Written by Gurvinder Bhatia | 08 March 2010

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The Rewards of Patience
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Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 1990, South Australia
Deep in colour and aromas with lots of dark berries and liquorice, flavours of black cherries, chocolate, liquorice, red currants and cedar, still possesses great structure and fruit with velvety tannins. Penfolds internally published “The Rewards of Patience” pegs this at its peak for another 10 years ... that may be stretching it a little, but there’s still a lot of life left in this wine.

Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 1998, South Australia ($42)
Rich and concentrated with an abundance of dark berry, dark chocolate and liquorice with firm, muscular tannins. A decade old, but still just a baby and showing extremely well and balanced. Another decade is not a stretch.

Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2006, South Australia ($42)
Much softer in style than the ‘90 and ‘98. Rich, ripe, and fresh with black cherry, blackberry, liquorice, plums and hints of spice, mineral and liquorice, lush tannins and a chocolate finish. Drinking well now, but enough underlying structure to last another 12 to 15 years.

Penfolds Shiraz ‘St. Henri’ 1990, South Australia ($62)
A very pretty, perfumy nose, with layers of mature plum and currants, rich and elegant, silky in texture, and still a sense of freshness. Delicious on the finish. Gago says that this will keep for another 20 years.

Penfolds Shiraz ‘St. Henri’ 1998, South Australia ($62)
Beautiful, elegant, and misleadingly big, with lots of dark fruit on the nose, layers of youthful plum, cherry and currant flavours, firm, but silky tannins and a long, elegant finish. Extremely tasty and clearly has 8-10 years before showing any signs of fading.

Penfolds Shiraz ‘St. Henri’ 2006, South Australia ($62)
Packed with ripe cherry and blueberry fruit, yet layered and elegant, juicy and powerful, with a silky texture, sweetly refined tannins, and dark chocolate on the long, expressive finish. Hasn’t even had a chance to begin its evolution. To be released in May 2010.

Penfolds Shiraz ‘RWT’ 1998, Barossa Valley ($145)
Very aromatic, bright, and vibrant, with concentrated blackberry, plum, blueberry, cherry and spice, with hints of coffee and chocolate, multi-layered, elegant and very well-integrated. A rich, long finish with the structure to continue to develop over the next 5 to 8 years.

Penfolds Shiraz ‘RWT’ 2006, Barossa Valley ($145)
Huge amounts of lifted fruit, rich blackberry, chocolate and spice with huge, yet plush tannins, multi-layers and a lush, but still closed finish. Shows tremendous promise, but clearly needs time even though it is extremely delicious now. Best in the mid 2020s.

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