96 Points James Halliday Wine Companion 

Striking hue, depth and clarity; the bouquet and palate sing in unison with a rich brocade of black cherry and stitches of cedary French oak (ex 30% new hogsheads) and fine-grained tannins. Its balance and length are impeccable.

95 Points Huon Hooke, The Real Review 

Deep, dense red/purple colour leads into a rich, ripe, chocolaty bouquet, which has background blackberry and dark plum notes, as well as hints of graphite and tar. A classic Bin 28, full-bodied, rich, rounded and structured for ageing, although it drinks well already

95 Points Andrew Caillard MW

Medium deep crimson. Classic dark chocolate dark berry aromas with roasted walnut, shellac notes. Lovely fresh inky, mulberry, blackberry fruits, fine looseknit chocolaty tannins, and underlying roasted nut/savoury notes. Finishes chocolaty and long with red liquorice, aniseed nuances. A very stylish “go-to” claret type with all of the hallmarks of the Penfolds house style. Ripe fruit, richness of flavour, concentration and chocolaty textures. Although drinking well, keep for a few years.

92 Points The Wine Front 

It’s mandated at Penfolds releases that at some point the word spotless must be employed. Here it is. A spotless impression of plum jam, creamy-vanilla whipped over the top, spice notes thrown in to give the party some variety. This wine takes freshness, the Penfolds house style, big company resources, gut-busting volume and good old fashioned attention-to-detail and somehow spits out the perfect consumer-friendly red wine. This is modern Australia in a bottle, in the way it presents fresh berried fruit, history cuddled within. It’s a pitch perfect Bin 28. It sits on the warmer, boozier, jammier end of what we expect from this label, so be warned, but volume of fruit and that creamy smoothness.