Corti Brothers Newsletter Fall 2006 Page 4

Corti Brothers Newsletter for Fall 2006 Page 4

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Famed Australian Wines at Special Prices: Penfolds St. Henri,
Bin 138, Kalimna Bin 28

For reasons unknown to me, several Penfolds red wines have been offered to us at, frankly, bargain prices. These are so sufficiently well known and of top quality, I did not hesitate, and now pass them on to you, our customers, as possibly the best bargains in fine wine available.

The wines are two Shiraz based wines, St. Henri 2001 and Kalimna 2001, relabeled Winemaker’s Reserve, and Bin 138. I do not know why the relabeling either. But never matter, these are bargains. We do not have a large quantity, so when gone, they are gone forever.

Penfolds St. Henri Shiraz 2001

Penfolds St. Henri is the counterpart to Grange. They were created about the same time--Grange being produced in small, new oak casks while St Henri was matured in large old wood. As quoted in The Rewards of Patience, 2004, the Penfolds compendium of almost all of its wines created since the 1950s and tasted at four year intervals by noted Australian and other tasters:

“[T]here is a definite feel about St. Henri and Grange. They began life together in friendly rivalry, offering contrasting styles for an emerging and inquisitive Australian table wine market....

St. Henri established an elegant, perfumed style based on fruit definition and maturation in old oak. Grange established a blockbuster barrel fermented style (in American oak) with a richness and fullness ‘that few people initially cared for.’ Indeed, Penfolds St. Henri was the preferred style...Like Grange, the wines have always been Shiraz driven, with small varying percentages of Cabernet Sauvignon.”

“Winemakers have worked on improving the St. Henri style over the past decade...[r]ecent vintages of St. Henri reflect a substantial leap in viticultural management....Winemaking has also been tweaked, the wine shows enhanced fruit definition and riper tannins...Penfolds is using a larger proportion of Barossa and McLaren Vale fruit to achieve more fruit sweetness on the mid-palate.

The young wines which make ‘the cut’ are then matured for 15 to 18 months in large (1460 liter), old oak casks. During this maturation period the fruit becomes more complex and the tannins soften, such that the St. Henri style produces a unique Shiraz textural impression unlike any other Penfolds Shiraz....[b]ut the absence of new oak–so prevalent in contemporary Australian Shiraz–sets it apart...

The best vintages, usually the most powerful and concentrated, will evolve for up to 30 years and sometimes even further...Today it is considered an Australian classic with a wonderful heritage of its own.”

The 2001 St. Henri is considered by Penfolds as “ an outstanding vintage” to be drunk from 2008 to 2025. The tasting note reads: “Deep crimson-purple. Intensely perfumed plum/raspberry/blackberry aromas. A superbly concentrated but elemental wine with deep set, pure raspberry/blackberry fruit and pronounced but rounded tannins. A long future ahead.

Penfolds Winemaker's Reserve Shiraz 2001 (Relabeled Kalimna Bin 28)

The Rewards of Patience continues:

“Penfolds Bin 28 was originally a single vineyard Shiraz selection from the Kalimna vineyard in the Barossa Valley first made in 1962. Purchased in 1945, Kalimna was once the largest vineyard in Australia, and remains an important source of high quality Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon...

During the late 1970s Bin 28 Shiraz became a multi-district blend...The fruit is sourced from the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale, Clare Valley, Langhorne Creek, Kalimna, and Padthaway...The wine is matured in one and two year old American and French oak barrels....

Bin 28 has very clear ripe fruit definition when young, with plenty of concentration and fruit sweetness....The wine has a reputation for improving with medium term cellaring and in exceptional vintages these wines are suitable for long term cellaring.”

I do not know why the wine was relabeled “Winemaker’s Reserve” and cannot find out. But it is certainly Kalimna Bin 28. This 2001 is considered an “outstanding vintage” with Penfolds suggestion that it be drunk from now to 2025. The tasting note reads: “Deep red purple. Intense plum/berry/liquorice aromas. A very full bodied solid/dense wine with very ripe crushed plum/berry fruit and powerful chocolatly tannins. Very youthful exuberant wine.”

Penfolds Bin 138 Old Vine Grenache-Shiraz-Mourvedre 2002

This is an old vine Barossa Valley blend (varietal mix variable) elevated to Bin level in 1998. The first vintage was 1992. The Rewards of Patience continues:

“Much of the fruit is sourced from independently grown grapes from around the Barossa Valley.... The perfumed and seductive flavours of Grenache provide an essential element of style. Shiraz brings colour, sweetness of fruit and palate richness.

Mourvèdre provides some spicy top notes and plenty of savoury characteristics....[t]his is the only Penfolds wine that remains in component form during maturation, and is put together after several rackings just prior to bottling....

Bin 138 is a full bodied style with an emphasis on musky plum fruit aromas and succulent sweet fruit....Bin 138 is a relatively early to medium drinking style which develops rich, complex, earthy nuances with age.”

Penfolds suggestion is that the wine be drunk from now to 2012. The tasting note is: “Deep crimson. Intense liquorice/ black cherry/musky/violet aromas. A well-concentrated palate with rich aniseed/musky/raspberry/black cherry fruit and firm sinewy/savoury tannins.”

Penfolds St. Henri Shiraz Wine 2001 was $42.49 now $26.99 750ml (#1618)

Penfolds Winemaker's Reserve Shiraz Wine 2001 750ml(#1619) Out of stock.

Penfolds Bin 138 Old Vine Grenache-Shiraz-Mourvedre Wine 2002 was $21.39 now $18.79 750ml (#1620)

~In Memorium~

Len Evans AO OBE 1930-2006

It is fitting that at the end of a list of fine Australian wines, I remember a friend of some 30 years who was Mr. Australian Wine. Len Evans, a larger than life personality, probably single handedly created what we are now enjoying as fine Australian wine. This is not to say that fine Australian wines did not exist before Len, but he put them on the map. In fact, he put a lot of wine on the map in most of the English speaking world.

Len left us on 17 August 2006, after the previous evening’s delightful entertainment at his home in the Hunter Valley which has been reported by Jancis Robinson both on her website and in her column in the Weekend Financial Times. Len had gone to pick up his wonderful wife Trish at hospital and the angels came and took his breath away.

I was always in awe of him. Not because he was so fearsome, but because he was Len. A prolific writer, ex-hotelier, gastronome, wine maker, raconteur, golfer, and expert judge of wines. He was one of a dying breed of wine lovers who really did like wine, in all of its facets, as long as it was good. His mantra of “wine is just a lovely drink” is something more of us should remember. Not one to mince words when something did not appeal to him, he was accepting of new tastes and styles.

He was an endearing man. Hospitable to a fault and very protective of his persona as a fearsome type. He was also a very accomplished artist. He liked to work with his hands and was very proficient at doing very lively ceramic works with which he regaled his friends. A wonderful grandfather, he was putty in his grandchildren’s hands. But it is his non-wine persona that was so startling--his prowess as a raconteur I had not seen before.

I last judged with Len in Perth, Western Australia, in 2002, and at dinner with friends, where there was no pretense about wine, Len started telling tales, stories, anecdotes and what have you, to us, his appreciative audience. I have never laughed so much in my life. By the end of dinner I ached from laughter. Len was just in his element. Enjoying himself and seeing others enjoy him.

He is sorely missed. But Len has gone on before us. After all, someone has to arrange the festivities for when we get there!

Len, Ave Atque Vale.

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