These days are well behind me now, we would be with the family drinking and we would open two bottles of Penfolds shiraz. One would be Bin 28, the other would be a Bin 128 so we could put the two shiraz up against each other, one was big, the other was smooth.

The Bin 28 was the smooth shiraz, the very first bin release with 100% of the shiraz sourced from the Kalimna vineyard in the Barossa valley. These days the fruit is sourced from multiple vineyards, now fruit is sourced from Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Padthaway, Clare Valley, and Wrattonbully. The colour is deep red with blackcurrant and blackberry flavours, chocolate overtones and soft oak nuances.

The Bin 28 was developed during the Max Schubert Grange project in the late 1950s, the Bin 28 was first released back in 1959. The Bin designation at Penfolds was based on a grape variety and location system used by the winemakers at Penfolds winery to track their inventory. I would view cellering the Bin 28 for only medium term, the tannins are soft and smooth so I don’t believe the Bin 28 should be cellared long term.