Food & Drink -- 7 days ago
Competition: Start building your wine cellar with this stand-out selection of Penfolds wines
The ultimate starting point for any budding wine collector…
The prospect of starting a wine cellar is daunting. Which wines should you begin with? How long should you wait before uncorking? Do you even need to wait? Of course, there are myriad approaches to wine collecting, and it all ultimately comes down to personal preference. But in order to get you off on the right foot, we’ve teamed up with renowned Australian winemaker Penfolds, who have pulled together a balanced selection of age-worthy wines – and a champagne – that make for the ultimate starting cellar, upon which you can build a flourishing collection. Read more about each bottle below and enter the competition for your chance to win the entire bundle.
Penfolds FWT 585 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Petit Verdot 2022
The fourth release in the Penfolds French Winemaking Trial Collection, the 2022 FWT 585 represents Penfolds’ take on a classic Bordeaux blend. It makes use of the region’s exceptional vineyards, harnessing a combination of grape varieties (56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot) that are matured in French oak and American oak barriques for 12 months.
The 2022 vintage is fruit-forward yet fresh, balancing a decadent cherry core with a subtle herbaceous hint of bay leaf and chocolate mint. Toasty oak contributes to a creamy texture that deepens with each sip. While certainly drinkable at this point, this wine is destined to reveal its full potential with time in the cellar. The recommended peak drinking period is between 2027 and 2045.
Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2023
Born from the legendary Max Schubert’s renowned Grange trials in the 1960s, Bin 389 is often referred to as ‘Baby Grange’, as its components are matured in the same barrels that held the previous vintage of Grange. It is one of Penfolds’ most sought-after red blend wines, thanks to a distinct personality that comes from combining the structure of Cabernet Sauvignon with the warmth and richness of Shiraz.
Layered and balanced, the 2023 vintage is bursting with rich red fruits, supple tannins and a long, savoury finish as notes of black olive and fennel come to the fore. Its complexity provides decades of cellaring capability, with the peak drinking period lasting all the way until 2050.
Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 2023
The 2023 Bin 407 makes use of only the finest Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from a range of South Australian vineyards, demonstrating the value of Penfolds’ multi-regional blending philosophy.
This classic Cabernet Sauvignon is lively and expressive, melding dark Cabernet fruits with savoury oak and understated earthy complexity that comes courtesy of subtle tobacco notes. Those who subject their bottles to a longer spell in the cellar will be rewarded with the wine’s full expression. Penfolds recommends a peak drinking period from around 2027 until 2047.
Penfolds St Henri Shiraz 2022
The St Henri is a Penfolds icon, first released in the 1950s and rediscovered by wine collectors in the 1990s. It is a unique expression of Shiraz, unusual among high-quality Australian red wines as it doesn’t rely on any new oak but rather spends 14 months in large unseasoned vats that allow the wine to develop, imparting minimal, if any oak character.
The 2022 vintage is instantly recognisable as St Henri, with its fresh, berry-forward nose and richly layered palate of hazelnut, macadamia, white chocolate and Dutch liquorice, followed by summer berry pudding. As a young wine, the St Henri is rich and plush, but it will reward patience as it ages, gaining a complex, earthy character.
Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay 2023
Translating to an Indigenous word that means ‘little-by-little, gradually’, Yattarna represents the culmination of years of comprehensive research and development. Only the finest-quality Chardonnay grapes sourced from cool-climate regions in any given vintage will go into the blend: such is Yattarna’s prestige that it has become known as the ‘White Grange’.
The 2023 Yattarna vintage is elegant and vibrant, with an array of flavours that unfold on the palate gracefully, from the herbal zestiness of lemon myrtle to the sweetness of nashi pear and white fig, finished with a hint of bright lime. It can be enjoyed now, but will develop a richness of character as it ages, until around 2046.
Penfolds Cuvée Brut NV
No wine cellar is complete without champagne. This Cuvée Brut NV from Penfolds is the latest release in a five-strong champagne series, developed in partnership with family-owned French champagne house Thiénot. As such, it maintains Penfolds’ distinctive House Style while imbuing the elegance of French terroir.
Made from a blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay, this champagne is fresh and lively, with wafts of lily, chamomile and seringat on the nose, and a slightly sherbety, citrus-forward palate that remains clean and pure, without any bitterness from zest.
For more wine, discover the best bottles to drink at a summer barbecue...
