[EVENT] jimBARan Outdoor Lounge Intercontinental Hotel Jakarta
October 22nd, 2014. I was invited to Penfolds Gala Tasting at Intercontinental Jakarta Midplaza Hotel. The event was held at jimBARan Outdoor Lounge. It was my second time there. The first time I went to jimBARan on the daylight. I think I will share with you a couple of photos here, so you can visualize the lounge on daylight and at night. It was lovely on daylight, beautiful at night.
The place was so cool but very dark in the night. It's so hard to take bright pictures. But believe me, the event was very successful. I think that night, everybody went there, and be happy. Btw, I climbed the circular staircase for a wider view. Wow, so scary when I looked down.
Don't forget the canapés. Hihihi.. Too bad, I only took picture of the chocolate cashew tart, because the others were already in my tummy :)
This event was made for celebrating partnership between InterContinental Hotels Group and Treasury Wine Estates, to offer a premium selection of wine from award-winning Australian marque Penfolds at more than 65 InterContinental hotels and resorts across Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA). The collaboration will bring a great new selection of fine wines to hotel dinner tables and bars, enhancing dining experiences across the region. InterContinental guests also can expect exciting new programmes and events specially tailored for the wine connoisseur in them, including exclusive wine flights, access to rare and limited wines and a bespoke wine list to match every dining occasion in each hotel.
I felt very lucky to be in this celebration. It was so amazing to see so many people, brought together by Penfolds, to become one big happy crowd. Hahaha. I met lovely people. I met fellow foodies. I met new people. I think I met everybody there. Funniest thing, I couldn't eat much, before everybody went home. After everybody went home, I was very hungry. I took a huge pile of chicken and fried rice. LOL. They were so delicious!!
Anyway, the logo in the middle of the lounge was caught my eyes. It was very beautiful surrounded by roses. Before I show you the wines, let me tell you first about Penfolds itself.
Penfolds is one of Australia’s oldest and most iconic wineries, with a history and heritage that reflects the country’s journey from colonial settlement to the modern era. Penfolds has played a pivotal role in the evolution of winemaking in Australia – and across the world.
THE COLONIAL PERIOD (1844–1899)
Penfolds was founded in 1844 by Dr Christopher Rawson and Mary Penfold. English immigrants, they arrived in Adelaide only eight years after it was founded as South Australia’s capital. After purchasing the ‘delightfully situated and truly valuable estate’ at Magill on the slopes of the Adelaide Hills, they planted a vineyard and established a medical surgery in the newly built stone cottage ‘The Grange’. Already wine was considered by colonial practitioners as a healthy drink. Penfolds tonic wines became so popular that a thriving wine business was soon established.
By 1881 Penfolds was producing one third of South Australia’s wine production. During the turn-of-the- century Penfolds wines reached some of the furthest corners of the British Empire. It became Australia’s largest producer of fortified wines by the time of Australia’s Federation in 1901. Although Dr Christopher Penfold is recorded as the founder of Penfolds, he was busy building a medical practice and prescribing Penfolds wine as tonics to his patients. It was predominantly his wife Mary who managed the vineyard, made the wine and established a thriving wine business. She was one of Australia’s first and most successful business women.
The memory of Dr Christopher and Mary Penfold is immortalised in the Penfolds name. The remnants of the Grange vineyard at Magill Estate still stand, centred on the historic Grange Cottage, with superb sweeping views across the modern city of Adelaide, South Australia.
THE EMPIRE PERIOD (1900–1945)
During the empire period, Penfolds expanded its vineyards and became a household name across Australia. It exported table and fortified wines to the British Empire and its outposts. Max Schubert – a then young inquisitive winemaker – travelled to Europe after World War II to investigate winemaking where he dreamed of making wines that would capture the imagination of wine drinkers the world over. The mission was to learn about sherry production but a side trip to Bordeaux led to the extraordinary development of Penfolds Grange and the commercialisation of dry red table wines.
THE DYNASTIC PERIOD (1945–1989)
The birth of Grange in 1951 lead to a remarkable collection of wines that bought Penfolds worldwide recognition for their signature style, consistency and longevity. By the early 1960s Schubert oversaw the creation of ‘a dynasty of wines which may differ in character from year to year, but all bear an unmistakable resemblance and relationship to each other’. Bin 128, Bin 389 and Bin 707 and St Henri were all commercialised during this period. This signature method of winemaking, developed and refined over decades, is known as the ‘Penfolds House Style’ and is still practiced today. Under the successive chief winemakers, Don Ditter, John Duval and Peter Gago, the Penfolds collection of wines has remained true to the original blueprint.
THE MODERN ERA (1990S– TODAY)
During the 1990s an unprecedented number of new styles were introduced to the Penfolds collection. This was also a period of intense winemaking trials and commercial opportunity. The ‘white Grange’ project spawned the creation of Bin 144 Yattarna Chardonnay in 1995 (released in 1998). Wine trials, including the ‘experimental/homage’ Special Bin releases of 1990 Bin 90A, 1990 Bin 920 and 1996 Block 42, also led to the launch of RWT Shiraz, an ultra-fine Penfolds Barossa Shiraz, matured in French oak.
During the 1990s, Penfolds introduced the Re-corking Clinics, a unique and revolutionary after-sales service, where wine collectors can have their aged wines – particularly Grange – assessed, re-corked, topped up and re-capsuled. Today, more than 120,000 bottles have been ‘cliniced and certified’ throughout Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Europe, the Americas and Asia. Penfolds also celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of Grange in 2001 and in a remarkable gesture, the National Trust of South Australia, listed Grange as a Heritage icon.
The 2000s saw an expansion and consolidation of the Penfolds wine portfolio, to meet the needs and interests of a global premium wine brand. The range today reflects Max Schubert’s ambitions of a dynasty of wine without compromise. Penfolds received a long line of awards and accolades during the 2000s. In 2005 the US Wine Enthusiast magazine named Peter Gago its ‘Winemaker of the Year’ and in the same year Langton’s Classification of Australian Wine, led by Grange, recognised the history and popularity of the company’s core range of fine wines.
In more recent times 2008 Grange received a perfect score of 100 points by two of the world’s most influential wine publications, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator magazine. In 2011 Penfolds Reserve Bin 09A Chardonnay won the International Wine Challenge Champion White Wine award. In 2013 the prestigious Wine and Spirits magazine included Penfolds as a ‘top winery of the year’, for the twenty-third consecutive year - more than any other winery in the world.
Continuing a tradition of innovation and experimentation, in 2012, Penfolds launched its highly ambitious ‘Ampoule Project’, a limited-release offering of twelve hand-blown glass ampoules, containing the celebrated 2004 Block 42 Cabernet Sauvignon. The Ampoules attracted worldwide attention and a little controversy. Pushing the boundaries of contemporary winemaking for the sake of improvement is a longstanding Penfolds tradition. Penfolds enjoys a unique Australian heritage; its wines evoke an ageless generosity of spirit, craftsmanship and the beauty of the Australian landscape.
As Chief Winemaker Peter Gago says; ‘the wine always come first’. It is this enduring principle and generosity of spirit, handed down by generations of winemakers, in the vineyards, the wineries and the markets, that gives Penfolds wines a unique and timeless quality.
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Now, let's meet the wines
KOONUNGA HILL - SHIRAZ CABERNET 2012
Since its first vintage in 1976, Koonunga Hill’s reputation has been built upon its affordable price, its approachability in its youth, with the potential to develop if carefully cellared. Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet is very much a reflection of the Penfolds winemaking style and philosophy. Sourced from premium vineyards across South Australia, the wine is known for its full-flavoured style always with impressive Shiraz and Cabernet fruit, firm yet well-rounded structure and balanced oak.
Vineyard Region: Multi-regional, South Australia
Grape Variety: 66% Shiraz, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage Conditions:
Winter rainfall was lower than the long-term average for most parts of South Australia. Variable conditions continued through the period from October to December, merging to a mild summer, with a few short periods of heat. The mild daytime temperatures and cool evenings across most of the ripening period, allowed for impressive flavour development, without inflated baumes. Balanced canopies matched fruit load, providing even yet not too speedy ripening. Warm dry conditions continued throughout harvest with fruit picked in optimal condition. Smaller berry and bunch sizes were noticeable in most regions and this, coupled with favourable weather conditions, saw great results for some quality markers – colour, tannin profile, fruit concentration and flavour depth
Maturation: 12 months in older American and French oak
Colour: Dark plum with a ruby rim
Nose: Dark chocolate and mocha are immediately recognisable. Chocolate notes persist and evolve into milk chocolate mousse and vanilla anglaise. Wild blackberries, dark cherry and satsuma plum lead the fruit charge
Palate: A medium to full-bodied wine with plum and fleshy/sweet dark fruits. Chocolate custard common to both aroma and palate. Pecan tart, wafer biscuit, vanilla pod. A seamless marriage between fruit, tannin and oak
KOONUNGA HILL - CHARDONNAY 2012
Koonunga Hill Chardonnay reflects Penfolds multi-region, multi- vineyard blending philosophy, which enables winemakers to source the best parcels of fruit to produce consistently high quality wines from each vintage. A light to medium bodied Chardonnay with distinctive primary fruit characters and a subtle underlay of moderate oak.
Vineyard Region: Multi-regional
Grape Variety: 100% Chardonnay
Vintage Conditions:
The 2012 vintage produced above average rainfalls throughout the growing season with a mild to warm summer. During the ripening period, optimum temperatures prevailed right through to harvest. This, along with lower than average crops and great canopy growth gave way for wonderful flavour development in what is deemed an exceptional white vintage
Maturation: Stainless steel and French oak for 6 months on yeast lees
Colour: Light straw
Nose: Stone fruits abound, noticeably yellow peach with trademark exotic tropical fruits beneath. Underlying complex characters of creamy nougat with a faint suggestion of hazelnut and lightly toasted cashew nut and scented French oak
Palate: Arising from 6 months on yeast lees, the palate is flavoursome and creamy with highlighted notes of nougat and hazelnut praline. Beautifully balanced out with fine acidity, this wine is best consumed young and fresh
KOONUNGA HILL - AUTUMN RIESLING 2012
Some of Penfolds finest Riesling parcels in the early 1970s were bottled under the Autumn label and the Koonunga Hill Autumn Riesling acknowledges the original 1971, by closely adhering to the original packaging with a fitting ‘retro’ label. The Autumn label now sits in the Koonunga Hill tier and like its siblings, it aims to deliver the quality, value and consistency for which Koonunga Hill is renowned.
Vineyard Region: Eden Valley
Grape Variety: 95% Riesling 5% Traminer
Vintage Conditions:
The 2012 vintage produced above average rainfalls throughout the growing season with a mild to warm Summer. During the ripening period, optimum temperatures prevailed right through to harvest. This, along with lower than average crops and great canopy growth gave way for wonderful flavour development in what is deemed and exceptional white vintage
Maturation: Stainless steel
Colour: Light straw
Nose: Initial burst of rose petal florals and perfume are followed by delicate aromas of lime juice and orange blossom
Palate: Rose petal and lime juice notes carry through to the palate which is beautifully balanced by a hint of natural sweetness and mouth-watering talc-like acidity providing wonderful length of flavour. A wine best consumed in its youth and over the next 3 years
BIN 8 - CABERNET SHIRAZ 2012
Bin 8 has been crafted in the traditional Penfolds style. Ripe, balanced fruit flavours are supported by softly integrated oak resulting in a silky, smooth red wine.
It was introduced in response to an interest in Cabernet Shiraz blends – a classic Australian wine style that caught the attention of the international wine media. Although Bin numbers were originally named after the original binning
location after bottling, Bin 8 was given its number because it uses older oak previously used for Bin 128, Bin 28 and Bin 389 – with ‘8’ obviously providing the common thread.
Vineyard Region: Barossa Valley, Wrattonbully, McLaren Vale, Padthaway and Langhorne Creek
Grape Variety: 57% Cabernet Sauvignon 43% Shiraz
Vintage Conditions:
Winter rainfall was lower than the long-term average for most parts of South Australia. Variable conditions continued through the period from October to December, merging to a mild summer, with a few short periods of heat. The mild daytime temperatures and cool evenings across most of the ripening period, allowed for impressive flavour development, without inflated baumes. Balanced canopies matched fruit load, providing even yet not too speedy ripening. Warm dry conditions continued throughout harvest with fruit picked in optimal condition. Smaller berry and bunch sizes were noticeable in most regions and this, coupled with favourable weather conditions, saw great results for some quality markers – colour, tannin profile, fruit concentration and flavour depth.
Maturation: 12 months in French and American oak, 13% new oak (French)
Colour: Deep youthful red
Nose: An instantly recognisable Cabernet Shiraz aromatic propulsion with Cabernet notes more prominent than Shiraz at this stage. i.e. black olive, graphite and red-berried fruits. Not quite that simple, however, with anchovy, crackling and meat salt complexities lurking in the background. Oh, and a modicum of musk to add further intrigue.
Palate: Vibrant, with excellent grip – via a defined and focussed (linear) structure. Ripe, varietal Cabernet apparent – neither herbal nor leafy. Rhubarb, red-fruits and red jelly-crystal notes, verging toward a good, old-fashioned summer trifle treat. Palate bound by integrated oak and compliant tannins.
KOONUNGA HILL - SEVENTY SIX SHIRAZ CABERNET 2012
Since its inception, Penfolds Koonunga Hill has always aimed to deliver quality, value and consistency. The original 1976 Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet is a legendary wine that is still drinking well today, with numerous bottles still taken to the Penfolds Red Wine Re-corking Clinics by collectors who know of its quality and longevity. In its short ‘contemporary’ history, the Seventy Six label has already enjoyed multiple show successes and the Penfolds Winemaking Team are confident the 2012 vintage reaches the same quality and expectations as its predecessors.
Vineyard Region: Barossa Valley, Langhorne Creek, McLaren Vale, Upper Adelaide
Grape Variety: 76% Shiraz, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage Conditions:
Winter rainfall was lower than the long-term average for most parts of South Australia. Variable conditions continued through the period from October to December, merging to a mild summer, with a few short periods of heat. The mild daytime temperatures and cool evenings across most of the ripening period, allowed for impressive flavour development, without inflated baumes. Balanced canopies matched fruit load, providing even yet not too speedy ripening. Warm dry conditions continued throughout harvest with fruit picked in optimal condition. Smaller berry and bunch sizes were noticeable in most regions and this, coupled with favourable weather conditions, saw great results for some quality markers – colour, tannin profile, fruit concentration and flavour depth
Maturation: 12 months in new (10%) and seasoned American oak Deep red, crimson rim
Nose: Familial, distinctly Penfolds. A retro wine refurbed in a modern mould. Raspberry/vanillin/chocolate/yoghurt aromatics impatiently leap from the glass. Oak? Yes, but ever so courteous! Youthful
Palate: Masses of fruit. Balanced, fresh, lush. Multi-dimensional - beneath a veneer of youth there awaits much more patience. To sign off: pronounced chewy tannins and lively acidity, conveyed by a judicious 12-month rental of oak
Thanks to jimBARan Outdoor LoungeIntercontinental Jakarta Midplaza Hotel, and Penfolds, for the event. All of the Penfolds wines are amazingly delicious. The taste and the flavour and the aroma. Everything about Penfolds are really addicting. I didn't remember how many wine glasses I drank, but I remember that I had a very good time there. Ate delicious food, drank great wines, and met amazing people. Nothing beats the experiences.
Thanks for the goodie bag too.. *big grin*
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