I remarked in my last Penfolds post about the subtle changes in the wines, which boils down to increased accessibility at young age. The other major shift is the positioning as a global luxury brand: one day its handbags, but today it's the launch of the Penfolds 2022 Collection.
This is done as an event, not a serious wine tasting.
Having said this, the comparison from entry level wines from three different continents was interesting and quite instructive. The 2019 FWT 585 from Bordeaux is a blend of Cabernet (53%), Merlot (34%), and Petit Verdot (13%). FWT stands for French winemaking trial, of course. 585 is more interesting. It is the amount of dollars claimed by Max Schubert on return from his trip to Bordeaux - sounds little, but it was the early 50s. The wine has been matured in French and American oak. How did they smuggle American oak to Bordeaux? Anyway, the wine is medium bodied and impresses with its structure. Thyme and lavender on the nose, redcurrant and cranberry on the palate. It is early days and will be interesting to drink in a few years (94 points).
This was teamed up with the 2020 Bin 28 Shiraz, Penfold's workhorse. This wine is dark and warm: think blackberry, chocolate, mud cake, plum pudding - dependable, but a bit tough from the 2020 drought year (92 points).
The entry level California wine, the 2018 Bin 600 Cabernet/Shiraz includes fruit from Napa Valley, Sonoma and Paso Robles. The blackcurrant fruit flavours are ripe, and the boysenberry points to Napa Cabernet. There is also considerable vanilla from the 40% new oak. A concern is the lack of acidity in this wine (90 points).
The exciting aspect of this tasting was the fact that the wines truly spoke of their country of origin.
One more comment on ratings. Critics rated these wines and others from the collection much higher. It needs to be understood that there is a close relationship between the 'famous' critics and Penfolds. Here you get a truly independent view. I hope to be able to assess the premium wines in a little while.
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