Penfolds Reserve Bin 03A Chardonnay 2003
The Reserve Bin A series Chardonnay, a pathfinder wine, was first vintaged in 1994 and is a by-product of the Penfolds flagship white wine project. This is a style of chardonnay that 'sits outside the square'. The wine is now made from 100% Adelaide Hills fruit sourced from up to 80 vineyards with a core provenance from 10 cooler vineyard sites.
Individual, fine-grained, French oak barrels were selected for perfect integration, complexity, and fruit expression. The wine is unfiltered and underwent complete malo-lactic fermentation. It is the first Penfolds wine to be bottled entirely under screwcap!
Vineyard Region: Adelaide Hills
Vintage Conditions: Where as the 2002 vintage in Australia was universally defined by one factor, cool temperatures, 2003 was a more complex matter where four factors converged during vintage: nationwide drought; extreme heat in some regions; widespread rains in February; and low fruitfulness in cool-climate areas. As a result Adelaide Hills had low crops with very intense, yet elegant flavours.
Grape Variety: Chardonnay
Maturation: This wine was matured for nine months in 88% new, and 12% one-year-old French oak.
A finely textured wine that has balance between the creamy mouthfeel, gained from the traditional method of lees contact, and the natural mineral acidity. The oak, although restrained, adds structure and completes the wine. Peter Gago
Awards:
Trophy & Gold, 2004 Griffith Wine Show
Gold, 2005 Sydney Royal Wine Show
Gold, 2004 Royal Melbourne Wine Show
Gold, 2004 Perth Royal Wine Show
The 2003 Chardonnay Reserve Bin 03A, from the Adelaide Hills, is a "full monty" Chardonnay having experienced significantly more new oak aging as well as plenty of malolactic. It is a big, rich, concentrated effort displaying a generous, exuberant personality filled with smoky, honeyed fruit, honeysuckle, and marmalade characteristics, but none of the crispness or minerality found in the Yattarna. It is a completely different animal, and should be enjoyed by consumers who prefer full-flavored buttery Chardonnays. It should be consumed over the next 1-2 years. 93points Wine Advocate, Parkton, MD - U.S
Its opulence and majesty are superlative. Its smooth politeness, and creamy, seamless, almost waxy style are only slight indicators of its true potential. It’s even bigger and better than the sum of all its parts. Its natural acid and tannin will bolster it for several years, further harmonising in the cool of the right cellar. 95 points The greatest: Australia's best 100 wines - Philip White
A maturing but elegant chardonnay whose floral perfume of peachy nutty fruit and creamy buttery oak reveals some toasty development. Full to medium in weight, it's round and juicy delivering an almost cloying intensity of citrus and stonefruit flavours before a more restrained and elegant finish of refreshing but soft acidity. Enhanced by well handled nutty, vanilla oak. 92 points Jeremy Oliver
