AMA Vertical Tasting
Penfolds Rewards of Patience
At the end of May, I attended an exclusive tasting event in Hong Kong called Penfolds Rewards of Patience.
After the tasting, I was so delighted that I couldn’t resist posting a series of photos on my social media. Whether it was the photographer making me look handsome, or the the grand tasting itself (I suspect the latter one), even my friends I hadn’t seen in years reached out, exclaiming, “Wow, what kind of ‘divine tasting event’ is this?”
Before receiving the invitation, I hadn’t heard of the Penfolds Rewards of Patience Tasting. It was only after reading a letter from my good friend and wine mentor, Andrew Caillard MW, that I realized just how extraordinary this tasting is!
So, before sharing my impressions from this tasting, please let me introduce you what is the Penfolds Rewards of Patience Tasting. Perhaps in the near future, as a Penfolds enthusiast, you too might have the chance to encounter it.
Now, let’s travel back to 1986.
At that time, Penfolds was preparing for the inaugural Penfolds auction in Sydney. To give bidders a detailed understanding of the current state and future aging potential of each auction wine, Penfolds decided to hold a vertical tasting featuring multiple vintages. Many of the attendees were astonished by the aging potential of Australian wines, particularly the flagship, Penfolds Grange Hermitage, which left a lasting impression.
Since then, this Tasting has been held every five years, with each tasting featuring vertical selections tailored to the characteristics of different markets.
On May 28th, I, along with six other colleagues and seniors, spent the entire day from 8:30 AM to 6 PM, we tasted:
- Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon from vintages 1990 to 2022
- Penfolds RWT Bin 798 Barossa Valley Shiraz from vintages 1997 to
- Two Chinese wines: Penfolds CWT 521 Cabernet Sauvignon Marselan
- Various outstanding works from the Penfolds French Portfolio
Unlike other vertical tastings I’ve attended, after tasting 4-5 vintages, we would pause to share our impressions with the host, Andrew, and Penfolds’ Chief Winemaker, Peter Gago.
According to Andrew, most of the wines tasted in Hong Kong came from Penfolds’ treasured cellars, while some rare vintages were sourced from the secondary market or top collectors. As such, there might be some issues with the storage conditions of certain wines.
From my tasting experience that day, aside from a few oxidized wines, many older vintages exhibited a surprisingly youthful character. I used to think that wines from high-temperature regions like Australia couldn’t withstand the test of time, with high alcohol content and pH levels failing to preserve fresh fruit aromas and tight structures.
However, the 1998 BIN 407 completely changed my perception: its confident, unrestrained nature and the richness from concentrated dark fruits exuded a unique tension akin to a “high-bred stallion.” Halfway through the tasting, I secretly rejoiced that this experience was immensely valuable for my future tasting of Australian Wines.
Moreover, I gradually came to understand the blending philosophy of Australian wines through this tasting.
As a Chinese wine critic who has spent a long time in Europe, the expression of the local terroir is a significant criterion for high scores. In the vast expanse of Australia, winemakers often blend grapes from different regions. The quality is unquestionable, but I often felt lost, like a bird that had lost its way.
However, the Penfolds Rewards of Patience Tasting broadened my perspective, and I wish to share this with you:
People often say that Bordeaux has no terroir, but in fact, Bordeaux’s terroir is hidden within its blends. In my opinion, Bordeaux vintners create diversity through different plots, soils, and winemaking methods, then present a wine that best expresses the character of their Château.
Similarly, some say that Australian terroir is not excellent due to its relatively stable climate. However, I believe that Australian vintners create stylistic diversity through blending grapes from different regions.
Essentially, both aim to shape the complexity and depth of their wines through the gift of the Mother Nature. From a certain angle, Australian wines merely express terroir over a larger dimension.
Although only BIN 407 and FWT 585 fell within my usual tasting scope (my current work primarily involves Bordeaux, the Northern Rhône Valley, and some Premium Bordeaux blends of the World), considering the precious opportunity of this tasting, I decided to share my tasting notes on the other wines as well for exception.
As the Highlight of the Day BIN 407, there are some insights that I think helpful to you:
- In the late 1990s, BIN 407 shifted from using 100% American oak to a 50/50 mix of French and American oak. If this wine were a singer, pre-1999 BIN 407 seemed less confident, focusing solely on showcasing powerful vocal skills. Post-1999, BIN 407 learned to appreciate its beauty, expressing a more restrained and subtle hot-region character, with a deeper length due to a more sophisticated tannins’ structure.
- After the vintage of 2002, BIN 407 began to exhibit a “salty” quality, similar to wines from limestone soils. While not every vintage shows this clearly, it adds a well defined complexity compared to the previous vintage with just “sweetness”, or “sucrositié” in French.
- BIN 407 first used screw caps in the 2004 vintage. Considering the oxygen permeability of screw caps, the same vintage could age differently under cork and screw cap after this vintage.
- The contemporary style of BIN 407 was established after the 2015 vintage. Since 2015, the quality has been very stable, but due to global warming, the vintages after that show more prominent fruit aromas and a more energetic palate, with Cabernet Sauvignon’s herbal freshness evolving into a more ripe medicinal herb character.
At last, besides recommending you visit my website for detailed tasting notes, I must also extend my gratitude to the Penfolds team for their meticulous arrangement of this tasting. When beautiful wines meet an excellent team, I can only say that Penfolds’ success is no coincidence.
As you may know that several flagship Penfolds wines enter La Place de Bordeaux last year, I believe more friends, especially overseas Chinese, will be more convienient to appreciate Penfolds’ beauty and Australia’s winemaking philosophy.
I look forward to encountering it again when I taste the global wine tasting in Bordeaux next month.
See you soon.