Penfolds Bin 60A Cabernet Shiraz 2004 (1500ml)
Style: Red Wine
Varieties: Cabernet Sauvingon (56%), Shiraz (44%)
Closure: Cork
Penfolds Bin 60A Cabernet Shiraz 2004 (1500ml)
Camberwell
Burke Road
Camberwell VIC 3124
Australia
Producer: Penfolds
Country: Australia
Region: Multi Regional SA
Vintage: 2004
Critic Score: 99
Alcohol: 13.5%
Size: 1500 ml
Drink by: 2080
Penfolds Rewards of Patience tasting panel 2021 - 5/5 rating
The 1962 Penfolds Bin 60A Cabernet Shiraz is a legendary Australian wine. It was made by Max Schubert after his Bordeaux odyssey, and agreed by all those who have tasted it to be the greatest wine Penfolds has ever made. It is also Penfolds most successful show wine, winning 19 trophies and 33 gold medals; and was the only non-French wine to make Decanter Magazine's top ten list of 'Wines to Try Before You Die'. James Halliday gave the ultimate tasting note; "An utterly superb wine, a glorious freak of nature and man; ethereal and beguiling, yet the palate is virtually endless, with a peacock's tale stolen from the very greatest of Burgundies; the fruit sweetness perfectly offset by acidity rather than VA. The 100 point dry red? Why not!"
The 1962-like vintage conditions in 2004 inspired the winemakers at Penfolds to recreate this legendary wine. It shows an incredible sense of heritage and perspective, to wait 42 years to try and make a second bottling.
The 2004 Bin 60A Cabernet Shiraz is a blend of 56% cabernet sauvignon from Block 20 in Coonawarra and 44% shiraz from Kalimna Blocks 4 & 14 and Koonunga Hill Block 53G in the Barossa Valley. Fermentation was completed in medium toast, new 300L oak hogsheads, followed by 13 months barrel fermentation.
"I tasted this wine a week after it had been bottled, and still find it difficult to believe that I had seen it at its worst. The Bin 60A is already taking on the colours and texture of a sumptuous tapestry: to try to describe the myriad individual parts is to miss the point. Perfectly structured and balanced, this is a very great wine. Will it be better than the 1962 60A? Sadly, I don't fancy my chances of being around to answer the question in 30 years." James Halliday
"Exquisite parcels of Block 20 Coonawarra cabernet sauvignon, Koonunga Hill and Kalimna Vineyard Barossa shiraz were identified and separately vinified at Magill and Nuriootpa in open and closed headed down fermenters. Towards dryness, the wine was racked into 100% new oak where the wine completed fermentation. After malolactic fermentation individual components were classified and then selected for inclusion into the 2004 Penfolds Bin 60A blend.
Deep in colour, this youthful elemental wine shows a miraculous overlapping of aromas and flavours. The regional characters of both Coonawarra and the Barossa Valley are finely poised. The highly perfumed chamomile/violet/mocha aromas, immense concentration, savoury flavours and classically structured palate are in superb balance. This beautifully defined cross-regional/varietal with its meaty nuances and fine-grained tannins will continue to evolve in the cellar for decades." Penfolds
"The 2004 Bin 60A is destined to become one of Penfolds great special Bin releases. The restraint, pure fruit and elegance of 2004 Block 20 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon is complimented by the power and richness of the 2004 Kalimna and Koonunga Hill Barossa Shiraz. Barrel fermentation in oak has woven all the fruit and oak elements into a wine of immense generosity, depth and complexity. This classically structured, beautifully balanced wine has all the finesse and integrity to develop and evolve in the cellar for many decades." Peter Gago, Penfolds Chief winemaker
Expert reviews
"Deep crimson. Slightly subdued with blackcurrant, blackberry, dark chocolate and liquorice aromas. Densely concentrated blackcurrant, mocha and dark chocolate flavours with herb garden and leafy cigar box nuances. Fine/supple grippy tannins and underlying savoury, meaty, roasted nut and panforte complexity. Peak drinking now to 2045." Penfolds Rewards of Patience tasting panel 2021 - 5/5 rating
"The release of the 2004 Bin 60A following the epic 1962 Bin 60A is old news now, but the wine was looking very fine indeed when I tasted it so I thought I'd add a note. Very deep purple-black in color, it offers restrained notes of game, smoked meat, earth, blackberry and black currant liqueurs, yeast, marmite-toast plus whiffs of dried lavender, cedar and bark. Very crisp, very tight and very firm, this taut medium-bodied wine is still all structure at this stage, going very long and earthy in the finish. Give it time and consider broaching it from 2014. It should drink well into the 2030s if not beyond." Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate - 99+ points
"Very deep red/purple, youthful colour. Smoked meats and dry Moroccan spices. Rich and massively full, fruit sweet and decadent in the mouth. Most impressive wine. Majestic. Lumdoocious. Gorgeous flavour and sweetness of fruit balanced by masses of tannins, smooth and supple. Enormous length. Great wine indeed. Drink: 2015–2054." Huon Hooke, The Real Review - 98 points
"I tasted this wine a week after it had been bottled, and still find it difficult to believe that I had seen it at its worst. The Bin 60A is already taking on the colours and texture of a sumptuous tapestry: to try to describe the myriad individual parts is to miss the point. Perfectly structured and balanced, this is a very great wine. Will it be better than the 1962 60A? Sadly, I don't fancy my chances of being around to answer the question in 30 years." James Halliday, The Weekend Australian - 98 points
"The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz Bin 60A Kalimna is a blend of Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon (56%) and Barossa Shiraz (44%). Its blackberry, blueberry, tar, lead pencil shavings, licorice, and spice box-scented bouquet is followed by a wine boasting an unctuous texture buttressed by decent acidity as well as fabulous extract and richness. This stunning blend should have a minimum of three decades of aging potential and be a true collector's item for many years to come. Date: Oct 2006; Drink 2006 - 2036." Robert Parker; Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate - 98 points
"A superbly balanced and assembled wine of massive power, structure and texture. Its dense aromas of brilliant cassis, violets, sweet vanilla/chocolate oak and dark olives are still closed but tightly focused, backed by undertones of white and black pepper, walnuts and prunes. Dense and deeply packed, its long and assertive palate of deep blackcurrant and plum-like flavour is framed by a firm, drying, powdery astringency, finishing with just a hint of prune and currant. A worthy and perhaps unexpected addition to this historic bloodline.(Coonawarra, Barossa Valley) Drink: 2024-2034+." Jeremy Oliver - 98 points
"Plum, currant and blackberry. Mint. Dark berry. Full body chewy and rich. Just a baby. Needs time to soften. A great wine. Better in 2022 but already great." James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com - 97 points
"Violet color. Cherry, blackberry and sexy oak spices on the nose, with a suave smoky tone adding complexity. Very sweet and sappy, with fat but juicy flavors of cherry preserves, ripe plum and baking spices. This has great flavor extract and richness but it's not thick or viscous. A wine of great structure, depth and length finishing on a sweetly spicy note of new American oak. This clocks in at only 13.3% alcohol and proves that a wine does not need head-spinning alcohol or ultraripeness to accomplish flavor impact. The only previous bottling under this bin number was the 1962." Stephen Tanzer, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar – 96 points
"The famous release is the 1962 Penfolds Bin 60A Cabernet Shiraz. This is only the second wine to be released under this label. It has the biggest shoes to fill. Lightning doesn't often strike twice, but this wine sure does its best.
It's dense, dark, heavy and loaded with fruit power. Exceptional depth and delivery, yet delicate in the way it delivers it all onto the tongue – a perfumed steamroller of a wine. Great length. But very young. A lake of tannin laces right through the wine. Perfectly constructed. Bottled under cork and screwcap. Monumentally seductive South Australian blend of cabernet sauvignon and shiraz. Magnificently perfumed. Great." Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front - 96 points
"There are approximately 1,000 cases of this wine, which blends 56% Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon with 44% Barossa Shiraz into a stunning combination of cassis and blackberries. Lifted bits of flowers on the nose resemble fine teas and dried herbs, adding the requisite complexity, while the mouthfeel artfully balances the weight of Shiraz with the structure of Cabernet. Mouthwatering and long, with fine, dusty tannins that bode well for aging. Drink 2014–2030." Joe Czerwinski, Wine Enthusiast - 96 points
Awards
Penfolds Rewards of Patience tasting panel 2021 - 5/5 rating
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.