Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/148134
to its current level. Taking the Bin 707 temporarily out of the lineup, Gago gestured towards the remaining four bottles. "What we have here is an exercise in Shiraz," he said. "For example, the St. Henri does not use any new oak. In fact, St. Henri doesn't abide by the rules, because while 2009 wasn't a particularly good year for most wines, it was a very good year for St. Henri. It is always released as a four-year-old, while the rest of the wines here are released as three-year-olds, with the exception of Grange, which is always released as a five-year-old but meant to be aged for decades." The next wine we sampled was Magill Estate, a one hundred percent Shiraz made from a single vineyard, in this case, the last survivor of the vineyards originally planted by Dr. Christopher Penfold in the mid-19th century. Today the city of Magill completely encircles these 13 acres, and the only reason this historic vineyard still exists is that in 2001 Penfolds Grange Shiraz was named a National Trust heritage-listed wine and the Magill Estate Vineyard was given Heritage Protection, thus protecting the vineyards from further encroachment by civilization. "Then we have RWT," said Gago, "a Shiraz from a single region, in this case, the Barossa Valley. It is the only wine in which we use 100 percent French oak. Although most people drink it immediately, it is a perfect wine for cellaring as well as pairing up with a fatty steak like a Wagyu." The final Shiraz was a wine made to a house style: the scarce and collectable Grange. Each year vineyard selection and sourcing changes to maintain the original house style created by Max Schubert in 1951, the only constant being that Grange is always aged in new American oak and since 1959 has been standardized as Bin 95. "It is delicate enough to drink now," says Gago, "but this is one of the better long-term vintages, and can easily be cellared for 40 to 50 years." Finishing with the Bin 707 Cabernet, Gago declared the 2010 vintage to be one of the best in the last 40 years, calling it "the Grange of Cabernet." "It's got a lovely youthful, provocative character," he said, "and a lot of that was sourced from Block 42, the oldest continuouslyproducing vineyard in the word." Indeed, the vines of Block 42 are more than 130 years old. To highlight this, Penfolds has created the Block 42 Limited Edition Ampoule, a hermetically sealed glass sculpture containing 100% Block 42 Cabernet Sauvignon. Only 12 Ampoules were made, each priced at $168,000. The Ampoules can only be opened with a special tungsten-tipped, sterling silver tool possessed by Gago and his team, one of whom will fly to the purchaser's home (all included in the price) and personally decant this rare wine. For obvious reasons, this was one wine we did not sample. Nor did we taste the 2010 Bin 169, a newer-styled Coonawarra Cabernet just reaching our shores. And still to come next year will be Bin 170 Kalimna, a limited edition Shiraz to celebrate Penfolds' 170th anniversary. All the more reason to get together with Gago again, either over here or Down Under. The iconic and age-worthy Penfolds Grange scores top points. Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet. Gago declared the 2010 vintage to be one of the best in the last 40 years, calling it "the Grange of Cabernet." The Block 42 Limited Edition Ampoule, a hermetically sealed glass sculpture containing 100% Block 42 Cabernet Sauvignon. august 2013 / the tasting panel / 121 TP0813_104-132.indd 121 7/24/13 9:41 PM