This year’s best buys from Penfolds are Bin 600 Cabernet Shiraz 2021 ($90), Bin 704 Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 ($125), Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 ($130), St Henri Shiraz 2021 ($135), Bin 169 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 ($300) and – if you happen to win the lotto – Bin 180 Coonawarra Cabernet Shiraz 2021 (at a cool $1180).

Roughly one-third of the release has incurred price rises this year, of $5 (Bins 23, 311 and 51), $10 (Bins 389, 407 and 128), $25 (Bin 149) and most notably a more than 25% inflation in Yattarna from $175 to $220. It remains to be seen whether such prices can be sustained in the current economic climate. Yattarna is currently hovering between $110 and $130 on the secondary market. The new release price for Grange holds steady at $1000 (though recent vintages are fetching $550-$650 at auction at the moment) and Bin 707 at $800 ($350-$450 at auction).

Thiénot x Penfolds Blanc de Blancs Avize Grand Cru 2014

$280

100% chardonnay; single vineyard Avize, 0.4 Ha, planted in the late 1950s and early 1960s; easterly exposition; the third vintage release of Thiénot x Penfolds; no malolactic fermentation; zero dosage; disgorged July 2022

The tension of Avize takes on both body and crunch in the 2014 season, setting a mood of beurre bosc pear and golden delicious apple. At a decade of age, seven years on lees has contributed a creamy mouthfeel that contrasts with the saline chalk minerality of Avize. Full malic acidity has been astutely upheld to provide focus and tension to a dry finish. The result is more about salinity and structure than it is about fruit, and a little dosage might have gone a long way in lifting aromatics, fruit definition, flesh and persistence.

91 points

Thiénot x Penfolds Blanc de Noirs Aÿ Grand Cru 2014

$280

100% pinot noir; single vineyard 1 hectare, next door to the Bollinger vineyards on the slope of Aÿ; east/south-east exposure; half replanted in 2006, the other half in 2008; 5.6g/L dosage; full malolactic fermentation; disgorged July 2022

A young vine blanc de noirs of 6-8 year old vines, this is an Aÿ of surprisingly reticent fruit expression, the nose very closed even two years post disgorgement. A medium straw yellow hue declares the depth of Aÿ pinot noir, reflected in a palate of fig, golden delicious apple and crunchy beurre bosc pear. Eight years on lees has layered vanilla custard and brioche complexity and some creaminess to its texture. The salt minerality of Aÿ contrasts some grainy phenolic grip on a finish of balanced dosage and good persistence.

92 points

Penfolds Bin 51 Eden Valley Riesling 2024

$45

11%

The 2024 vintage delivers a riesling of riper generosity than the cooler 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons, accented with the exoticism of blood orange, golden kiwi, even paw paw and mango. Crunchy granny smith apple brings structure and tension to an earlier drinking vintage of medium persistence.

92 points

Drink 2024-2029

Penfolds Bin 311 Chardonnay 2023

$55

13.0%

South-eastern Australia (Tasmania, Tumbarumba, Henty and the Adelaide Hills); matured 8 months in 21% new French oak barriques.

A generous and approachable Bin 311 of juicy white peach and pear fruit, supported by toasty cashew nut French oak and touches of buttery lees complexity and earthy reductive nuances. Ready to drink now.

91 points

Drink 2024-2028

Penfolds Reserve Bin A Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2023

$125

12.5%

Partial wild fermentation on solids with regular bâtonnage; full natural malolactic fermentation in 60% new French oak barriques.

The cool, wet and low-yielding 2023 season has built a Reserve Bin A with a core of spicy complexity and a crunchy demeanour. Grapefruit and beurre bosc pear are accented with pronounced ginger and textured with the creaminess of wild fermentation on solids with regular bâtonnage, full natural malolactic fermentation and the cashew nut complexity of high-class French oak. This is a season that contrasts the expansive generosity of low-yielding chardonnay with the tension of a cool, humid season, producing a style of deep-set complexity from the outset, making this an earlier-drinking Bin A of magnificent definition and presence, holding impressive line and length.

95 points

Drink 2024-2033

Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay 2022

$220

12.5%

61% Tumbarumba, 26% Tasmania, 13% Adelaide Hills; matured 8 months in 44% new French oak barriques.

‘Tumbarumba has really come of age and its consistently producing some of our best chardonnay now. We have two growers who are producing stunning fruit year on year.’ Kim Schroeter

One of the best of recent vintages in Tumbarumba has elevated this to the majority composition of Yattarna and the highest proportion of the blend yet. I love its tension and focus, eminently coiled, backward and crunchy even at more than three years of age. Almost ripe fig, white peach and beurre bosc pear are the themes, well framed in the creamy demeanour and supple texture of eminently supportive French oak fermentation. There is an impressive core of fruit presence, tensioned with fully ripe yet impressively energetic acid line that carries a long and enduring finish. Yattarna represents the only significant price jump in this year’s Penfolds release, leaping more than 25%, from $175 to $220.

96 points

Drink 2032-2037

Penfolds FWT 585 Cabernet Sauvignon Petit Verdot Merlot 2021

$120

13.5%

Bordeaux

French Winemaking Trial; 78% cabernet sauvignon, 14% petit verdot, 8% merlot; matured 12 months in 32% new French and 9% new American oak barriques

The cool and traditional 2021 season in Bordeaux has yielded a crunchy and bright blend that unites well-defined blackcurrant and blackberry fruit with a strong profile of medium-grained tannins, well accented with cool season acidity. It unites accuracy with endurance, a bright style of mineral texture and great cellaring potential.

92 points

Drink 2031-2041

Penfolds II Cabernet Sauvignon 2022

$500

13.5%

64% Bordeaux, 32% Coonawarra; Bordeaux matured 12 months, Coonawarra 18 months, both in 84% new French oak barriques and hogsheads.

The warm and dry growing season in Bordeaux contrasts a cool season in Coonawarra, building a blend of rigid scaffolding heightened by 84% new French oak maturation. Firm, fine tannins set an enduring style that will relish two decades in the deep to draw out a core of blackcurrant and liquorice that reflect the concentration of the season in Bordeaux.

94 points

Drink 2042-2052

Penfolds CWT 521 Cabernet Sauvignon Marselan 2022

$150

14.5%

Shangri-La and Ningxia, China

77% cabernet sauvignon, 23% marselan; matured 12 months in 66% new and 17% one-ear-old French oak and 17% new American oak hogsheads

‘CWT 2022 brings a big increase in character, style and complexity in our second release this year. It marries cabernet sauvignon and marselan, a fleshy variety of intense colour that marries well with the structure of cabernet sauvignon. Marselan is a cross between cabernet sauvignon and grenache and our growers are increasing their quality, which enables us to include more in the blend. We have also been more sensitive to the weight of the wine as we experiment with this fruit and adjust our proportion of new oak accordingly. The two regions are more than 3000km apart. In the cooler north at 2300-2500m above sea level close to a glacier they bury the vines over winter to protect them.’ – Matt Woo

The blackcurrant and cassis core of cabernet sauvignon is fleshed out with the body of marselan, accented with nuances of tobacco leaf, cigar box and dried bay. Fine-grained tannins draw out a long and savoury finish. A distinctive style that accurately carries both varietal integrity, house signature and the regional complexity of Shangri-La and Ningxia.

91 points

Drink 2030-2038

Penfolds Howell Mountain Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc 2021

$450

14.5%

Napa Valley

Single vineyard Steinhauer Blocks 1A and 1D; 78% cabernet sauvignon, 22% cabernet franc; matured 16 months in new French oak barriques; 2021 was the best vintage in recent years

A cabernet blend of considerable magnitude, with a depth and breadth that only the Napa can deliver, set to a structure of profound longevity that unites a tightly-woven framework of fruit tannins with the drying structure of new French oak barriques. The result is a wine of broad shoulders and sinewy muscle in the midst of unashamed Penfolds body, set for a very long life.

93 points

Drink 2041-2051

Penfolds Bin 600 Cabernet Shiraz 2021

$90

14.5%

Napa Valley and Paso Roble

85% cabernet sauvignon, 15% shiraz; matured 16 months in 53% new American oak barriques; 2021 was the best vintage in recent years

Penfolds has done a daring thing in transposing the definitive Australian blend to the Napa and this is an exemplary declaration of its success, and the finest yet. A core of cabernet blackcurrants is well backed by the glossy blackberries of shiraz, confidently framed in layers of dark and milk chocolate American oak and the rigid tannin framework that declares Penfolds. Deep, dark and enduring, it delivers a quintessential expression of Penfolds with all the grandeur of the Napa.

96 points

Drink 2036-2046

Penfolds Bin 704 Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

$125

14.5%

Napa Valley

Matured 16 months in 48% new French oak barriques; 2021 was the best vintage in recent years

A Napa cabernet of towering magnitude and epic longevity. A core of deep, dark and powerful blackcurrant and blackberry delivers the impeccable ripeness of an exceptional and moderate season of long, slow ripening. French oak provides perfectly integrated and eloquent support. Fine-grained, sinewy tannins lace together an exceptional finish that will hold it sure for decades to come.

97 points

2041-2056

Penfolds Bin 149 Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

$275

14.5%

Napa Valley and South Australia

91% cabernet sauvignon, 9% cabernet franc; matured 16 months in 72% new French oak and 16% new American oak barriques

Cabernet sauvignon of textbook definition and structure reflects one of the finest seasons in recent years in both the Napa Valley and South Australia. Blackcurrant and cassis are nuanced with black olive and tobacco leaf. French and American oak heighten strong, fine-grained tannins and add nuances of high cocoa dark chocolate to a long and enduring finish.

94 points

Drink 2036-2046

Penfolds Bin 23 Pinot Noir 2023

$55

13.5%

Tasmania

Predominantly White Hills Vineyard in the Tamar Valley and Coal River Valley; matured 7 months in 30% new French oak barriques

A low-yielding and high-quality vintage in Tasmania has highlighted another impressive Bin 23. Supple strawberry , raspberry and red cherry fruit is accented with nuances of rose hip, potpourri and beetroot. Fine, silky tannins carry a long finish.

93 points

Drink 2024-2029

Penfolds Bin 21 Grenache 2023

$60

14.5%

Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale; matured 10 months in 11% new and 34% seasoned French oak and 55% seasoned American oak hogsheads

A complex grenache expresses the grand complexity of the season, delivering varietal integrity with distinction and fine-grained structure. Wild strawberries, raspberries and rhubarb abound, juicy and fleshy, beautifully framed in fine-grained tannins carrying a long finish. Exact grenache of beauty and appeal.

93 points

Drink 2026-2033

Penfolds Bin 138 Barossa Valley Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2022

$60

14.5%

Barossa Valley

47% grenache, 43% shiraz, 10% mataro; matured 10 months in 21% new and 69% seasoned French and 10% seasoned American oak hogsheads

There’s a wonderful integration and effortless, fine-boned integrity to this blend in the excellent, cool 2022 season. The supple red fruits of grenache are intricately woven with the black fruit depth of shiraz and the savoury mood and fine-grained tannin structure of mataro. Outstanding fruit purity and enduring longevity set apart another great Bin 138.

94 points

Drink 2027-2037

Penfolds Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz 2022

$75

14.5%

Matured 12 months in 30% new French oak hogsheads.

Peter Gago ranks 2022 even marginally above the very impressive 2021 harvest in Coonawarra, a statement backed by the grace and definition of this shiraz. Textbook blueberry and blackberry fruit are sensitively framed in dark chocolate French oak, structured equally by fine-grained, limestone-mineral tannins and the well-defined natural acidity of cool nights. It holds impressive persistence and promise.

94 points

Drink 2027-2037

Penfolds Bin 28 Shiraz 2022

$50

14.5%

McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, Padthaway and Wrattonbully; matured 12 months in American oak hogsheads

A muted bouquet announces a palate of supple red fruit, milk chocolate American oak and medium-grained tannins. Lacking in brightness, focus, line and length, this is a label that has sadly fallen out of class over time.

89 points

Drink 2025-2032

Penfolds Bin 150 Marananga Shiraz 2022

$100

14.5%

Matured 16 months in 18% new and 28% one-year-old French and 14% new and 40% one-year-old American oak hogsheads and puncheons

The supple structure and red fruits depth of Marananga shiraz are well married to the milk chocolate of French and American oak, given life and lift by the cool nights of the great 2022 harvest. Firm, fine tannins flow through a long and integrated finish. The mood of Marananga loves the brightness of the cool seasons, and this is another of the greats.

95 points

Drink 2032-2042

Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 2022

$130

14.5%

Coonawarra, Padthaway, Wrattonbully, McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley; matured 12 months in 25% new French and 11% new American oak hogsheads

From a vintage that Peter Gago ranks even marginally above the very impressive 2021 in Coonawarra, this is a Bin 407 that delivers a core of compact, textbook blackcurrant, cassis and blackberry fruit, set to a framework of strong, fine-grained tannins, limestone mineral tannins and the bright acidity of cool nights. French and American oak deepen tannin presence and contribute high cocoa dark chocolate character. An enduring Bin 407 of great character, endurance and grandeur.

96 points

Drink 2042-2052

Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2022

$120

14.5%

51% cabernet sauvignon, 49% shiraz; McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, Barossa Valley, Padthaway and Wrattonbully; matured 12 months in 36% new American oak hogsheads.

The great 2022 season has delivered a Bin 389 of impact and presence. The depth and breadth of supple black and red fruits of shiraz is melded seamlessly with the blackcurrant and firm, fine tannin profile of cabernet sauvignon and not insubstantial presence of sweet, dark chocolate American oak. A strong framework of firm tannins sets classic Bin 389 endurance. Another one for the ages.

95 points

Drink 2042-2052

Penfolds St Henri Shiraz 2021

$135

14.5%

Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale; matured 12 months in large, seasoned oak vats

The magnificent, cool 2021 season plays to the natural, effortless elegance of St Henri. Blueberry and blackberry fruit are the eloquent themes, uniting supple expression with the fine-boned confidence of cool nights. The result plays fine-grained tannins impeccably amidst bright acidity, serving to set a style sure to evolve in slow motion for many decades to come. Exceptional line and length set apart one of the great St Henris of the modern era.

97 points

Drink 2031-2051

Penfolds Magill Estate Shiraz 2022

$165

14.5%

Matured 18 months in 43% new and 36% one-year-old French oak and 21% new American oak hogsheads

The naturally supple, juicy red berry fruits mood of Magill Estate loves the brightness and definition of the cool seasons, and the later ripening 2022 vintage has delivered another standout. I live its juicy, fruity core and its seamless synergy with fine-grained tannins and intricately gauged, milk chocolate French and American oak. The result is both effortlessly amicable and yet enduringly age-worthy. One of the greats in the Magill Estate lineage.

96 points

Drink 2027-2047

Penfolds Bin 169 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2022

$300

14.5%

Matured 16 months in 83% new French oak hogsheads

I love 2021 in Coonawarra and Peter Gago ranks 2022 even marginally ahead. Bin 169 is a benchmark of definition and endurance, setting the character and concentration of the region firmly in the structural longevity that proclaims Penfolds. At once deep and bright in colour, aroma and flavour, this is a textbook expression of pure blackcurrant, tobacco leaf and cedar. I love its purity, brightness and energy, with the intricate, limestone-mineral tannin frame that will hold it confidently for the next forty years!

97 points

Drink 2047-2062

Penfolds RWT Bin 798 Barossa Valley Shiraz 2022

$200

14.5%

Matured 14 months in 67% new French oak hogsheads

There is a coiled depth to the black fruits, liquorice and high cocoa dark chocolate of Barossa shiraz, confidently set to a rigid framework of French oak tannin confidence. I love the way the cool nights of 2022 season infuse definition and character to the expansive depth that proclaims Barossa! One for the cellar.

95 points

Drink 2042-2052

Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon 2022

$800

14.5%

Coonawarra, Barossa Valley, Padthaway and McLaren Vale; matured 18 months in 100% new American oak

The grand juxtaposition of densely compacted power and towering structure that set Bin 707 off with epic longevity are heightened in the cool nights of 2022. A deep singularity of blackcurrant and cassis sets the definition of varietal integrity, with all the impact of Penfolds’ new American oak impacting layers of high cocoa dark chocolate and immense tannin scaffolding. For all of its expansive proportions, it retains consummate control and tightly-coiled endurance that will sustain it confidently for half a century.

97 points

Drink 2052-2072

Penfolds Grange 2020

$1000

14.5%

97% shiraz 3% cabernet sauvignon; McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley and Clare Valley; matured 20 months in 100% new American oak hogs heads

McLaren Vale assumes the lead over the Barossa in the warm and dry 2020 season, creating a Grange of larger-than-life proportions. The depth and concentration of blackberry, blueberry and satsuma plum on display is unique to Grange, carrying all the complexity of coal steam and fresh liquorice, set to the high cocoa dark chocolate and char presence of new American oak. The gravitas of the cascading classification of Penfolds sourcing is declared in a fruit integrity and definition upheld even in such a warm and dry season, a feat that this house achieves today with greater confidence than it did in decades past. This is a show-stopping Grange of impact and muscle.

97 points

Drink 2040-2050

Penfolds Bin 180 Coonawarra Cabernet Shiraz 2021

$1180

14.5%

57% cabernet sauvignon, 43% shiraz. To acknowledge the 180^th anniversary of Penfolds in 2024, Peter Gago introduces Bin 180 in the context of the legendary special bin and commemorative releases of Penfolds’ past. ‘Cabernet sauvignon and shiraz, the great Australian blend, delivered not in American but in French oak! All one-year old oak, since this is not a blend about bigness or power but more about poise, character and Coonawarra!’ – Peter Gago

57% cabernet sauvignon from Penfolds Block 10, 43% shiraz from Penfolds Block 5; matured 16 months in 100% one-year-old French oak

There must have been a strong compulsion for Penfolds to create a bold and bombastic blend to commemorate its 180^th anniversary, and I love that it chose a very different and compelling path, highlighting not the grandeur of the warmer regions of South Australia in new American oak but the definition and tension of Coonawarra in the epic and cool 2021 season, sensitively framed in seasoned French oak. The definitive Australian blend has been recreated here with classic, fine-boned precision, singing with all the lifted brightness of this cool, traditional season. The crunchy redcurrant and blackcurrant fruit of cabernet sauvignon is perfectly integrated with the blackberries of shiraz. Fine-grained, limestone-mineral tannins like only Coonawarra can conjure are perfectly harmonised with the structural support of French oak. The result is one of the finest wines of the modern era of Penfolds and the epitome and exemplar that less is indeed oh so very much more.

99 points

Drink 2041-2071