth and will reveal much in years ahead. And like all Grange, this one needs time, at least until 2023 and more if you can manage.

But it was the 2018 vintage that marked out many of the other wines. The three chardonnay wines are led by a very impressive Yattarna 2018 (96 points), a wine that really asserts itself as the top chardonnay among a very competitive white wine offering. The Adelaide Hills Chardonnay Reserve Bin A (95 points) is a layered, long and powerful white and the 2019 Bin 311 Chardonnay (94 points) is driven by a powerful Tasmanian component ahead of Tumbarumba and Adelaide Hills fruit. This is such a tight trio of high-quality chardonnays.

The core of the reds are focused around the 2018 vintage and the depth and consistency across the 2018 wines here is a real highlight for collectors. These are very complete wines, rich yet fresh and drinking well now with plenty of cellaring potential. Gago singles out the cabernet in particular which had “delayed flowering and delayed veraison that actually gave us the perfect storm when countered with the warmth of the year.” This equated to later ripening in the southeast of South Australia when the heat passed through and has delivered excellent tannin quality while retaining freshness and balance.

This is best evidenced by the quality of the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 707 (98 points) which is one of the greatest releases we’ve seen of this wine. There’s such long and taut tannin driving very intense and long, ripe plum and black cherry fruits in this powerful, commanding cabernet. Similarly, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 169 (97 points) has a focused and piercing delivery of fine tannin. This is super long and packed with flavor.

“For me 2018 was a year that immediately suited RWT and St Henri,” said Gago when quizzed about shiraz in that vintage. “It was actually harder making Grange in 2018, because we really had to work hard to find the more muscular black fruited shiraz whereas shiraz for more elegant wines like RWT and St. Henri were easily found. We were spoiled for choice putting those wines together.”

Gago likens the style of 2018 shiraz to 2010 and 1990, although qualifies that 2018 is “perhaps not quite at that 1990 level.”

We will have to wait another year for the 2018 St. Henri but the 2017 in this year’s release (95 points) has a cool, spicy edge and fine, crunchy tannins with a neat, concise and balanced feel. One of the real workhorse reds of the Penfolds range, the 2018 Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz (94 points) really points to the strong quality of warmer climate shiraz in this vintage. Ditto the “bold and beautiful” 2018 Bin 150 Marananga Shiraz (96 points) with trademark tarry, blackberry notes and immaculately captured tannins.

The 2018 Bin 389 Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz (97 points) also hits impressive quality; this really is a great Bin 389. A blend of 57 percent cabernet sauvignon and 43 percent shiraz, this has such a complete feel and will deliver much pleasure over the next two decades. Penfolds is celebrating 60 years of Bin 389 in 2020 (not quite 60 releases) and collectors of this wine should mark this as perhaps the greatest Bin 389 we’ve seen to date. Plushness meets power.

And finally, the 2020 vintage was a small, difficult and very high-quality vintage across much of South Australia and the 2020 Bin 51 Riesling from the Eden Valley (94 points) chimes in as a first taste of what to expect. This is classic, concentrated and elegant Eden valley riesling with bell-like clarity of citrus and floral aromas and a piercingly dry, long palate.

But rest assured, there really is something here for everyone in what is one of the strongest Penfolds showings we’ve seen in recent times.

- Nick Stock, executive editor