Penfolds Bin 90A

 Penfolds Bin 60A is supposedly the greatest Australian wine ever made. I never had the opportunity to taste it. In 1990, a great vintage for Penfolds, the company decided to have another go at this with a 50% Cabernet Sauvignon 50% Barossa Shiraz blend, as it did not want to use more of its excellent grapes to increase the Grange production. Maybe they regretted this later, as the 1990 Grange won Wine Spectator wine of the year in 1995.

Anyway I have two bottles of the Bin 90A in my cellar, the oldest bottles at present. One went through the Penfolds recorking clinic, the other I planned to take later this year. At a special occasion, I wanted to open the recorked bottle a few days ago. I was not paying attention initially, and as the cork started to crumble, I noticed I was opening the other bottle. I was half done, so I kept going as the ullage was good. I needed a sieve to capture the small cork particles, as I was decanting the bottle, but otherwise everything seemed fine.

The wine was surprisingly fresh after 35 years with a layered palate of redcurrant, blueberry, green olive and licorice. The fruit weight was not as big as in Grange, and the Cabernet influence was significant. Clearly, time and maturing also contributed to some fruit weight loss, but this made the wine very drinkable, as the structure was still standing and balanced. The wine was remarkably lively after this time. The tannins were quite transparent and the finish long.

Score: 96/+++

   

Utopos New Releases

 When I traveled to the Barossa last year to visit some newer wineries, I missed Utopos. The visit was arranged, but owner and winemaker Kym Teusner fell sick. It was therefore a welcome opportunity to taste these wines in Sydney this week. 

The wines come from a vineyard on Roennfeldt Road in Marananga, previously leased out to Penfolds and next door to David Powell's property. It is a special plot, reaching to the top of the ironstone ridge at 300 meters. Three types of soils allow a lot of options. There is red-brown earth at the bottom, a strip of black biscay in the middle, and depleted top soil exposing ironstone and quartz in the top region. Most of the 30 acres under vine were planted in the early 1990s. Shiraz is planted to the East, Cabernet Sauvignon to the North, and Grenache and Mataro to the West. The average yield is a low 1t/acre. 

The 2021 Grenache is a pretty and fresh wine, tasting of red and black cherry, with a balanced structure and silky tannins. The finish is soft and long (94 points).

The 2021 Mataro/Shiraz/Grenache (40/30/30) is quite different, with the Mataro component quite prominent. Dark fruited and savoury, this wine delivers a firm grip (93 points).

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is quite savoury as well, with the ironstone soil making its presence felt. The wine is medium weight and quite smooth, well made, perhaps lacking some impact (92 points).

The 2021 Shiraz is dark, with blackberry, mulberry and earthy flavours. The wine is fresh and elegant, of medium concentration. It is perhaps a bit fruit forward (94 points).

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz (60/40) is blue and black fruited with a fresh mouthfeel. The tannins are fine and dry. This wine is a good example of the benefits of this famous, now slightly neglected blend (95 points).

The 2018 Shiraz, from this excellent vintage, has a very aromatic bouquet. This is a very pretty wine, black fruited and savoury, with silky tannins and a long finish (96 points). 

I was then shown the first wines from 2016. They were nowhere near the quality of the younger wines. Apparently a lot of work was required in the vineyard to get the vines up to scratch. 

If I were to generalize, Utopos wines are characterized by purity and the aromatics of the fruit, as well as savoury influences. On this site, there has been some discussion of the merits or otherwise of traditional ripe Barossa Shiraz on the one hand and leaner wines made by young winemakers on the other. Kym Teusner with Utopos wines seems to strike a happy medium.