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I was up for buying a few bottles of this the minute it hit my chops. Those bottles, of course, will be screwcap sealed as that is my preferred option but hooray for Penfolds for giving the consumer the choice; cork, screwcap…or both!

Oh lovely with it’s mix of blackcurrant, plum and blueberry fruit, licorice, bay leaf, cocoa and dusty vanilla oak. On the palate a wine of immediate impact and strength, striding through the mouth with purpose and grace; and it’s that combination of balance, power and structure that clearly sets it apart from most of its contemporaries. It has a wide spread of powder fine tannin, clean acid to balance and superb length of flavour. A great (and thoroughly Australian) wine.

Other vintages: 2005, 2004, 2003

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I always wonder about using some of the more esoteric descriptors but after tasting this wine I thought “mmmm sarsaparilla” and on checking the official tasting note (for regional composition mainly) I see winemaker Peter Gago has used the same word. If it’s good enough for Gago then it’s good enough for me. You could get a song out of that for sure…

Something very nice to sniff here with aromas of blackcurrant, dark chocolate, violet and a minty mentholated lift. On the palate full bodied with strong tannin, pronounced acidity and excellent shape through the mouth. It has flavours of blackcurrant, sarsaparilla and some more meaty savoury characters with cedary oak well in the background. Long finish with a bit of acid poking out at the end. It’s all arms and legs at the moment but looks to be a super example of 407.

Other vintages : 2004, 2004, 2003, 1996

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Unfortunately I missed the tasting of the new Pennies wines at Dan Murphys last Saturday, so instead I nipped in on Sunday morning to buy a taster. Oh, and though the picture shows a wine under screwcap I purchased one under cork. A blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon and 48% Shiraz from the McLaren Vale, Padthaway and Barossa Valley regions. Matured for 13 months in 26% new American oak hogsheads, with the balance in older American oak.

Lots of stuff happening on the nose: some dusty cedar, star anise, black plums, spice, vanilla pod, a bit of tobacco and a bit of menthol. The palate showed lots of black and red fruits, almost varnishy, with blueberries, plums, black olives and a rich somewhat fruit cakey character. This said, it was more savoury and nutty than sweet, and it had a lovely depth of fruit without appearing extracted and overly tannic; in fact it drank very well over 6 or 7 hours. There was a touch of acid poking out on the finish, but this seemed to diminish with time. A lovely wine; drink or cellar, whatever you want.

Other vintages: 2004, 2003

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I really like this wine and I could pretty much re-use the same tasting note every year. It is consistent and consistently good, the secret being in the multi-regional blending to create a (steak) ‘house’ style. This year it’s King Valley 34%, Strathbogie Ranges 15% , Padthaway 13%, Barossa Valley 11%, Goulburn Valley 11% , McLaren Vale 11% and the mysterious region known as ‘Other’ making up the final 5%.

Nice and rich with a mix of black and red berries, chocolate, a touch of mint and light vanilla oak. On the palate medium to full bodied with smooth flavours of dark berries, chocolate and attractive vanilla oak. It feels good in the mouth with some appropriate food friendly chalky tannin and a little warmth from alcohol. Cleansing tannin on exit. A very good drink - simple yet satisfying.

Other vintages: 2005

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Funny wine Lawson’s. I think you either love it or hate it. Over the years I have oscillated between the two positions and tonight I think the needle on my mint-o-meter is swinging towards positive. I even randomly plucked out a peppermint cream from a box of Milk Tray chocolates this very evening…

Woah this smells like putting your nose in a box filled with peppermints and licorice allsorts. Spice and wood too with plenty of ripe plum and red fruit and a touch of pepper. Certainly holds your attention. On the palate medium to full bodied with cool mentholated red fruits, plum, chocolate and tobacco flavours with a good measure of spicy minty wood in support. It has fine grained dry tannin and a clean fresh mouth feel. Good length with a licorice, mint and spice aftertaste. A classic vintage of a uniquely Australian style.

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Well well, do do do do do (as John Lennon sang), this is a great bargain for sure.

Aromas of sweet berry, plum, menthol, licorice, a touch of black pepper and toasty coconut marshmallow oak. Classic old school shiraz - obvious but very Yum. On the palate medium to full bodied with rich plum and berry fruit, milk chocolate, mint and coconut flavours. It has soft fine tannin, feels supple and soft, and drinks like a champion. Finishes with juicy berry and chocolate flavours. In short, it (over) delivers the goods.

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Orlando and Jacobs Creek are knocking out some excellent wines at the moment and it is fair to say that if I plonked down $15 on the counter and came away with a wine of this quality that I’d be a pretty happy punter. I am sure I should have put some commas in that last sentence but I am in a bit of a hurry.

Aromas of plum, black fruit, mint, mocha and vanilla. Quite plump and fragrant. On the palate medium to full bodied with plum, berry and mocha with a mint and vanilla perfume. It has powdery lightly chalky tannins, balanced acidity and good texture but looks just a little thin. Finishes with a plum and vanilla aftertaste. Very nicely put together.

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I had this last night along with an excellent 1996 Wynns Black Label Cabernet and a fair, but not top, bottle of 1996 Penfolds Bin 407. Dreadful corks in this vintage of St Henri. They always snap.

Plenty of lovely tertiary smells including leather, chocolate and licorice on top of sweet dark fruit. On the palate medium to full bodied with dark fruit, dark chocolate, walnut and leather - a veritable gentleman’s club (no not that sort smutty) of flavours. It has powdery tannins that still make their presence felt but in no way dominate and a yummy chocolaty finish of decent length. Not a top St Henri, but a very good one, and certainly ready to drink now.

Other vintages : 2003, 2003, 2002, 2002, 1997, 1991, 1986, 1976, 1971

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A wine from my winemakers tasting where we looked at Shiraz of great diversity. I chose this wine because when I tasted it at Lindemans I was taken by the balance as well as overall fruit quality for what is essentially a mass produced wine. I told the group that somewhere in the two brackets a “Value” wine was waiting to see how it looked alongside some big names. Everyone picked this as being that wine, with scores from 85 to 92. However, comments were very positive. It opened with a bit of a sulfide pong but this quickly dissipated, leaving blackberry, floral perfume and a bit of pepper. On the palate it has medium length, balance and nice berry flavours with the alcohol just sticking its head through the fruit flavours. It is about half the cost of the Woodhenge and some preferred this style but I prefer the palate weight and power of the Wirra Wirra wine. Both are much better than all the highly touted shiraz I have been shown in the various clean skin shops.

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I tried this over 2 nights, and I think it certainly looked better on the second night - if you want to try a bottle now then give it some air time. Smells like a classic Cabernet to me; none of this warm climate dry red masquerading as a Cabernet. Leaf, tobacco, a bit of tomato leaf, red currants, red capsicum, cedar, coffee beans and even some blackberries too. The palate is refined, with the fruit richness snuggled comfortably next to some savouriness. A nicely balanced wine that displayed some pretty good length too. I am glad to have a 6-pack (oh, a 5-pack now) tucked away. Cellar over the medium term, maybe longer.

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One of the many hard questions I had to ask myself tonight was ‘Do I drink this from a Bordeaux or shiraz glass?’. The blend is 53 percent cabernet and 47 percent shiraz so I plumped for Bordeaux. Interestingly that this has no McLaren Vale or Barossa fruit in it which probably accounts for the increased (but pleasant) mintiness. This vintage represents a welcome return to form for an Australian classic.

Aromas of berry, plum, licorice, peppercorn, meat, mint and spicy cedar vanilla oak. On the palate full bodied and very intense with flavours of berry, licorice, tobacco, mint and vanilla oak. The tannins are firm and grainy; authoritative, confident and sitting very comfortably within the wine. Tannins you can trust. Finishes dry and savoury with excellent length of flavour. A vintage that hoists the flag back to full mast for the archetypal Australian blend.

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Kalimna has always been a favourite of mine. I even persist in calling it Kalimna (R) which is now apparently a trademark! Now that it comes with a stylish embossed screwcap the urge to buy and cellar is even stronger. That being said the last vintage I stashed away was the 1998…but this is certainly a contender..although the outstanding 407 may consume the Penfolds budget for this year. That being said (again), I have not tasted the 389 as yet….that is a job for tomorrow.

Aromas of blackberry, raspberry, plum, chocolate, meat and light pencilly vanilla oak. Fairly charry on opening. On the palate rich and slightly cakey with blackberry, plum, chocolate and meaty spicy vanilla oak. No shortage of flavour. It feels soft and supple but the luxurious quality of the fruit masks plenty of ripe dry chewy tannins. Finishes with chocolate and plum flavours. An very good but perhaps not great Kalimna.

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I have been drinking quite a lot of 1996 Penfolds 407 recently and maybe that colours my impression of this wine, but I drank it young and loved it, and now I like it even better. An outstanding wine with plenty of years to go. I don’t taste wines blind generally and I don’t care to. I sometimes even read other people’s tasting notes before reviewing but I still manage to form my own opinion. I could give you a dozen reasons for not tasting blind and I am sure advocates of blind tasting could give me a dozen reasons why I should! Be that as it may I’ll stick to my guns for now. ‘That’s me in the corner.That’s me in the spotlight…I thought that I heard you laughing.’ I already know I am out of step with many on this wine but so be it. This took a day to really open up so you do need to be patient with this wine.

Full red purple. Aromas of blackcurrant pastille, licorice, tobacco, dried herbs, mint and delicate spicy cedar vanilla oak. On the palate medium to full bodied with blackcurrant, tobacco, star anise, coffee and some gamey earthy flavours. Tight and compact with firm fine grained tannins and clean fresh acidity. Finishes dry and long with blackcurrant and tobacco flavours. A brilliant wine, one for the long haul, and one I am most certainly going to purchase for the cellar.

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And yet another cheap Chardonnay. This one didn’t grab my attention as much as the Annie’s Lane. It was yellow in colour, with hints of green. The nose was dominated by lemons and limes, with gooseberries and a creaminess, but nothing nutty at all. The palate seemed relatively thin, with minerals, gooseberries, preserved lemons and a hint of tropical fruits. The finish is distinctly odd, with a funny moldy fruit character and some steel. Okay but not great.

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A vibrant red/purple in colour. Quiet a sweet nose, chocolate, blackberries and liquorice, spices like nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon. The palate shows lots and lots of fruit, silky soft meltingly textured tannins and barely a skerrick of wood to be seen, but it is like playing hide-and-go-seek with a clown because you can see the big floppy shoes poking out from behind the curtains, and in this case the fruit cannot hide the alcohol. The finish is raw, and there is a rush, a warming glow, a red flush that cannot be ignored. This is like nude sky-diving. Now I am sure it takes a good deal of skill to make wine like this but it does seem a bit of shame to use it so. And I expect others will like it better, but I cannot see the point.

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Back from the NZ now. Cleared my desk of tasters and no sooner had I settled and sat down than I get ‘I need a nice red for tonight’..so I opened this.

Aromas of blackcurrant pastille, cherry, mint, licorice, spice and smoky earthy overtones. Nice amount of toasty coconut oak. On the palate a slippery medium bodied wine with spicy earthy flavours, dark chocolate, mint and sweet dark cherry fruit. Soft ripe tannins. Earthy finish. Interesting wine with lots going on. It is sort of a McLaren and Padthaway goes on holiday to Chianti via the Hunter Valley sort of wine. That may make some sort of sense if you drink a bottle.

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Cabernet dominant nose with blackcurrant, berry, coconut/vanilla oak, dried herb and roast meat. Smells good - like a 389. On the palate quite meaty with baked red berry fruit, currants, spice, aniseed and noticable slightly sappy oak. Assertive tannins that look a bit hard. Tannic lightly herbal finish. I suspect this will soften out and become a better wine over the medium term. Not a great 389 but a pretty solid effort considering the tricky vintage. I might add that I think there is a vaguely medicinal/bandage overtone to be found in this bottle which is not necessarily a negative thing. Just an observation.

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Old Crab Claw scuttled off to the cellar during dinner and popped this one on the table. It is nice to try wines that I would normally avoid. You learn a bit that way,

Strong red purple. Aromas of boysenberry,blackberry, eucalypt, spice, licorice and oak. It is a bit too minty for me. The wine comes into its own on the palate. Thick and chewy with ripe tannins and excellent fruit. There are flavours of berry, leather, licorice and cedary oak. Good length. Very nice wine really. Enjoyed it a lot.

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The 1996 Penfolds wines really are the business. Not had a 1996 407 for a year or two but as suspected it is turning into a champion.

Still a youthful strong red purple colour. Quite closed initally but opens up to reveal cassis, aniseed, a touch of capsicum and attractive cedar oak. On the palate it is dense with grainy ripe tannins and flavours of blackcurrant, licorice and mocha. Beautifully balanced and not a hint of alcoholic heat. This wine is yet to reveal its full potential but is certainly developing more complexity each time I taste it. To quote a known Melbourne wine identity - “This wine has years up it”.

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