Harvey Steiman
Issue: December 15, 2014
Penfolds' penchant for naming wines after bin numbers may seem bewildering, but those seemingly arcane codes are rooted in tradition. The cellars at the original Magill Estate winery were designed to store bottles in underground tunnels lined with numbered alcoves called "bins." "Originally, the number simply followed the wine," explains chief winemaker Peter Gago.
Early vintages of Grange had bin numbers such as 1, 46 and 49 because that's where the wine was stored, but by the late 1970s the winery halted Grange's progression at Bin 95, its current designation. "Consumers go crazy whenever we come out with a new bin number," Gago shrugs, even though they no longer refer to a specific tunnel or cellar.
A low bin number is not necessarily better or worse than a high one. Some do have resonance. Bin 170, for example, was issued on the 170th anniversary of Penfolds' first vintage. Bin 707, the luxury level Cabernet Sauvignon that debuted with the 1964 vintage, is a reference to the Boeing 707 passenger jet that was the talk of the skies at the time.
A GUIDE TO PENFOLDS CURRENT BIN NUMBER WINES
| Bin | Price | Description |
| Bin 2 | $24 | South Australia Shiraz and Mourvèdre |
| Bin 8 | $24 | South Australia Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz |
| Bin 9 | $24 | South Australia Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Bin 23 | $24 | Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir |
| Bin 28 | $30 | Named Kalimna Shiraz but not all from Kalimna Vineyard |
| Bin 51 | $40 | Eden Valley Riesling |
| Bin 60A | $225 | Special release, a blend of Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon and Barossa Valley Shiraz in rare vintages |
| Bin 95 Grange | $850 | South Autralia Shiraz from vines 60 years old or older, sometimes enhanced with a small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in American oak |
| Bin 128 | $30 | Coonawarra Shiraz |
| Bin 138 | $40 | Barossa Valley Grenache, Mourvèdre and Shiraz |
| Bin 144 Yattarna | $130 | Chardonnay selected from cool regions, barrel-fermented in older French oak |
| Bin 150 | $75 | Single-vineyard Shiraz from Marananga, in Barossa Valley |
| Bin 169 | $350 | Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon aged in French oak |
| Bin 170 | $1,800 | Special release, 2010 Shiraz from Kalimna Vineyard in Barossa Valley |
| Bin 311 | $40 | Tumbarumba Chardonnay |
| Bin 389 | $69 | South Australia Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz |
| Bin 407 | $69 | South Australia Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Bin 707 | $350 | South Australia Cabernet Sauvignon aged in American oak |
NOTABLE PENFOLDS WINES WITHOUT BIN NUMBERS
| Bin | Price | Description |
| Magill Estate | $130 | Single-vineyard estate Shiraz from original vineyard in Adelaide |
| Reserve Bin A Chardonnay | $69 | Adelaide Hills Chardonnay barrel-fermented in French oak |
| RWT | $150 | Barossa Valley Shiraz aged in French oak |
| St. Henri | $99 | South Australia Shiraz from cooler regions, aged in large vats |
No comments:
Post a Comment