Penfolds Yattarna Bin 144 Chardonnay 2021

"Beautifully concentrated chardonnay with superb pure grapefruit, lime, stone fruit flavours, fine lacy textures, impressive mid-palate generosity, underlying marzipan, vanilla notes and fresh flinty complexity. Finishes minerally and long. Electrifying wine with wonderful volume, fruit definition, weight, complexity and energy. Highlights a marvellous vintage and years of improving the style."  Andrew Caillard MW - 100 points

"I can’t recall a better Yattarna than this one, going all the way back to the initial 1995. Sure, it has the advantage of hailing from a great vintage, but the team has not missed a beat here. Everything in its place. An immaculate Chardonnay, simply world-class. A very pale lemon color, this is a beautifully elegant Chardonnay, wonderfully refined. Pristine, exquisitely structured, impeccable balance and finesse. There are notes of citrus—notably, fresh lemons, more Amalfi than Meyer. A hint of woodsmoke and wet stones with that fine minerally backing. Gentle nuts and toast. There are hints of oatmeal on the palate, and a whiff of honey. Such a gorgeous texture, so seductive. Juicy acidity and incredible length, with complexity already emerging. This is a brilliant wine, with a future of at least ten to 15 years. There is serious intensity on such a long finish. The inimitable Len Evans used to say that no variety had such a persistent finish as quality Chardonnay. This wine provides compelling evidence to support that. Anyone with well-cellared bottles in a decade will think this score miserly, but for now, 98."  Ken Gargett, World of Fine Wine - 98 points

"The 2021 Yattarna will go down as one of the greats. Launched in 1998 with the 1995 vintage, the Yattarna is one of Australia's benchmark chardonnays. Like its sibling Bin 311, grapes are sourced from Tasmania, Tumbarumba and the Adelaide Hills and the wine is matured in French oak barriques (70% new) for nine months. Pale straw with green flashes and an inviting aromatic profile of oatmeal-dotted apple, white peach, nectarine and citrus fruits cut with hints of fine spice, almond croissant, roasted hazelnuts, lemon curd, washed-rind cheese, white flowers and a filigreed lacework of struck-match complexity that arcs through the wine. A picture of grace and latent power with a core of pure grapefruit, white peach and citrus riding on rails of minerally acid far into the distance. Elegance writ large. Drink by 2040."  Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion - 98 points and Top 100 Wines of 2024

"The confidence with which Yattarna delivers incredible concentration in the presence of profound tension, heightened fruit definition with outstanding oak support and grand endurance yet immediately enticing allure is reminiscent of the inimitable grand cru set of Montrachet itself. Pristine white fruits are set to a scintillating and mineral-fine acid line of profound energy that sets off a brilliant, glittering finish of pinpoint accuracy and enduring drive. It is again one of the finest Australian chardonnays of the year."  Tyson Stelzer - 98 points

"Aromatically reticent upon pouring, the 2021 Yattarna Chardonnay offers pan-fried shallots and cumin seeds, Greek yogurt, saffron, curry leaf and brine. In the mouth, the wine is firm and concentrated; the phenolics hold the fruit to ransom and exude a fierceness that I personally find quite pleasurable, but they may confront some. This has structure and line and is ductile, porous, open weave and spicy, and it's true to form in style and unerringly long through the finish. It's a wine that will come alive in time, but at this early stage in its life, it offers a most favorable view of Australian Chardonnay (from three regions: Tasmania, 81%; Tumbarumba, 10%; and Adelaide Hills, 9%). 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. Drink: 2023 - 2041."  Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate - 98 points

"It takes the powerful and the elegant and it fuses them. There’s obvious magnificence here, and yet too there is understatement. Flint, white peach, sweet spice and smoked cedar. The magic is in the power, the length, the precision. The burst of florals through the aftertaste doesn’t hurt. This is a wonderful release. Both worlds and at peace with its own magnificence. Drink: 2025 - 2032+."  Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front - 97 points

"Light bright yellow colour; a very restrained, waxy and lemon pith bouquet, a smidgin of lightly browned toast starting up. Taut, restrained palate: a very fine wine. Citron, candied lemon peel. Searing intensity, tremendous persistence. Superb wine, and it will blossom given a little time. Drink: 2025–2037."  Huon Hooke, The Real Review - 97 points

"There is a cooler aura to this, perhaps, than the other chardonnays. Spruce, nettle and lemon curd to camembert on the nose, shifting gears to stone fruit references and a glimpse of praline, cashew, pistachio and nougat at the core. A mid-weighted wine that wields an orb of reductive tension across a compact, immensely concentrated mid-palate, paradoxically giving an impression of calmness and levity. An excellent Yattarna. Drinkable now, but best from 2025."  Ned Goodwin MW, JamesSuckling.com – 97 points 

"There is a celebration of impressive fruit purity on this superlative Chardonnay. Opens with a full spectrum of woodsy spice and brioche aromas with notes of papaya, grapefruit, white peach and thyme. Some classy French nutty oak helps drive the palate through to a long finish, indicating along the way the wine’s capacity for further ageing in the cellar. The decision on ageing rests with the buyer, of course, but any decision to drink soon is perfectly valid. The delicious factor is already high. It’s early days all right, but already there is some textural development on show. Citrus, stone fruits, mango skin, papaya, grilled grapefruit, roasted hazelnuts reveal a sophisticated and powerful fruit base underpinned by coiled, taut acidity. Drink: 2023-2036."  Jeni Port, Wine Pilot – 96 points

Halliday Wine Companion Top 100 Wines of 2024

After a long period of experimentation, Yattarna Bin 144 Chardonnay was launched in 1998 with the 1995 vintage. The name was chosen to honour the 144 winemaking trials it took Penfolds to perfect their flagship white wine and marked a new chapter in the Penfolds story.

The inaugural 1995 vintage was arguably the most eagerly anticipated white wine release in Australian history – dubbed by the media as "White Grange", it reached the front pages of Australia’s national newspapers.

At the presentation of the Tucker Seabrook Perpetual Trophy at the 1997 Sydney Royal Wine Show, the late Len Evans, Chairman of Judges, described the wine as "a revelation" and "a step forward for Australian chardonnay".

Over the years there has been an evolution of winemaking perspectives, a more critical approach to cool-climate grape sourcing and how oak contributes to the style and aging capacity of Yattarna Chardonnay. Technical adaptations and refinements over two decades have led to a distinct Penfolds winemaking signature of pure fruits, flinty complexity, volume and mineral freshness.

Fruit selection is the critical element of Yattarna Chardonnay because it ultimately determines the character of the style. Although multi-vineyard and multi-regional sourcing includes New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria, there has been an increasing reliance on the cool spectrum of flavours derived from higher-altitude and lower-latitude vineyards. Hence why there is an increasing component of Derwent Valley, Coal River and Central Highland chardonnay from Tasmania.

Whole bunch pressing, barrel fermentation including use of wild yeasts, malolactic fermentation and yeast stirring (battonage) have also been important elements in creating a wine of superb fruit complexity, texture and mineral length.

The elegantly styled Penfolds Bin 144 Yattarna epitomises the finesse, restraint and character of modern Australian chardonnay. It is best enjoyed within a 3 to 12-year time frame – the wines benefit from some bottle age. Expert cellaring conditions may extend the wine’s longevity to some degree.

Selectively sourcing only the very best chardonnay fruit from cool-climate regions, coupled with clever winemaking, the style continues to evolve. Yattarna reflects Penfolds patience and continued commitment to its original goal, its very name being drawn from local indigenous language, meaning 'little by little, gradually'. Each vintage provides the opportunity to further raise the quality bar.

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.

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!'.

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