Adelaide Hills Archives - Iconica https://iconica.wine/shop/?wpf=shopfilter13feb&wpf_cols=3&wpf_page=1&wpf_region=adelaide-hills Appreciating Fine Wine Fri, 14 Feb 2025 12:17:41 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1 https://i0.wp.com/iconica.wine/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/cropped-Iconica-Flavicon.webp?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Adelaide Hills Archives - Iconica https://iconica.wine/shop/?wpf=shopfilter13feb&wpf_cols=3&wpf_page=1&wpf_region=adelaide-hills 32 32 254871815 Penfolds Bin 311 Chardonnay 2018 https://iconica.wine/product/penfolds-bin-311-chardonnay-2018/ https://iconica.wine/product/penfolds-bin-311-chardonnay-2018/#respond Tue, 29 Oct 2024 20:06:00 +0000 https://iconica.wine/?post_type=product&p=4152 95 points | James Suckling

Penfolds Bin 311 Chardonnay 2018 "This moves into refined and very striking style with a wealth of lemons, white peaches and nectarines on offer, as well as nicely curated hazelnut-oak. The smoothly honed palate has deep-set peach flavors and a succulent, cool-mineral and grapefruit finish. The finest Bin 311 to date."

93 points | Wilfred Wong of Wine.com

"The Penfolds Bin 311 Chardonnay 2018 is beautifully layered and finishes nicely. TASTING NOTES: This wine is redolent of ripe fruit, light minerality, and a hint of oak in its aromas and flavors. Try it with pan-fried chicken thighs and wild mushrooms over egg noodles." (Tasted: August 29, 2020, San Francisco, CA)

92 points | Jeb Dunnock

"Bottled under screwcap, the 2018 Chardonnay Bin 311 comes all from cool climate sites in southeastern Australia and was brought up in French oak. Its light gold hue is followed by a racy perfume of stone fruits, crushed citrus, white flowers, and salty minerality. With plenty of richness, medium body, and nicely integrated acidity, this rock-solid Chardonnay is drinking great today yet has the class and balance to evolve for 4-6 years or more. It’s an impressive Chardonnay."

92 points | Robert Parker

"The 2018 Bin 311 Chardonnay is a multiregional blend sourced from Adelaide Hills (43%), Tumbarumba and Tasmania—it was previously a single-region bottling. Essentially, it's now a blend of barrels that didn't make it into the Reserve Bin label from the Adelaide Hills and barrels from Tumbarumba and Tassie that didn't make the Yattarna grade. Fermented and aged in 30% new French oak (20% second use and 50% older), it reveals hints of vanilla buttercream on the nose, paired with notes of pineapple, orange, pear and melon. It's medium-bodied, plump and creamy across the palate, then crisp and focused on the finish."

92 points | Wine Enthusiast

"This now-multiregional Chardonnay blend from wine giant Penfolds is a pretty, fruity number with both the polish associated with this brand and upfront appeal. Waxed apple, peach and lime aromas kick things off. There's a fringe of salt, like the rim of a margarita glass. Laser-like acidity slices through the highly textural palate, leading once again to a long, salty finish."

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Penfolds Bin 311 Chardonnay 2018 truly reflects the winemakers’ mantra ‘we always go where the fruit grows best and where it best suits style’. In 2018, fruit sourcing moved to multi-regional cool-climate regions; Adelaide Hills, Tumbarumba, Tasmania. In true Bin 311 style, it exhibits lemon/lime aromas and a mineral acid backbone, complemented by barrel fermentation and maturation in seasoned oak. Minimal filtration is employed, preserving elegant fruit flavours.

Tasting Note

Colour – Light straw

Nose – Full-flavoured, endowed with a concentrated fruit spectrum of citrus, grapefruit and white peach. Hints of sherbet, camomile and goats cheese complex the aromatic offer – a chardonnay cast assembled from three States of Australia. Certainly, there’s quite the performance happening in the glass, with barely a swirl of the glass and some air required to light up the stage!

Palate – First and foremost, this wine extolls freshness, yet not at the expense of an endearing richness and generosity of flavour. Whilst some may perceive it to be slightly ‘larger-framed’ than in previous years it nevertheless retains trademark Bin 311 mineral acidity and linearity. Rockmelon and white peach fruits are pronounced. Underlying sherbet and fresh lemon tart impressions coupled with a lovely creaminess add to the structural and flavour pool. A trademark Penfolds phenolic grip certainly doesn’t curtail length or volume. Yes, proactively rich, fresh and assertive! Drinkability? Do we have to wait?!

Maturation

10 months in French oak barriques (30% new, 20% 1-y.o., 50% seasoned)

Vintage Conditions
The Penfolds Bin 311 Chardonnay 2018 showcases cool climate chardonnay from three of Penfolds favourite regions for this noble varietal, Adelaide Hills, Tumbarumba and Tasmania. All three regions enjoyed a relatively wet winter and spring which set the vines up well for the growing season. Tumbarumba had good rainfall right up to December, when a dry spell set in, while February temperatures were quite cool allowing for slow, consistent ripening. The Adelaide Hills had a very hot finish to the growing season with several heat spikes in January. Tasmania enjoyed clear and warm conditions over fruit set from January with no extreme heat days during the lead up to vintage. Harvest was an orderly affair, with grapes ripening evenly across the three regions. The grapes showed strong varietal character with desirable acidity.
For more information about Penfolds wines click here or visit their website here.

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