Penfolds 1992 Bin range released
Compiled by Joe Hyam
It sounds ordinary, but wine drinkers are now coming to recognise that Penfolds' ranges of bin-numbered wines are a reliable indication of quality, consistency and good value from Australia's well-known wine producer.
The release of the 1992 bin range of red wines is therefore of special interest if you are managing a broad-based wine list.
The philosophy behind the range is to blend grapes from across South Australia's best wine-growing areas to maintain varietal character and consistent style from year to year.
The 1992 wines include:
- Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz, made with 50% fruit from the Barossa Valley and a blend from five other areas.
Tasting notes indicate ripe berry fruits which make for good drinking now, and a sound tannic structure that will allow it to mature for another five years. The trade price is about £76 a case.
For a classic Cabernet Sauvignon, try Bin 407, another wine designed for long-term cellaring as well as drinking now. It is priced at about £76 a case.
The Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz combination is proving a favourite with lovers of full-bodied complex wines. The 1992 Bin 389 shows you why.
Tasting notes show richness, softness and generous fruit flavours gently seasoned with oak. It is another long-lasting wine. The trade price is about £98 a case.
The showcase wine in the present 1992 release is Bin 707. It is made entirely from Coonawarra grown grapes and is as good an example as you could find of Australian Cabernet Sauvignon at its best. It is listed at about £185 a case.
Don't forget that all those wines are brought into focus by what is undeniably Australia's greatest red wine - Penfolds Grange Bin 95, for which the price of the 1990 vintage is no less than £260 per six 75cl bottles.
Enquiries to Penfolds shipper, Southcorp Wines, tel: 0181-332 6600, or to Michael Morgan, tel: 0171-407 3466, from whose current trade list the above prices are taken.
