Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2023
Style: Red Wine
Variety: Shiraz
Closure: Cork
Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2023
Camberwell
Burke Road
Camberwell VIC 3124
Australia
Critic Score: 96 and 18/20
Alcohol: 14.5%
Size: 750 ml
Drink by: 2040
Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz is the archetypal warm climate Australian shiraz - ripe, robust and generously flavoured. First made in 1959, Bin 28 is named after the famous Barossa Valley Kalimna vineyard purchased by Penfolds in 1945 and from which the wine was originally sourced. Today, Kalimna Bin 28 is a multi-region, multi-vineyard blend, with the Barossa Valley always well represented.
"Deep crimson with a strong aromatic profile of blackberry, black cherry and blueberry studded with mixed spice, blackforest cake, roasting meats, panforte, dark chocolate and earth. Plenty of depth and latent fruit power with this release; perhaps a little more power than last year's model, with fine, strong tannins supporting the fruit beautifully. A strong release for the Bin 28 Shiraz." Dave Brookes
The 2023 Bin 28 Kalimna was sourced from vineyards in Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Padthaway. The wine was matured for 12 months in American oak hogsheads (15% new).
"The bouquet unfolds with an array of decadent aromatics, reminiscent of a French pâtisserie. A blend of baking spices emerges first, with cinnamon sugar, sweet custard, and the warmth of Chelsea tea cakes. Next, a berry pudding note emerges, with a compote of red and black fruits. Skillet-roasted meat and herb-infused pan scrapings are present. An indulgent sweet note of blueberry pie rounds out a complex, inviting aroma profile that is unmistakably Penfolds.
On the palate, blue fruits instantly emerge, specifically elderberries, blueberries, and bilberries. Poached plums merge with the exotic spiciness of cassia bark, imparting rich flavours. A hint of meat adds depth and character to the profile. The mouthfeel is sculpted by chocolate powder tannins, which are luxurious and precise, lending a structure that is both assertive and velvety. Also present is the umami complexity of tomato consommé, enriched with piquant olive tapenade. The palate is further textured by a ferrous minerality. Peak drinking: Now-2043." Penfolds
Expert reviews
"A very considered medley of black and blue fruit emerges at the first look, with a glimpse of black cherries and elderberries. Just give it some time, and it will show you what it is capable of: carob, rolled tobacco leaf, spearmint, polished new leather, and olive tapenade. You named it; you have it. Every sniff delivers a new aroma. Such a captivating nose. Tannins are monumental, with the right degree of fruit bitterness; the acidity sustains the structure. Leave this wine in the glass for a while before savouring it; it holds up well to oxygen, improving with time." Lisa Cardelli, Wine Pilot - 96 points
"Deep crimson. Intense black cherry/ kirsch, blackberry, dark chocolate aromas with attractive herb/ chinotto notes. Inky deep and generous with lovely blackberry, black cherry. Mulberry fruits, fresh, supple, chocolaty tannins and well-integrated roasted walnut/ hint marzipan notes. Builds up brambly firm at the finish with seductive bittersweet notes. Buoyant, exuberant and voluminous with an underlying brambly vigour. Drinking well now but should further develop over the medium term. Drink now – 2037." Andrew Caillard MW, The Vintage Journal Penfolds Collection 2025 - 95 points
"Deep crimson with a strong aromatic profile of blackberry, black cherry and blueberry studded with mixed spice, blackforest cake, roasting meats, panforte, dark chocolate and earth. Plenty of depth and latent fruit power with this release; perhaps a little more power than last year's model, with fine, strong tannins supporting the fruit beautifully. A strong release for the Bin 28 Shiraz. Drink by 2040." Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion - 95 points and Special Value Wine ★
"This is a multi-regional blend from the Barossa, McLaren Vale and Padthaway, blended in all American oak hogsheads, of which 15% was new. Challenging year, and yet this has turned out as a thoroughly beautiful example of this famous wine. The colour is deep and dark, while the nose opens to reveal spicy and savoury dark plum nuances with just a faint hint of vanilla pod. The palate is wrapped in fine yet firm tannins and a precise touch of oak to present its full range of fruit nuances. Has some lovely red fruit nuances that pick up on the finish. Cellar 18 years." Ray Jordan - 95 points
"With 15% new oak, this is more adroit Bin 28 than of late, and while it sports a dinner jacket, you need not worry because there is a pair of familiar dungarees beneath the formal exterior. While the tannins are slightly firmer than in the last few releases, the fruit is subtle, layered, and enticing. Bin 28 has such a loyal following around the world that it might mean people drink this wine with their brains in neutral, letting the familiar fruit wash over their taste buds unhindered. However, I am certain that this vintage will have these fans sitting up straight and paying attention. 2023 Bin 28 is a resounding success, and at thirty quid, it sings a crystal clear Penfolds song that will act as a siren call for lifelong acolytes and newbies alike." Matthew Jukes - 18/20 points
"A warm-hearted Shiraz if ever there was one, generous yes, but it’s a well-controlled generosity. Deep purple hues. Blackstrap liquorice, deep black fruits, anise, woody spices light up the bouquet. Almost slinky on the tongue, sinuous and close fitting, it moves well aided by time in American hogsheads (just 15% new) providing some spark and overall spiciness and pastry notes to a palate that celebrates ripe Shiraz. Laid out on long, soft, ripe tannins, it finishes much the way it started with a flourish of choc-liquorice and black fruit intensity. Drink: 2025-2038." Jeni Port, Wine Pilot – 94 points
"The 2023 season in South Australia was wetter than either vintage either side of it, and the wines, if farmed well (yields managed, disease managed, ripeness achieved), have captured the detail and levity that these conditions can be responsible for. On balance, I've liked the 2023 Barossa/McLaren Vale reds that I have tasted so far. I've liked them more than those of the 2017 vintage, which experienced similar conditions. Here, the 2023 Bin 28 is rich and savory, the oak - wholly American oak, 15% new - sits atop the fruit on the front palate, but the fruit emerges and plumes through the middle palate and finish. A lighter release of this wine, it is still structured but not weighty. Drink 2025 - 2043." Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate - 93 points
"This is a restrained yet quietly compelling Bin 28. It opens with a subtle, brooding nose—cedar, vanilla pod and baking spice framing blackberry, blackcurrant and a lift of menthol that adds freshness and aromatic tension. The palate is densely packed with black fruits and dark spice, yet it never feels heavy. Coiled acidity and tight-grained tannins provide shape and structure, keeping the wine focused and energetic. This is a cooler, more composed expression of Bin 28—classic in its style, but with a calm, graphite-edged intensity that lingers. A strong release." Tom Kline, Wine Pilot - 93 points
"This is an Australian classic that has been made every year since 1959. Aromas of blackberries, dark chocolate, crushed blueberries and dried herbs. The palate is full-bodied with firmly framed tannins, bright acidity and a savory and dark-fruited finish. Drink or hold." James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com - 93 points
"Today, the fruit is sourced from the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Padthaway, rather than just the Kalimna vineyard which gave the wine its name. Maturation is for a year in American oak, 15% new. The colour in the glass was a shimmering, yet opaque maroon. A little more dense than some, yet it appears almost demure, indeed reticent, in comparison. Black fruits rule, with leather, cloves, black olives, dark chocolate, blackberries, licorice and graphite. In those brief moments when the black fruits loosen their grip, we see notes of blueberries and even blood sausage scrapings sneak through. Well-handled oak, which will be near invisible in a few short years, and the wine has serious concentration. Demure and reticent to open, certainly, but it did not take all that long for it to emerge from its shell. A juicy fruit style with very dark chocolate notes on the palate and sour cherries on the finish, there is good balance here. Fine, firm tannins finish the wine, which is of medium length. Ten years will be a doddle for it. Drink: 2025-2035." Ken Gargett, Wine Pilot - 92 points
Awards
Special Value Wine – Halliday Wine Companion ★
Peter Gago
The following text is taken from an article by Ken Gargett in Quill & Pad, https://quillandpad.com
Peter Gago has what many people in the wine world think is the best job on the planet. He is chief winemaker for Penfolds, based in South Australia and one of Australia’s oldest wine producers.
Max Schubert created Grange with the experimental first wine, the 1951, after he returned from Bordeaux and wanted to establish an Aussie First Growth. The story of Grange has been told many times, and as fascinating as it is I won’t rehash it again. Schubert ruled at Penfolds right through to the 1976 vintage, when he handed the reins to Don Ditter. Ditter made the wines right through to the 1986 vintage when John Duval stepped up. Duval was chief winemaker until the 2002 vintage, when he left to do his own thing, very successfully.
Since that time, Peter Gago has been the chief winemaker. It should be noted that although the role of chief winemaker at Penfolds will always be inextricably linked with Grange, there are a great many other wines in the portfolio for which this position assumes ultimate responsibility.
Alongside the winemaking, in which he is still heavily involved, a usual week in non-Covid times sees Gago flying around the world to tastings, dinners, events, festivals, and promotions. I suspect that only David Attenborough (outside of pilots and crew) has racked up more flying miles. I remember seeing him one day when he seemed even more pleased with the world than usual. Turns out he’d just run into his wife, Gail, now retired but a long-term and highly regarded member of the South Australian parliament, at the airport. Gago had not been aware that they would both be in the same country that week, let alone cross paths, such is his usual peripatetic lifestyle.
Gago has friends and admirers all around the globe, from the rich and famous to young, aspiring wine lovers, and will spend time talking to them all. I suspect that if he wanted to start dropping names, the din would reverberate for days, but you could not find a humbler man. Gago is a serious music buff and you’d be amazed at the number of rock stars who revere him, much in the way their fans might do for them (for instance, after crawling over broken glass to get a ticket to a Bruce Springsteen concert I saw Gago sitting in prime seats with Springsteen’s family, after which they went for dinner and knocked off a few bottles of Grange).
Gago is probably as close to a rock star himself in the world of wine, although perhaps more modest rather than flamboyant. And I have no idea if he can sing.
The thing that most amazes me with Gago is that every time you talk to him, he is bubbling with genuine enthusiasm, not just for Grange but for all his wines. He just loves what he is doing. One gets the feeling that every morning he wakes up and pinches himself to make sure it is real.
Among his many attributes, Gago has the gift of the gab like few others. Only once have I ever seen him lost for words and caught off guard. Many years ago, at the annual release – held in a very fancy location near the shores of Sydney Harbor; it is always a fancy location somewhere and also always includes great champagne to kick off the day as Gago is fanatical about the world’s best bubbles – the then current chairman or CEO of whichever corporate entity was then the owner of Penfolds attended the day. Forgive me for my failure to remember just where the corporate snakes and ladders left Penfolds that day and for failing to remember the relevant gentleman’s name. He had only been appointed as a temporary executive while the search for a more permanent one was ongoing, but unlike any of the CEOs before and after, this man had a genuine interest and came to a couple of tastings to learn.
Anyway, as we sipped our champagne on the lawns overlooking Sydney Harbor and chatted, our friend suddenly posed a question to Gago. He had been meaning to ask, he said, just how much Grange the company made. There were five or six writers in this little group and suddenly, every single one of us had pad and pen poised. The production of Grange is a national secret that is not to be disclosed under pain of death (general consensus puts it at, depending on the vintage, between 5,000 and 15,000 cases, with most releases in the mid range, but this is pure speculation).
Gago was at a loss. The boss of bosses had just asked him a direct question and Gago is far too polite not to answer but knew he couldn’t give that information out in public. He managed a fair bit of mumbling and generalizations and I think he suggested they meet later. Pads and pens all went back into bags, and we could not help grinning while Gago looked like he’d just swallowed a bad oyster.
Gago was born in England in 1957, but his family moved to Melbourne when he was only six years of age. Originally a math teacher (teaching is still a passion), he undertook a science degree at the University of Melbourne and then attended Roseworthy College, a famous Australian winemaking college, graduating as Dux (the highest ranking academic performance -ed), which will surprise no one.
In 1989 he joined Penfolds as a sparkling winemaker, working with Ed Carr, who has established a career in sparkling wine (now with Arras) as successful as Gago’s is with table wines. He moved to reds and quickly rose through the ranks until succeeding Duval in 2002. In the 73 years since Schubert was first appointed, Gago is only the fourth chief winemaker.
During his tenure, he has stacked up an extraordinary array of bling, as has Penfolds under his stewardship (Gago heads a team of eight winemakers for table wines and a couple more for fortifieds). He has several “Winemaker of the Year” awards from different entities and publications, both from Australia and abroad, but the accolades go well beyond that.
In 2017, in what is termed “the Queen’s Birthday Honors List,” he was awarded the highly prestigious Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for service to the wine industry. For non-Aussies, that is a big one! A year later, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of South Australia and named the Great Wine Capitals Ambassador for South Australia.
Very recently, Gago was awarded perhaps the most prestigious honor of all in the wine world: admission to the Decanter Hall of Fame (previously they honored the Decanter Man – or Woman – of the Year, but that changed). Decanter is a highly respected English wine magazine that established its hall of fame in 1984 with Serge Hochar from Château Musar in Lebanon the first recipient. There is only a single addition per year. Gago is the fourth Australian following Max Schubert in 1988, Len Evans in 1997, and Brian Croser in 2004. That two of the four chief winemakers from a single producer have made this list (Schubert and Gago) is unprecedented but shows just where Penfolds sits in the pantheon of wine producers around the globe.
And should you still remain unconvinced then take a moment to look at some of the names Gago has joined: Parker, Spurrier, Tchelistcheff, Robinson, Moueix, de Villaine, Antinori, Lichine, Gaja, Symington, Loosen, Guigal, Torres, Draper, Peynaud, Mondavi, and so many more. There is no question that the name Peter Gago sits very comfortably alongside them all.
What is most important is that across the board the Penfolds wines have never been better, and while it is a team effort, in the end we can thank Gago.
About the winery
After the success of early sherries and fortified wines, founders Dr Christopher and Mary Penfold planted the vine cuttings they had carried on their voyage over to Australia. In 1844 the fledging vineyard was officially established as the Penfolds wine company at Magill Estate.
As the company grew, so too did Dr Penfold's medical reputation, leaving much of the running of the winery to Mary Penfold. Early forays into Clarets and Rieslings proved increasingly popular, and on Christopher's death in 1870, Mary assumed total responsibility for the winery. Mary's reign at the helm of Penfolds saw years of determination and endeavour.
By the time Mary Penfold retired in 1884 (ceding management to her daughter, Georgina) Penfolds was producing 1/3 of all South Australia's wine. She'd set an agenda that continues today, experimenting with new methods in wine production. By Mary's death in 1896, the Penfolds legacy was well on its way to fruition. By 1907, Penfolds had become South Australia's largest winery.
In 1948, history was made again as Max Schubert became the company's first Chief Winemaker. A loyal company man and true innovator, Schubert would propel Penfolds onto the global stage with his experimentation of long-lasting wines - the creation of Penfolds Grange in the 1950s.
In 1959 (while Schubert was perfecting his Grange experiment in secret), the tradition of ‘bin wines' began. The first, a Shiraz wine with the grapes of the company's own Barossa Valley vineyards was simply named after the storage area of the cellars where it is aged. And so Kalimna Bin 28 becomes the first official Penfolds Bin number wine.
In 1960, the Penfolds board instructed Max Schubert to officially re-start production on Grange. His determination and the quality of the aged wine had won them over.
Soon, the medals began flowing and Grange quickly became one of the most revered wines around the world. In 1988 Schubert was named Decanter Magazine's Man of the Year, and on the 50th anniversary of its birth, Penfolds Grange was given a heritage listing in South Australia.
Despite great success, Penfolds never rests on its laurels. In 2012 Penfolds released its most innovative project to date - 12 handcrafted ampoules of the rare 2004 Kalimna Block Cabernet Sauvignon.
Two years later, Penfolds celebrated the 170th anniversary – having just picked up a perfect score of 100 for the 2008 Grange in two of the world's most influential wine magazines. Today, Penfolds continues to hold dear the philosophies and legends – ‘1844 to evermore!'.
South Australia
South Australian is responsible for more than half the production of all Australian wine. It is home to more than 900 wineries across 18 wine regions. The regions are Adelaide Hills, Adelaide Plains, Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Coonawarra, Currency Creek, Eden Valley, Kangaroo Island, Langhorne Creek, McLaren Vale, Mount Benson, Mount Gambier, Padthaway, Riverland, Robe, Southern Fleurieu, Southern Flinders Ranges and Wrattonbully.
Many of the well-known names in the South Australian wine industry established their first vineyards in the late 1830s and early 1840s. The first vines in McLaren Vale were planted at Reynella in 1839 and Penfold's established Magill Estate on the outskirts of Adelaide in 1844.
South Australia has a vast diversity in geography and climate which allows the State to be able to produce a range of grape varieties - from cool climate Riesling in the Clare and Eden Vallies to the big, full bodied Shiraz wines of the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale. Two of Australia's best-known wines, Penfolds Grange and Henschke Hill of Grace, are produced here. There is much to discover in South Australia for the wine lover.