The Drink Business
par Colin Hay le 31/08/2024
(100% Chardonnay; the fruit sourced from Tumbarumba, Tasmania and Adelaide Hills; pH 3.11; barrel fermented and aged for 8 months in French oak barrels, 44% of which were new; 12.5% alcohol). The 28th vintage of this, Penfolds’ increasingly iconic Chardonnay, made with precisely the same attention to detail and vineyard and parcel selection process as Grange. A fabulous follow-up to the sublime 2021. There are 2023 bottles; this is number 2. Aromatically beautiful and sublime in its complexity, each return to the glass revealing new elements. Lime and lime zest, grapefruit and fennel seed, hay, tarte au citron and lemon sorbet. A little white floral note. Elderflower. Lily of the valley. Orange blossom. Much more limpid still, than Bin 311 or Reserve Black A. Fluid. Lithe. Fleshy but hyper-crystalline. On the palate, this is so tight and precise, highly structured and very focussed, rapier-like. I love the little touch of iodine and oyster shell that I’ve noticed before with Yattarna, a hint of white pepper too. Very refined, almost delicate. Gorgeous texturally and wonderfully tactile, with a playful and captivating acidity. This tapers gently on the finish with each grip of the acidity, supported by a gentle hint of tannin, releasing plumes of sapid juiciness. The top white here by some distance, but an Everest amongst Himalayan peaks.