Penfolds Bin Wines- Numbers That Changed Australian Winemaking Scenario
April 20, 2017
With a winemaking history dating back to 1844, Penfolds proudly reflects Australia’s journey from traditional practices to modern winemaking technology as one of the oldest and most reputed wineries in Australia. It was founded by Christopher Rawson Penfold in the Adelaide Hills region in 1844 and since then Penfolds has played a pivotal role in the evolution of winemaking in Australia with a reputation for quality and consistency in the wine industry across the globe.
Penfolds has been producing a wide range of premium wines portraying the spirit of innovation and the endless pursuit of the winemaking team in achieving excellence in quality and consistency. Its winemaking team is best known for its multi-region and multi- varietal blending and crafting wines to a house style. Out of which, the iconic Bin series wines are regarded as the most popular bin wines which gradually became the highlights of Penfolds wines.
History of the Historic Penfolds Bin Wines
Bin wines are the wines that are named after a BIN number or Batch Identification Number. In simple words, bin numbers refer to the storage area in a wine cellar where these wines have been held or stored before being sold.
Penfolds Wines started the use of bin numbers in its wine label, when Max Schubert, the Chief Winemaker crafted the very first vintage of Penfolds Grange Hermitage in 1951. Its wine label identified the maturation area as Bin number 1. After crafting the Grange varietal, Max wished to create a series of wines that would resemble each other in texture and flavour. Around 1959, the winemaking team created a Shiraz wine using the grapes sourced from their own Barossa Valley vineyards and named it Bin 28, after the storage area of the wine cellar. Subsequently, Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz became the first official Penfolds Bin number wine. In 1960, Penfolds released the Bin 2 wine which was an unusual blend of Shiraz grapes with Mourvedre (also known as Mataro) grapes.
With a long and vibrant winemaking heritage, Penfolds is recognized for producing some of the most popular bin wines including Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz, Bin 150 Marananga Shiraz and Bin 407, a classic Cabernet blend. In 2014, the company celebrated its 170th birth anniversary and released Bin 170 in London, as a commemorative tribute to its founder Dr Christopher Rawson Penfold. As per Wine Ark’s list of the most 50 collectable wines, Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz was the second most collected wine in 2016 after Penfolds Grange. With its unique range of vibrant and flavoursome Bin wines, Penfolds has not only built its profound reputation for Australian wines in global wine market but has also vividly influenced Australia’s winemaking approach. Historic blends, heritage vineyards and iconic Bin wines are the key aspects behind the success of Penfolds in the global wine industry.
