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SHIRAZ

2010 PENFOLDS BIN 170 KALIMNA SHIRAZ !! $1995.00

REGION: BAROSSA, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

In 1973, Penfolds crafted an experimental Bin 170 sourced entirely from the nineteenth-century Kalimna Vineyard in the Barossa Valley. 100% Shiraz, all of the grapes were picked from Block 3C – a venerated parcel that is often included in the Grange blend. In 2010, the Penfolds winemakers kept Block 3C separate, realising they had the potential to re-create a Penfolds classic.

“Now, on May 1, Penfolds will release a wine that will comprehensively trump Grange and everything else. It is the 2010 Bin 170 Kalimna Limited Edition Shiraz. And the price? Try $1800 a bottle. The neck-label makes a point of declaring that 5544 bottles were released by Penfolds (and no doubt they've kept a few for their own cellar). It's worth pointing out that this volume, just under 500 dozen bottles retailing at $1800, places the wine squarely in the territory occupied by elite small chateau and first-growth bordeaux, and leading domaine grand cru burgundy. This is undoubtedly where Penfolds today sees its place in the global wine realm, and I would not argue with them.

Yes, volume does enter the argument: Grange volume is between 4000 and 10,000 dozen (chief winemaker Peter Gago is coy about precise numbers). The Special Bins are much lower, although volumes are usually hush-hush. But it stands to reason that if Penfolds can safely sell 10,000 cases of $785 wine, it can charge a lot more for a limited production wine such as the 2010 Bin 170.

Bin 170 is one of two special wines Penfolds is releasing to commemorate the company's 170th anniversary. The birthday slogan is ‘From 1844 to Evermore’. The other wine is the 50 Year Old Rare Tawny ($3550), which is a family relative of Penfolds' Grandfather Port and contains some wine from Max Schubert's birth year, 1915. It comes in a hand-blown bottle and special timber case. It's a great old tawny of tremendous concentration and complexity, and will appeal to wealthy collectors of good taste.

Great port is fine, but what today's wine-lover is really gunning for is great red wine. And what a great red Bin 170 is. The grapes, which usually go into Grange, came from Block 3C of the company's distinguished Kalimna vineyard in the northern Barossa Valley. The main difference from Grange is that this wine finished its fermentation in French oak barrels, roughly half new and half not. Grange sees only American oak. The wine is tremendously deep and concentrated, with the silken texture and fleshiness that comes with very old vines, but it's not a blockbuster: on the contrary, it's a very elegant wine. Fifty years will not trouble it.

Bin 170 Kalimna Shiraz has been issued only once before, from the 1973 vintage. The 2010 is certainly a superior wine. A bottle of the '73 tasted in 2012 was a little past its prime, but good bottles may still be superb. That wine was made from the same vines, Block 3C. No doubt Penfolds saw a great opportunity to give the number 170 added resonance in this year's anniversary.

So empty your piggy bank. Or nag your favourite squillionaire.” Huon Hooke, The Age

“Penfolds’ first experimental Bin 170 was born in 1973 from Block 3C of its 19th century Kalimna Vineyard, almost blended with Bin 169 Cabernet, were it not for a last minute directive to keep it separate. In 2010, the same 3C component that would normally contribute to Grange was identified as something very special aromatically during fermentation, and released under the same Bin number to commemorate Penfold’s 170th in 2014. Early identification permitted fermentation in 100% new French oak rather than the American oak Grange program. I first encountered this wine in the Rewards of Patience tastings eighteen months ago, where I rated it among the top half dozen Penfolds Special Bins of the past five decades. It’s an impossibly impenetrable, deep black, with a fluorescent purple rim. The bouquet is potently concentrated and breathtakingly focused, with lifted violets, textbook precise blackberries and plums, becoming black olives, liquorice and coal dust with time in bottle. The palate is a sheer epiphany of epically built power and integrity, with purity of unremitting precision, astonishingly generous and open fruit, yet at every moment coiled and tightly sprung, with beautifully fine, intoxicatingly pronounced tannins. Dark chocolate and coffee oak is already supremely integrated. The ultimate expression of that mesmerising character of 2010 to marry approachable integration with enduring longevity. Is it worth $1,800? It would be, were it First Growth Bordeaux or Grand Cru Burgundy. Bin 170 is every bit in the same league.” Tyson Stelzer, Wine Taste - 99 points

“Early in its fermentation in 2010 it was clear this would be an utterly exceptional shiraz, and a hasty decision to complete its fermentation in French (not American) oak was taken, then 16 months in 55% new hogsheads. The aromas are hyper-fragrant, the silk and velvet palate of extreme length and finesse. 14.5% alc; cork. Drink to 2055.” James Halliday - 98 points

“This one-off wine, to commemorate Penfolds' 170th anniversary in 2014, comes from Block 3C in the Kalimna vineyard. This block is normally part of Grange. Deep, dark red colour with tinges of black and lots of purple. Black pepper, star anise, sweet dried herb aromas in abundance, too. The spice characters are idiosyncratic, different, and the palate is very fruit-sweet and spicy with lots of fine-grained tannins, and a long carry. Concentrated, powerful and also soft, supple and elegant. A lovely and very particular shiraz.” Huon Hooke – 98 points

“Liquid seduction. So beautifully fruited, so beautifully structured. Luxury from start to finish. Coffee grounds, plums, raspberry and cloves. Jubey licoricey almost licorice-allsort centre. Bright and dense at once. Drinkable and highly cellarable at once. Immensely impressive both aromatically and on the palate. Essence of shiraz.” Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front - 98 points

Drink Now to 2055.

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