Penfolds wine dinner

Dinner at Sotheby's featuring the wines of Penfolds.  Chief winemaker Peter Gago in attendance.

2006 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs - nice and toasty nose, lovely, with flinty, mineral, and lemon notes.  Nice and ripe on the palate with some acidity upfront.

2010 Penfolds Yattarna - initially the nose was a little weird, but pretty flinty and mineral, kinda toasty.  A little flatter on the palate than expected, with low acidity.  Soft and gentle.  Preferred this over the 2012.

2012 Penfolds Yattarna - more acidity, leaner, more length.  Toastier on the nose.  Worked better with food.

1990 Penfolds Bin 389 - coconut butter, vanilla, minty, smoky, grilled meats.  Beautiful!  Incredibly there was still a hint of tannins, but otherwise found some acidity on the palate.  Incredibly classic and straightforward - arguably the least "Aussie" wine of the evening.

1996 Penfolds Bin 389 - more stewed fruit, more exotic spices, definitely more 'sexy'... but perhaps 'alluring' is a more suitable description.  It really was something.

1996 Penfolds St. Henri - plastic notes upfront, really exotic nose with potpourri and herbs.  Very rounded and elegant.

2004 Penfolds St. Henri - minty, some potpourri, with some ripe fruit, but more closed and not showing much.

1996 Penfolds Bin 707 - very smoky, toasty, peppery, pencil lead.  A bit leaner than expected.  About 2 hours later showed green capsicum notes.

1998 Penfolds Bin 707 - big, smoky nose.  Riper, with lots of pencil lead.  More concentration here compared to 1996.

1991 Penfolds Grange - still too young, alcoholic, almost like paint thinner, with some forest notes.

2004 Penfolds Grange - nose really not open as this was much too young.  Eucalyptus notes with some pencil lead, along with some cool fruit.  Very alcoholic.

Penfolds Grandfather Rare Tawny - obviously a little sharp and alcoholic on the nose, with a nice touch of nuttiness.  Very nice.

Drinks at an afterparty.

2011 Jean-Michel Stephan Côte-Rôtie Vieille Vigne en Coteaux - pretty pungent nose, reductive, animal, leather, potpourri, and highly aromatic.  From vines planted in 1896 and 1902.

Full post on the evening is here.