Back when we first discovered Penfolds in the 80s, the wines represented some of the most compelling values in the marketplace. A lot has changed since that time. In fact it would take quite a bit of space to go over all the changes. Perhaps the key points are that Penfolds is not the same entity we sold all those years ago. A purchase by Southcorp some years ago, and subsequent ‘market factors’, changed the brand forever.
Since that time there has been financial intrigue, an explosion of demand in Asia that shot prices of Penfolds Bin 389 and 407 to 2-3 times their norm, and a period where most of the moderately priced Penfolds wines bordered on undrinkable (they were ferociously over-acidified). We won’t even get into some of the bizarre marketing moves that have recently come about. It would be very easy to let this behemoth go the way of the dinosaurs except for one small thing…they still have the ability to make some pretty interesting wines.
The 2016 Penfolds Shiraz/Cabernet Koonunga Hill South Australia is still one of the more compelling and straightforward value reds in the marketplace. It is a blend of 65% Shiraz and 35% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from a variety of locales (Padthaway, McLaren Vale, Wrattonbully, Barossa Valley and Coonawarra if you want to know) that sees 10 months in American oak. Stylistically it is round, plump, surprising ample for the price but not overdone. No self-respecting critic is going to give this more than an upper-80s type review simply because it is a ‘little wine’. But it is a delicious, engaging little wine and that should always be the point.