Winemaker Notes
Bin 51 captures many of the attributes of the Eden Valley locale. The region’s high altitude and cool climate induces riesling with great finesse and elegance with a capacity for long-term cellaring. South Australia has gained worldwide recognition for producing world-class Riesling and Eden Valley always features. In their youth, the wines possess scented floral and citrus aromas, with a mineral edge and marked natural acidity, contributing significantly to the palate texture and flavor.
Professional Ratings
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Australian Wine Companion
A highly floral bouquet spanning citrus blossom and rose petals. A fresh and bright palate has the expected length and balance, promising much for the future.
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James Suckling
I love the very delicate and subtle nose of lemon and lime blossoms. Sleek, elegant and focused, this is an excellent Eden Valley dry riesling with wonderful mineral and lime zest freshness at the long precise finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Bin 51 Riesling is talcy and floral and lacy on the nose, with green apple, a hint of pear skin, lanolin and saline acidity threaded throughout. This has a generosity and plushness to it, all contained within a web of fine phenolics. This is pithy and über fine. So good. 2022 in the Eden Valley was excellent: an extension of the cool and even season experienced in 2021, quality is high and nuanced detail is inherent in these wines. Drink it now, or cellar it for a decade or more. Up there as one of the best Bin 51s we've seen.
Rating: 94+ -
Wine Enthusiast
The wine’s delicate appeal arrives at first sniff in the form of lemon-lime and white florals, with a touch of honey and beeswax. The palate is dry and crisp with piercing acidity and a limey finish. A few more years in bottle should round things out— consider cellaring until 2030 or beyond.
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.
Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
Higher in elevation and topographically more dramatic than the Barossa Valley floor, Eden Valley abuts it to its south and east. While it is a bit of an extension of Barossa, Eden Valley is topographically different than the pastoral Barossa Valley, and is composed of rocky hills and eucalyptus groves.
Recognizing Eden Valley’s potential with Riesling in the 1960s and 70s, producers started to move their Riesling production from Barossa to these better sites where schist soils on hilltops would produce more steely, tart and age-worthy examples. A most famous site, planted by Colin Gramp, called Steingarten, today produces one of the most outstanding Australian Rieslings. Youthful Eden Valley Rieslings express floral, grapefruit and mineral, while with time in the bottle, they become increasingly toasty and complex.
Riesling isn’t the only grape the region can grow; undeniably at lower altitudes Shiraz does very well. Mount Edelstone is a notable vineyard as well as the Hill of Grace, which boasts healthy Shiraz vines well over 100 years old. This is the only Australian region where Merlot has a made a name for itself and Chardonnay can be spectacular, particularly from the High Eden subregion in the southern valley.