Penfolds Bin 95 Grange 2006

Penfolds Rewards of Patience tasting panel 2021 - 5/5 rating
James Halliday Top 100 Wines of 2011

Penfolds Bin 95 Grange Shiraz is Australia's most famous wine with a reputation for superb fruit complexity and flavour richness. It is the most powerful expression of Penfolds multi-vineyard, multi-district blending philosophy and is officially listed as a Heritage Icon of South Australia. One of the world's great wines.

"2006 takes the energy and vitality of 2002 and the opulence and stamina of 2004 and finds a middle ground, in a ravishing state of contentedness. A marvel of flavour engineering, throbbing with satsuma plum skin, black pastilles, liquorice, coal, black olives, iodine and exotic spice. Seamless, impeccably refined tannins rise like a tsunami. Controlled, focused and honed; another heroic Grange has ascended to the lineage of legends."  Tyson Stelzer 

The 2006 Penfolds Grange is a blend of 98% shiraz and 2% cabernet sauvignon from premium vineyards in the Barossa Valley, Coonawarra and Magill Estate. The wine was matured for 18 months in American oak hogsheads (100% new).

"There is plenty of substance, fruit sweetness and latent power. With its overall richness, buoyancy of fruit and layered textures, it will take some time to unravel and evolve. Deceptively approachable at release… don't be fooled! A profound and complete offer - akin to a mix of the 2002 and 2004 Grange vintages… not a bad credential on any curriculum vitae. Very Penfolds! Very Barossa! Very Grange!"  Peter Gago, Penfold's Chief Winemaker

"Deep crimson. Deep blackberry, mulberry, dark chocolate, liquorice and herb garden notes. Beautifully concentrated blackberry, mulberry and liquorice flavours with fine plentiful rich persistent chalky tannins, attractive inky complexity and buoyancy on the mid-palate. Fresh roasted walnut, mocha and vanilla oak notes. Finishes chalky firm with a long graphite tannin plume. A superb vintage. Drinking well, but will improve with time. Peak drinking 2025 to 2065.

Expert reviews

"Deep crimson. Deep blackberry, mulberry, dark chocolate, liquorice and herb garden notes. Beautifully concentrated blackberry, mulberry and liquorice flavours with fine plentiful rich persistent chalky tannins, attractive inky complexity and buoyancy on the mid-palate. Fresh roasted walnut, mocha and vanilla oak notes. Finishes chalky firm with a long graphite tannin plume. A superb vintage."  Penfolds Rewards of Patience tasting panel 2021 - 5/5 rating

"This is classic, inimitable, perfect Grange. With its deep saturated colour, intensely fresh dark berry/ mocha/ paneforte/ roasted chestnut aromas, rich velvety palimpsest of flavours and wonderful vinosity, it evokes Max Schubert's "buoyant and ethereal" vision splendid. This is not just any wine. This is great lasting legend-making Grange; a beautifully aromatic and voluminous wine with superb fruit complexity, balance of weight, substance and texture. Seductive, elemental and expressive, it will further develop and improve beautifully over the forthcoming decades. This is a forty or fifty year wine at least." Andrew Caillard MW - 100 points

"2006 takes the energy and vitality of 2002 and the opulence and stamina of 2004 and finds a middle ground, in a ravishing state of contentedness. This is Barossa shiraz, sufficient to be labelled as such, with tiny quantities of Coonawarra and Magill and just 2% cabernet. Intricately tweaked pressings make the style more approachable, but seemingly none of its legendary longevity has been sacrificed. A marvel of flavour engineering, throbbing with satsuma plum skin, black pastilles, liquorice, coal, black olives, iodine and exotic spice. Immense, nutty oak lurks behind the fruit at every moment like a dark shadow. Seamless, impeccably refined tannins rise like a tsunami. Controlled, focused and honed; another heroic Grange has ascended to the lineage of legends. Drink 2031-2046."  Tyson Stelzer -  99 points

"Made from fruit coming predominantly from the Barossa Valley (97%) and containing 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2006 Grange has been added to my list of favourite recent vintages. Deep garnet-purple coloured... offering notes of warm cherries, blackcurrants, anise, coffee and toast with underlying hints of soy, yeast extract, black olives and Indian spices. Tight-knit and solidly structured on the medium to full bodied palate, the concentrated fruit is densely coiled around the firm grainy tannins and very crisp acidity... promises something very special in the years to come. It finishes very long, complex and layered with the cedar poking though the fruit purity... should begin opening out around 2016... drink to 2030+."  Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate – 98 points

"Still deep crimson; its bouquet sets the scene for the strikingly complex array of black characters that run all the way through the wine from the first whiff to the finish and aftertaste: anise, licorice, tar, bitter chocolate, blackberry, prune and peppercorns. The tannins are prominent, and play their part in the steadily building impact on the very long palate with each successive sip, but they are in balance with the fruit and oak of an extremely powerful Grange. Great future. For the record, it contains 2% cabernet sauvignon, and came from the Barossa Valley, Coonawarra and Magill. 14.5% alc; cork. Drink: to 2050 Price: $650."  James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion - 98 points and Top 100 Wines of 2011

"Holy cow Batman – this is one hell of a wine! Liquorice, plums, coffee, blackberries, tar and assertive new oak – will need a lot of time to open. A show-stopper!"  Nick Stock, Wine100 – 98 points

"Dense and quite closed wine that is a little hard to read at this stage. Big and powerful red with great power and intensity. Obviously the best years lie ahead but this is clearly an impressive red now. Dark berry, spice, vanilla, dark chocolate and a solid overlay of oak. Hard to say whether it's a classic Grange but it's certainly very, very good." Bob Campbell MW, The Real Review - 98 points

"I don't have price or alcohol details as yet but I'll fill the numbers in when they come through. More importantly I'm pretty excited about the way the wine tastes. This year's release is made from grapes grown mostly in the Barossa Valley (shiraz), though there is a small amount of shiraz from Magill Estate in Adelaide included in the final wine, and two percent cabernet sauvignon from Coonawarra. As always, it's matured in 100 percent new American oak. This year's Grange is a wine with a huge, clean, cutting right hook of flavour as you swallow.
It's not a massive release but the ropes of flavour-drenched tannin on the finish pull it on and on. This precision engineering through the finish marks its intense quality. It tastes of blackberry and aniseed, nutmeg and smoky vanilla. It's quite delicious, and yet there's no question that it's powerfully wrought. It's not a particularly heralded vintage, in general terms, but the way this release presents in the glass is, to me, what Grange is all about. Impeccable winemaking, pure fruit, clasps of uncompromising tannin, smokin' barrels, and thrust. It will live for a very long time, because it's so well designed, and because it does its thing so well. Drink : 2020 – 2040."  Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front - 97 points

"Perhaps constricted at first, the 2006 Grange swirls open with a bit of air, revealing a tightly knit scent of very fine-grained, lightly spicy cedar/mocha oak, pumped up by an impressively deep, complex array of Barossa shiraz character. Aromas of licorice, earth, dark plums and berries, roast meats, white pepper, cherry cola and sarsaparilla maybe, all emerge in the display, but its character laden fragrance is ultimately even and terribly inviting, with not a hair out of place. Initially, it enters the palate in a surprisingly silky, sensuous manner, before a downright authoritative tannin structure takes shape. Growing waves of ultra-fine, powdery tannins ensconce its youthful Grange notes of dark berries, soy, licorice and nutty/chocolate oak, with a refreshing hit of sour-edged fruit rearing its head towards the finish. It's uncompromisingly deep yet practically medium-bodied, proving itself surprisingly elegant, drinkable and just so, so balanced. Its 'fanned-out', 'peacock's tail' of a finish remains the most defining feature, but then there's the harmony and guaranteed longevity...
The 2006 Grange is one of the most balanced expressions of South Australian shiraz you could imagine, but clearly, its best years are yet to come. That isn't to say it isn't drinking well now, because it possesses a sensuous, medium weighted feel and ultra, ultra-fine tannin structure, combining to make it an incredible (and expensive) temptation. Just chalk up another one for Mr Gago. Drink to 2046."  Chris Plummer – 97 points

"The new vintage is 2006 and it's an outstanding wine. Elegant and beautifully balanced, it comes from an excellent vintage and will take its place in the top rank of Granges. In modern Grange style, it's not overtly oaky nor too tannic and it's certainly not a blockbuster. Gago describes it as between '04 and '02 in style: ‘It has some of the alluring generosity of character and spirit of '04 and some of the linearity of the cool-vintage '02.' It can be enjoyed now but it will last for 50 years like the best of them."  Huon Hooke, The Age – 97 points

Awards

James Halliday Top 100 Wines of 2011
Penfolds Rewards of Patience tasting panel 2021 - 5/5 rating

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!'.