Stags' Leap Winery is more than a deer crossing. Layered and complex, this wine features aromas and flavours of chocolate, dried black plum, licorice and woodsmoke. Cellar this powerhouse for up to 5 years, or enjoy tonight with rare steaks, roast beef or lamb.
A stunning follow-up to the inaugural 2018 Quantum release featuring superb cabernet sauvignon from Napa Valley and South Australia. Matured in American (80% new) and French oak (20% new) barriques for 16 months. Deep, impenetrable purple/crimson in the glass. Such a beautiful-smelling wine. Opulent blackberry, black cherry and satsuma plum meld with hints of Christmas cake, baking spices, panforte, vanillin oak, licorice, pressed flowers, air-dried meats, espresso and earth. For all its head-spinning fruit depth and purity, there is a sense of grace here, a savoury elegance that reveals itself slowly on the finish with a fine, kinetic tannin framework that shows a ferruginous sheen at its edge and a sails onwards for some time. There is a sense of Penfolds being on to something quite special with this wine, a wine whose structural poise bodes very well for a long future. Drink from: 2023. Drink by: 2053. Score - 98. (Dave Brookes, winecompanion.com.au, July 21, 2023)
Arguably the most dramatic of the collection's releases this year, this shiraz is all stops out, turbo charger on, power chords played, yet with precision and accuracy delivering an exciting aromatic introduction then sustained and reverberating interest. Think the most enticing bakery smells of berry tarts, fruit cake, then flint (with a tiny lift of VA), morphing into the French oak influences of cedar, capers and sandalwood - all of which the Penfolds team has noted as well in their own tasting assessments. The matrix within the wine is what compels - complex yet intricate, full-bodied yet pliable and enticing. Indulgent yet convincing. Drink: 2026-2040. Score - 97. (Tony Love, winepilot.com, July 2021)
This shows really beautiful purity of fruit with polish and sophistication. The currant and cassis aromas are so enticing and really reflect the name of the wine. Medium to full body. Extremely fine tannins. Shows a level of freshness and agility that caresses the palate. Delicate and beautiful. Mostly Howell Mountain. Drink or hold. Score - 98. (jamessuckling.com, Nov. 30, 2020)
Having mastered the multiregional blend, it only seems natural for Penfolds to try its hand at cross-country blends. Here it is: cabernet sauvignon from California's Napa Valley and our South Australia. Matured in French (80% new) and American (20% new) oak for 16 months. Bright crimson, the wine shows plush, cedar-dotted blackberry, black cherry and mulberry fruit with hints of baking spices, espresso, olive tapenade, crème de cassis, graphite, ferruginous earth, leather, licorice and vanillin oak. Full bodied and pure of fruit with ripe, gravelly tannin giving a sense of fineness to the wine's structure, finishing long and true. Drinking great already, but this will be an impressive wine with careful cellaring. Drink from: 2023. Drink by: 2043. Score - 95. (Dave Brookes, winecompanion.com.au, July 21, 2023)
Fascinating, fresh and ripe fruit flavors fill this full-bodied, velvety-textured wine with blackberries, raspberries and cranberries. Subtle oak spices add interest from the aroma through the finish. Decant this time-tested wine if drinking soon. Best from 2027-2040. Cellar Selection. Score - 97. (Jim Gordon, Wine Enthusiast, Dec. 1, 2023)
Wild blackberry, cassis, dark chocolate, tobacco and dark spice on the nose. Dried violets, too. It's medium- to full-bodied with firm, powdery tannins and a creamy texture. Intense, yet restrained and refined, with a solid core of dark berries and bitter chocolate. Really focused and crafted with exemplary Napa cabernet character. Try from 2024 [or keep in the cellar until 2046]. Score - 98. (jamessuckling.com, Feb. 3, 2022)
Dried strawberries with spices, such as cloves and peppercorns, as well as some dried flowers. Medium to full body with a pretty core of ripe pinot, fine and linear tannins and a long, fresh finish. Needs time to open, but vibrant and attractive now. Drink after 2023. Score - 94. (jamessuckling.com, Jan. 14, 2022)