Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2005

My first taste of the latest Penfolds Bin range and this was a pleasant surprise. I have not really been a fan of the Bin 28 (not that I have had a lot of exposure to it, more because for the price there seemed to be a lot better on offer)

Anyway, this was great. It took a while to open up, but once it did it had a really pleasant feel to it. Very smooth and quite fruity (red berries and dare I say it... plum), but not in the usual Penfolds way. There was also a noticeable change in the style of oak used (to my taste anyway) and although it went away from the vanilla, it had a very distinctive flavour that I would like to explore again soon.

It will last a good few years, but is very drinkable now with a long decant. If the price stays around the $20 mark it's worth it, but really there are better wines around for less. Still, the Penfolds name must mean something and you can't really go wrong with a decent $20 shiraz.

Drinkability 91/92

Value 89

Price $20 at Dan Murphys

Gotham Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

After a little rain had cooled the place down and a long day at Uni, I decided to unscrew a bottle of Gotham Cab Sav... I let it sit for a couple of hours before drinking and that was a very good thing. This helps unlock the smoky berry flavour that gave it a quite nice drinkability.

I wasn't expecting it to be this good, so for the price, i really should keep an eye out for more. It's been a while since I scoured Gray's Online, mainly due to the fact that I have been buying up other stuff like the new release Penfolds Bin range...

Anyway, I did enjoy the drop of Gotham and am looking forward to Winte when i can really get back into the reds.

Cheers

Ian

Drinkability 90

Value 92

Price $9.95 (Get Wines Direct)

Black Wattle Robe Cab Sav 2006

Ok, so this picture is not the bottle I just enjoyed, but I couldn't find the label for the Cab Sav and the bottles look the same...

So.. big occasion, Jean got her first Deputy Principal posting, so we cracked open a bottle of this Black Wattle 'Robe' Cab Sav.

Not a cheap bottle, but after letting it breathe in the air con for about 2 hours, it had opened up nicely and proved it's value. I really like ths Black Wattle stuff. More a fan of the Shiraz, but this Cab Sav had all the quality and flavour that I love.

Smoky, vanillan berry. My favourite. In fact, I can almost say that this is up with the Dorrien 05 'Growers'.. it's that good.

Looking forward to the Icon Shiraz later in the year... I had better save up though. It isn't cheap.

Still... it's bloody good.

Drinkability 93

Value 90

Price $25 (cellarmasters)