Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz

Australia is famous for its Barossa Shiraz, and it's famous for Penfolds. After all, our most well respected wine, Grange, is a Barossa Shiraz made by Penfolds. When most people go to the shelf and pick up a Shiraz (Syrah to the rest of the world) from this region, they are expecting something intense, full of blackberry jam and chocolate. But the Kalimna is not quite that wine. Sure, it's intense, but not like the bounty bar of sweet oak and syrupy fruit that many might expect. You pay more, you get more. So, in addition to your cheap chocolate bar and jar of preserve, expect to find some black olives, vanilla, briary blackberries and pepper. Maybe even a little iron-like minerality, just ever so slightly bloody. Not the best Kalimna, but as always, a pretty damn good one.

Drink 1-7 years
130AED
14.5/20

Jacobs Creek Reserve Shiraz 2009

Textbook Barossa Shiraz - super viscous and chocolatey with a spicy and lean blackberry jam backbone. Nice oak treatment - a little sweetness but not over-the-top coconut-flavoured like some from the region. Fairly good vintage too, so will cellar well for a few years. It's already quite nicely balanced, but expect the spice and chocolate to transition to molasses, cedar and coffee. Soft. Yum.


Drink now to 10 years
70AED +
14/20