Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A single region (Tumbarumba) in 2013, this makes a slightly grassy and quite savoury expression at this stage, mealy and biscuity, a little flinty, with hints of just ripe peach and nectarine. The palate is brisk, plenty of acid lurking below the surface and the low pH holds rich fruit in a neat line. Peach and nectarine flavours pervade the finish, will expand over time.
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Wine Spectator
A tight, crisp and steely style, with tangy tangerine, lime and green pineapple flavors, lingering on the jazzy finish. This has plenty of room to grow in the bottle. Drink now through 2020. 949 cases imported.
Since 1844, Penfolds has been grounded in experimentation, curiosity and uncompromising quality. Their success has been driven by a lineage of visionary winemakers. It began with Dr. Christopher and Mary Penfold, the pioneers who dreamed big, inventing tonics, brandies, and fortified wines made from grapes and Australian sunshine. It continued with celebrated winemaking legends including Max Schubert, who pushed the development to extraordinary, bold new heights. It is this pioneering spirit and curiosity that still rings true after nearly two centuries, it is what has helped Penfolds become one of the most celebrated winemakers in the world today.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
The birthplace of Australian wine but also fast to embrace innovation, New South Wales is full of historic wine regions as well as some of the nation’s most contemporary producers. Along the entire western side of the Great Dividing Range, New South Wales includes the famous wine regions of Hunter Valley, Mudgee, Orange, Hilltops, Canberra and Riverina.