Deep crimson. The classic reference Australian shiraz with lovely intense blackberry, elderberry, dark chocolate aromas. Well concentrated and ripe with deep set blackberry, elder berry fruits, fine dense chocolaty slightly grippy textures and underlying roasted walnut notes, Finishes chocolatey and minerally with plenty of flavour length. The workhorse Penfolds red. Utterly reliable vintage-to-vintage with plenty of cellaring potential.

Deep, bright purple/red colour, with a chocolate and fruitcake bouquet; vanilla and hints of licorice as well. The wine is full-bodied but far from a blockbuster. The tannins are firm and faintly sappy, with a thread of appetising bitterness, while the chocolate notes linger on. A good if not transcendent Bin 28.
Huon Hooke

Step into a field of vanilla, of florals, of blueberries and blackberries, of plums. The saturation of fruit here is excellent; there’s good rain behind the thunder. The finish isn’t jumbled but it’s not elite; the richness of the fruit rolls through regardless. No one will be disappointed. It delivers what it has to, in plain but effective fashion. Kalimna Bin 28 Shiraz has had its glorious moment but these days, year in and year out, the take home is that it’s a 92 point wine for 50 bucks.
Campbell Mattinson

The richer counterpart to Bin 128, this warm-climate blend of Barossa, McLaren Vale and Padthaway fruit (no Upper Adelaide or Wrattonbully fruit in this vintage) is a deep, primary dark ruby colour. And yet it's from a cool growing season, with the harvest finishing a month later than the previous year. It displays a subdued, spicy richness of aroma spliced with a hint of cooler vintage pepper. The palate though is typically generously fruited, with blackberry fruit infused with Penfolds’ trademark toasty vanillin American oak - an umami feel, it's underpinned by nicely resolved tannins that are very much present in the mouthfeel, gradually softening as the wine tapers towards its sumptuous conclusion. Bring on the chilli con carne or braised pork belly.

This has moved to position itself firmly as a wine that trades on the strengths of Barossa shiraz, in an all-round way, while also incorporating McLaren Vale and Padthaway sourcing. Deep blackberries and redder fruit with a creamy, vanillin-laced nose and some cedar and tarry notes. The palate has a smooth build of fleshy fruit and silky, refined and polished tannin.