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Special BIN 111A Shiraz 2016

Penfolds , South Australia, Australia

Penfolds
South Australia Australia
  • 98
    Points
  • The 621 best
    of 3 290 954
    wines globally
  • 5 Pros of
    5 recommend
    this wine
5 98
  • Taste
  • Moment

  • Country ranking ?

    33

  • Producer ranking ?

    17

  • Decanting time

    4h

  • When to drink

    from 2025

  • Food Pairing

    Lamb

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A new addition to the Penfolds lineup, the 2016 Bin 111A Shiraz is a blend of Clare (51%) and Barossa (49%) fruit from vineyards that have previously contributed to Grange. Aged in 100% new French oak, it's a rich, luxuriously textured wine that's packed with ripe fruit and finely textured tannins. Hints of grilled meat and exotic dried spices accent red raspberries and redcurrants in this full-bodied but exceptionally silky a...

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The Story

Made only in extraordinary circumstances, Special Bin wines represent the pinnacle of winemaking endeavour, using only the most exceptional fruit parcels from the very best regional sources. It has been almost a decade since Penfolds last released a Special Bin wine, a testament to the quality, criterion and craftmanship required to craft a wine of this stature. 

Special Bin 111A is a superb example of contemporary Penfolds winemaking philo...

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Wine Information

The 2016 vintage provided an ideal opportunity to create a bonafide Penfolds Special Bin, rare and true to the Penfolds ‘House Style’. Two special Shiraz single-vineyard parcels were blended to create something beguilingly beautiful and different. The impact of the much- touted 2016 South Australian vintage on two vineyards from time-proven Grange growers has produced a Penfolds Shiraz of superb structure, balance and varietal definition. Both...

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Tasting note

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Written Notes

Bin 111A 2016 - The Special Bin wines are some of the finest, and most
heavily in demand, wines ever made in Australia, none more so than the
legendary Bin 60A 1962, a blend of Coonawarra Cabernet and Shiraz from the
Kalimna Vineyard in the Barossa. Never released commercially, and apparently
only serval hundred bottles made, it still drinks beautifully. At the recent
175th dinner celebrations, held in the drives at Magill Estate, Penfold's
winemaker, John Bird, who has been with Penfold's for around 60 years, told
me that the wall to our backs was the one against which the cases of Bin 60A
were stored for decades. It was a bit of a goosebump moment.

The last chance I had to see the wine was at the Helsinki "Fine Wine Time
Machine" blind tasting a few years ago. Up against some of the finest wines
ever to grace a table - '49 and '52 Petrus, Mouton from 1900 and 1929,
Cheval Blanc from '49, '50, '52 and '75, Margaux from '47 and '59, a slew of
Richebourgs and Musignys from the '20s, '40s and '50s, endless great
champagnes, the '49 Yquem and so much more, when the dust cleared and the
scores tallied, Bin 60A emerged triumphant, to the considerable surprise
(and possible disgust?) of several European and American judges. These days,
bottles tend to be cork-dependent.

Special Bins are only released when Penfold's believes it has something
truly stellar. They are very small production and naturally priced as one
would imagine. Bin 111A has been released at A$1,500.

The wine is a blend of two single vineyard parcels of Shiraz, one from the
Clare Valley and one from the Barossa (a 51/49 split), the first time such a
blend has made this grade. The wine spent a year in new French hogsheads.

My first take on this wine was one of surprise. The wine is tending to the
monster category, not quite what I had anticipated. But that said, it is
finely balanced, all in place and showing to advantage. A second chance to
look at the wine, even more recently, confirmed the initial impression.
Black olives and cloves, aniseed, black fruits, spices, dark chocolate,
saturated blackberry flavours. A hint of iodine/seaweed.

For me, at this early stage, the contribution of the Clare seems dominant.
Real power here. Excellent length and serious grip, this is a wine demanding
a very long spell in the cellar. I'd be putting it away for at least a
decade. Naturally, there will be comparisons made with the latest Grange.
Two very different and wonderful wines, but I'll confess to a slight
preference to the Grange. 97.

-
  • 97p

A deep, alluring perfume of dark berries, cassis and dark plums knit with smoky, tight-gained French oak slowly unfolds meaty, chocolatey and ferrous undertones backed by suggestions of mint and iodide. Underpinned by a textural, gravelly spine, its layered, densely packed palate of black, red and blue fruits extends with energy, harmony and style towards a measured, lingering finish. There’s an underlying hint of dark chocolate and roasting tray. It will age slowly, developing remarkable grace and elegance.      
 
19.5/20, 98/100, drink 2046-2056+

-
  • 98p

100% Shiraz. TA 7.4 g/l, pH 3.67. 18 months in 100% new French oak hogsheads. From two vineyards: one a grower (Gersch in Barossa – next year will be their 100th consecutive delivery of grapes to Penfolds) and another that they have just bought which is a frequent ingredient in Grange (Botanic Vineyard in Clare, from a 70-year-old owner who was ready to sell). 18 months in 100% new French oak hogsheads. This is the debut vintage – ‘No compromising the other Penfolds’ wines.’
Dark purple and really rather modern. Not quite Grange, not quite anything else. Lots of tannins. Great patience needed for this wine but it does benefit from the Clare gloss and relative freshness.

14.5%Drink2028 –2045
£850 RRP

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  • 94p

Deep ruby. Dark fruity, blueberries and nuances, floral, layered, detailed, highly scented, almost leaps out of the glass, from floral through all sorts of dark fruits down to minerals and spices. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, dark fruity, detailed, layered, nuanced, bright and just keeps on giving. Incredible depth and layers yet not too powerful. Just doesn’t stop giving. 100

-
  • 100p
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Information

Origin

Magill, South Australia

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Inside Information

Taste by Peter Gago: 

Via reference: 54% Clare Valley, 46% Barossa Valley. Via glass: 100% Penfolds.
Clare aromatics immediately evident ...iodine, caper berries and grated dark chocolate.

In parallel ... a concession of powerful, generous Barossa bread and butter pudding and blueberry fruits.
‘Cross-over’ Moroccan spices – cumin, fresh cardamom, turmeric – may have entwined to reinterpret source, but not variety.

Oak? Conceded. Just

Velvety. Completely engulfs. Tempers palate ... doesn’t attack or intimidate with alcohol or extract.
A mix of bitter chocolate dust, wet bitumen and a maelstrom of dark fruits reflect the wine’s age and confirm derivation.

And just what is that underlying almost molasses, not quite maplesyrup richness? Best guess – a sweet soy, kecap manis shiraz flavour.Oak? Crafted and assembled so deftly, somehow perceptually dovetailed into tannins and infused into acidity. No gaps, no rough edges. Harmonious.

Lingers, retreating on its own terms

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