Top 5 Wines Rated by Spitbucket : 29 JUL - 04 AUG 2011

Current Top 5

Archived Top 5

Wine Review Search

Penfolds Magill Estate Shiraz 2008

Country: Australia
Price: N/A
Region: Barossa Valley
Winery Name: Penfolds
Variety:
Shiraz
Vintage: 2008
Score: 94 points

Tasting Date:

11th May 2011

Tasting Note:

The only single vineyard wine it is from the Barossa in the Icon range, and for me, usually the least of them. The '08, however, is the best Magill for some time (of course, there have been others).

There is a lovely ripe, black cherry note and also an alluring blueberry character. There is a bit of splintery oak, quite youthful, but integrating well. Black fruits here. Very fine grip that lingers
impressively.

Nicely balanced with good length and a plushness. Has quite a savoury aspect to it. Top notch.

The question over the 2008 wines was the heatwave that struck the Barossa on the 3rd of March. This wine was picked on the 6th so really, not a problem. Think of it as harvesting at the start of a warm period. Until that heatwave hit, the vintage looked like a 1990 or a 1976 two of Penfolds greatest years
.
Magill kicked off in 1983 and back then, there was considerably more American oak used and the wine was aimed to be a medium-bodied style. From 1995, the decision was made to change the style, bringing in more French oak. They wanted a richer, fuller wine with greater ageing capability.

Now, they use 95% new oak, 72% of which is French. It can mean the wines need a littlevmore time. And this vintage would certainly benefit from time in the cellar.

Add to My Favourites Tell a Friend
 

Comments (2)


Post your comment

davidtsang333 | 22 Months ago

so when would be the app'e time to open after purchase say aug 2011. two yrs or more later ??

@davidtsang333 hi david. a much tougher question than it used to be. i have wineloving mates who have no time or interest for old wines. others like them near comatose. so working out the styles you like - and in that, working out if you prefer young or old - is important.
but in general, i think two years would give it plenty of time to settle down and come up trumps. but it has the legs to go 10 or 20 years, if cellared well, without a problem.
and having said that, those who prefer younger styles will thoroughly enjoy it today. not sure how much help that is.

kbg | 22 Months ago

 

Report Abuse

Please help us to maintain a healthy and vibrant community by reporting any illegal or inappropriate behaviour. If you believe a message violates the Spitbucket Terms and Conditions please notify us using the report abuse form below. We will investigate your report and take appropriate action against offenders. We report all illegal activity to authorities.

Abuse Type

Spam or advertising Child pornography or exploitation Profanity, vulgarity or obscenity Copyright infringement Harassment or threat Other

Additional Comments (optional)

500 character(s) left
 

Improve your Spitbucket Experience

Would you like to improve your Spitbucket experience?

We've noticed that you log in to Spitbucket.com using either your Facebook account or your Spitbucket account .
Both logins share the same email address:

If you login using your Facebook profile image, First name and Last name will be displayed on your Spitbucket profile page and if you login using your Spitbucket profile image, First name and Last name will be displayed on your Spitbucket profile page.

If you would like merge your login details so that when you login to Spitbucket.com the same details are displayed each time, then make your selection below. If not, then click Cancel below and we'll remind you next time.

When I login to Spitbucket.com, always display the following:



Add A User Name

We've noticed you haven't created a Spitbucket username which means you won't be able to send messages just yet.

To create your username, head to your Profile page by simply closing this window and clicking on your name at the top of the page beside the logo.

Once that's done, you're all set to use the Messages feature.