2009 Australia

In contrast to Bin 707, Bin 169 is the expression of the fruit and terroir from one single region, Coonawarra, perhaps the region more closely associated with Cabernet Sauvignon in Australia than any other. Matured for 14 months in new French oak, contemporary style showing both regionality and maturation of Cabernet Sauvignon in fine grained French oak.

An alternative expression of Shiraz, and an intriguing contrast to Grange. And unusual amongst top quality Australian red wines as it is made without the use of new oak. A distinctive style, St Henri is rich and plush when young, gaining soft, earthy, mocha-like characters as it ages. It is matured in old, 1460 litre vats that allow the wine to develop whilst imparting little, if any oak character.

The nose is full of ripe Cassis and Blueberry, a hint of pencil shavings and szechuan pepper lies underneath.  The palate is medium plus bodied , a finer and more classically structured Grange with great composition and poise.  The mid palate is full of bramble fruit which leads gently into a finish of finely grained, integrated and savoury tannins and a cooling menthol acidity.
Stuart Rae, Private Account Manager

A full bodied wine with proven cellaring potential, Bin 707 is renowned as one of Australia's finest Cabernet Sauvignon wines and is Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon version of Grange. Full and rich fruit allied with American Oak, Bin 707 fully expresses Penfolds understanding of multi-vineyard, multi- region fruit sourcing. Bin 707 is a multi-regional blend, but the core of the fruit still comes from 150 year old pre-phylloxera vines from the famous Block 42 parcel in the Kalimna vineyards.

A very intense nose, the palate shows power yet poise and a real purity of fruit: concentrated mulberry and cassis. The 100% new American oak is perfectly integrated. Seriously refined this rivals the great wines of Bordeaux at a fraction of the price and will benefit from serious cellaring.

The initials RWT stand for 'Red Winemaking Trial', the name given to the project internally when developmental work for a new wine began in 1995. Unlike other Penfolds wines, RWT is sourced from a single region – the Barossa Valley - and has an opulent and fleshy style, perfumed with blueberry and blackberry fruit. It offers an admirable alternative to the multi-regional sourcing and American oak maturation that are hallmarks of Grange, expressing instead single region Barossa valley Shiraz matured only in French Oak.

Aged in French oak (50-70% new) for up to 15 months, this has a classic Barossa nose of rich, spicy black fruit with a hint of eucalyptus. On the palate, black cherry, blackberry and five spice all merge seamlessly with the oak and supple tannins. Long on the finish, this is another excellent RWT.
(Fergus Stewart, BBR Fine Wine)

A by-product, if you like, of the Yattarna Chardonnay development, with an emphasis
on the fruit of the cooler-climate Adelaide Hills. A more mineral, edgy style than
Yattarna itself.

The nose immediately offers up some impeccably well-executed toasty oak balanced
out by ripe exotic fruit. This richness of fruit follows into the mouth, brilliantly
underpinned by crisp acidity and a mineral edginess. The precision is remarkable
given the weight of fruit – this really is a tight-rope walker. A slightly nutty note adds
to the show. Lovely stuff, with all bells and whistles ringing.
(BBR Fine Wine)

2009 proved to be a stunning vintage for Torbreck and this RunRig promises to be one of the best we have ever made. The growing season was ideal during flowering and fruit set and some shatter in the shiraz restricted yields in some of our key blocks. A heat wave in late January and early February was followed by perfectly mild and dry conditions, allowing the vines to recover and the fruit to ripen slowly. Through this period we were patient allowing us to pick our old vine RunRig parcels when they were flawlessly ripe.

These factors culminated in the development of some incredible aromatics in the wine, so much so that we decided the Shiraz in 2009 did not require its usual addition of Viognier. The tannin structure is beautiful and the wine flows effortlessly from wonderful perfume to a lithe, dense and complex palate. This wine will prove to be one of the truly great RunRigs.
(Torbreck Vintners)