penfolds
PENFOLDS Bin 128 Shiraz, Coonawarra 2018 Bottle
Please update your details
In order to bid at auction, a delivery address, billing address and valid credit card is required.
Update detailsYou haven’t met the minimum bid amount
Some technical error while placing
Total: + % BPA =
Reserve not met
Auction has been closed
About this wine
Wine Details
Classification and Scores
Taste Profile
Winery and Region
Delivery and Returns
All wine bought and sold through LANGTONS is held securely in our state-of-the-art, temperature-controlled National Warehouse, just outside of Melbourne, ensuring fast and efficient shipping to your nominated address Australia-wide.
Shipping Charges Within Australia
All orders placed are subject to a flat shipping fee as outlined below:
Metro Areas | Regional Areas |
$18.50 | $23 |
Find our more about our Delivery Options and Returns and Refunds Policy
Expert Review
Andrew Caillard MW
Medium deep crimson. Redcurrant, blackberry, mocha aromas with chinotto notes. Inky textured wine with redcurrant, red cherry fruits, a touch of choco-mint and fine looseknit slightly grippy tannins. Finishes grainy firm with attractive mineral length. Very much in the Coonawarra Claret Style.
92 points (2020)
Expert Review
Ned Goodwin MW
"A highly savoury, mid-weighted red. A strong beam of minty red currant to clove aromas defining the fore, with a skein of white pepper grind acidity leading up the aft. Long, fresh and wholly appetising. A versatile wine at the table, with some tannic mettle at the finish proclaiming its ageability."
92 points (July 2020)
Expert Review
Ned Goodwin MW
"A highly savoury, mid-weighted red. A strong beam of minty red currant to clove aromas defining the fore, with a skein of white pepper grind acidity leading up the aft. Long, fresh and wholly appetising. A versatile wine at the table, with some tannic mettle at the finish proclaiming its ageability."
92 points (July 2020)
Expert Review
Tyson Stelzer
Bin 128 is right on form in 2018. The depth and presence of Penfolds meets the tangy dark berry profile and black pepper nuances of Coonawarra in this warm and dry vintage. Purity and crunch are underlined by the firm, fine tannin profile of well-integrated French oak. It doesn’t possess the inherent line or length of the great Penfolds reds, but this is nonetheless a release that will continue to deliver confidently for at least 15 years.
93 points (July 2020)
Expert Review
Huon Hooke
Deep, bright purple/red colour, with a very ripe, fragrant, blueberry and cherry-like aroma, essency and delicious. The wine is soft and rich, gently chocolaty and plush, with a sumptuous rich, fruit-sweet middle-palate surrounded by soft, fluffy tannins, the whole entity moving smoothly through to a very long-lasting finish. A totally exotic, hedonistic shiraz.
94 points, The Real Review (July 2020)
Expert Review
Nick Stock
Quite a classic Coonawarra with cooler red-fruit tones, as well as a distinctive, eucalyptus thread to the sappy yet ripe red plums. The palate has a very sleek, intense and concentrated core of red-plum and blackcurrant flavors with very finely groomed tannins. So complete and effortlessly powerful, in an elegant frame. Will age very well.
94 points, JamesSuckling.com (July 2020)
Expert Review
Joe Czerwinski
One of the few Penfolds reds matured exclusively in French oak, the 2018 Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz shows a fair bit of vanilla and cedar on the nose, complemented by blueberries, raspberries and peppery spice. Medium to full-bodied, it's not as big or rich as the other Shiraz in the portfolio, but it's attractive for its smooth, silky feel and intricate spice shadings. It should drink well for at least a decade.
91 points, Wine Advocate (July 2020)
Expert Review
Ray Jordan
Probably the wine in the entire collection that is so dependent on a good vintage. Well 2018 delivered, so the wine is mighty good. It's bright and brilliant in the glass. Then the pepper red fruit aromas emerge from the glass. A little dried herb adds a further dimension. On the palate it has quite rich full fruit with firm but fine sinewy tannins. This would be great in the cellar after about 10 years, but it has more in it than that.
95 points, The West Australian (July 2020)
Expert Review
Decanter
Generous in body and aroma, this presents a heavily laden berry patch with abundant ripe fruits and a heady waft of violets, iodine and sage. While this big-berry presence fills the front palate, there is a regiment of stern black tannins that pull the structure abruptly back into line. With its ungainly top and tail currently teetering on a high wire, this needs time in the bottle to find its balance.
91 points, David Sly, Decanter (July 2020)
Expert Review
Matthew Jukes
This is the finest value of the six double-digit dollar wines. It is also the finest Bin 128 I have seen in a long while. It is hard to understate just how rewarding and delicious this wine is. A thrilling, spicy, hedgerow fruit nose is followed by lip-smacking fruit and a spicy finish with traction and grip which only seriously posh wines bring to the fore. This is a Shiraz which could sit on a dining room table next to Cuilleron, Clape and Allemande and get lost in the crowd as opposed to trying to suffocate its companions. It is the essence of Coonawarra Shiraz while at the same time revelling in its Penfolds tailoring. The tobacco, herb and leaf aromatics puncture the blackberry chassis and the directness of juiciness of the Shiraz berries is evident in every sip. The brittle tannins, born of the cool climate, bring a sourness which offset the generosity of the fruit perfectly. Expressive and with great finesse and directness this is a true winner in the portfolio. Buy all you can.
18.5+ points (July 2020)
Expert Review
Campbell Mattinson
Taut, dry, well balanced and well fruited. Straight into licorice territory, red and black, with peppercorn, red cherry and an assortment of woodsy spices. Oak is more apparent in the texture than it is in the flavour and while there’s a touch of warmth to the finish you’d have to say that it remains well controlled. It’s a hard wine to get excited over but it’s been perfectly crafted.
91+ points, The Wine Front (July 2020)
Expert Review
Jancis Robinson MW
Muddy dark crimson with a pale rim. Strong cassis and balsam notes on the nose. And then rather notable (added?) acidity on the palate. Good pure fruit but that acidity seems just a bit too much at present, and not exactly luscious on the finish. Pure Coonawarra character though.
16+ points, JancisRobinson.com (June 2020)
Penfolds
Penfolds is one of the world’s most celebrated winemakers with an enviable reputation for quality at every price level. Christopher Rawson Penfold began it all in 1844. A doctor, with an eye for medicinal winemaking, he and his wife, Mary sought a new life in Australia with a vine cutting and a bold vision. The family purchased Magill, now a suburb of Adelaide, and set about inventing tonics, brandies, and fortified wines made from grapes and Australian sunshine. The Penfolds House Style emerged from this craft of fortified wine production and blending.
The success of Penfolds has been driven by a lineage of visionary winemakers who pushed innovation to bold new heights. Max Schubert, the creator of Penfolds Grange, Dr Ray Beckwith and their team pioneered: major advances in yeast technology and paper chromatography; the understanding and use of pH in controlling bacterial spoilage; the use of headed down/submerged cap fermentation and the technique of rack and return; cold fermentation practices; the use of American oak as a maturation vessel and perhaps most critically, partial barrel fermentation. The use of American oak and barrel fermentation is considered traditional Barossa winemaking practice, in large part due to the work of Penfolds.
Today, the art of blending remains integral to the Penfolds House Style - a unique combination of highly defined fruit aromas, ripe tannins, richness, power and concentration. The most powerful expression of this is the flagship, Grange, now recognised as one of the most consistent of the world’s great wines. Similarly, Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz, first released in 1960, is now considered the quintessential Australian wine blend. Improved vineyard management, site selection and winemaking brought about the subsequent releases of Penfolds wines such as Bin 707 and Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon – both highly acclaimed and collected wines to this day.
The Penfolds Philosophy is the accumulation of nearly 180 years of shared knowledge and continual refinement. This began with Dr Christopher and Mary Penfold, continued with Max Schubert, Ray Beckwith and generations of Penfolds winemakers leading to the current winemaking team, led by Peter Gago. Their commitment to constantly improving their work, whilst honouring the winemaking techniques of their predecessors, contributes to the consistency of style and quality that Penfolds is known for around the world.
