Step up the red berried fruits, the musk notes, the subtle spice, the latter whispered with mint. It’s not overtly complex but it’s impeccable; the flavour profile, the mouthfeel, the formation of tannin. Every hair combed. Every pore smoothed. Red berries mostly but with tips of dark. Very good release.

93 points, The Wine Front (July 2022)

This fruit for the 2020 Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz is from Coonawarra as usual, matured for 12 months in French hogsheads (20% new). The nose is aromatically layered with blood plum, raspberry, red licorice and blueberries and loaded with exotic spice and pink peppercorns. This is a gorgeous wine—totally supple and blue fruited, but all in balance with savory tannin. Elegance 101. For now, it is still frisky and energetic—give it a year to let it settle down.

92 points, Wine Advocate (July 2022)

Medium-deep crimson. Intense pure blackberry, blackcurrant, graphite aromas with hints of vanilla/herb garden. Inky and sweet fruited with pletiful pure dark and red fruits, fine slinky textures, lovely underlying vanilla/roasted chestnut notes and fresh crisp acidity. Finishes slinky/grippy with some roasted walnut, hint iodine/sappy notes. 12 months maturation in French oak hogsheads (20% new) Drink now to 2028. 14.5% alc

91 points, The Vintage Journal Penfolds Collection 2022 (July 2022)

This elegant and finely tuned 2020 Coonawarra Shiraz offers up a delicious range of cooler climate inspired aromas such as red and black currants, sage and white pepper spice with an attractive backbone of reserved oak plus a touch of licorice. There is ample generosity of fleshy, open knit dark berry fruit flavours that are already in prime condition with supple tannins also providing upfront drinkability and supporting a long, fine finish. Impressive now but will build more interest in the bottle.

91 points, Vinous (July 2022)

From vineyards that are generally different those that supply sister company Wynns. 12 months in French oak hogsheads (20% new). TA 6.6 g/l, pH 3.64.
Bone dry. Really quite uncompromising. Difficult to find the fruit in this at the moment. 14.5%

16+ points, JancisRobinson.com (July 2022)

The crunchy berry fruits, distinctive white pepper, fragrant, spicy overlay and fine-boned limestone mineral tannins of Coonawarra elevate shiraz to an exciting place. A core of blackberries and satsuma plums is impeccably framed in eloquently supportive French oak (20% new). A standout.

94 points (July 2022)

Bin 128 often seems to live in the shadow of its more obvious Barossan shiraz cousins that are viewed as quintessentially Penfolds. It offers a quieter presence in the glass, dare I suggest one that doesn’t mind correcting the variety’s reputation as Coonawarra’s second tier red grape (after cabernet.) In the Penfolds’ wine kingdom you have to search Bin 128 out. The 2020 is worth the quest. It’s a stunner. So Coonawarra in its celebration of black fruit intensity and dried herbs with well-knitted fine tannins. It slurps up the French oak (hogsheads the oak of choice, 20% new) and then some, bringing the smoothness and subtle taste of warm toast. It manages its generous 14.5% alcohol well, the lasting impression is of a medium-bodied, well-tuned wine with time on its side.

95 points, Wine Pilot (July 2022)

In some years, this regional expression seems muted and awkward but the 2020 vintage shines, thanks to its longer, cooler ripening period. It’s the rounded, savoury entry that grabs your attention, with chewy texture adding presence and purpose, providing so much more than simple fruit satisfaction. The lean, sinewy muscle of the mid-palate keeps you intrigued, before it finishes with a lively white pepper prickle. Released at A$60/bottle.

95 points, David Sly, Decanter (June 2022)

This wine continues its ascent of quality and this 2020 vintage has appealing confidence in terms of fruit, showing concentration, depth, ripeness and presence. Aromas of red plum, mulberry and blackberry flow faithfully through to the palate. Supple, pliable tannins and an impressively elegant shape runs deep into the finish. A great Bin 128! Drink over the next decade or more.

94 points, JamesSuckling.com (July 2022)

A shiraz that always offers a comparative opportunity within the Penfolds portfolio, this time solely derived from the cooler climate Coonawarra region in South Australia’s south-eastern corner. The result is a more crimson-coloured fruit and berry profile, rather than blacker fruits. Importantly, this comes hand in hand with a good smatter of white pepper that confirms its cool climate credentials. Deftly crafted, this is a compact and neatly concentrated wine without excessive extraction, its bouquet suggesting old-fashioned butcher shops, lamb and sawdust, yet never denying its core vibrant shiraz fruit, tickled with garden herbs and finishing with mouth-coating, dusty talc-like tannins. A wine that desires a rich lamb dish.

94 points, Wine Pilot (July 2022)