An Australian Wine Dinner

The Winery

Co-hosting the evening will be Brooke Barnett, Penfolds Brand Ambassador, whose passion for wine and storytelling brings each bottle vividly to life. With over 15 years of experience in luxury wine sales, hospitality, and brand storytelling, Brooke represents one of the world’s great fine-wine houses with warmth, expertise, and unmistakable charisma.

Founded in 1844 in Adelaide, South Australia, by Dr. Christopher Rawson Penfold and his wife Mary Penfold, Penfolds began as a modest estate producing fortified wines. Today, it stands as a globally recognized luxury wine brand, owned by Treasury Wine Estates, with vineyards and winemaking projects spanning Australia, California, and France.

While Penfolds remains deeply rooted in Australia, its innovative multi-vineyard, multi-regional philosophy draws fruit from some of the country’s most celebrated regions, including:

• Magill Estate– the original urban vineyard near Adelaide
• Barossa Valley– home to some of the world’s oldest Cabernet vines
• Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, Eden Valley, Adelaide Hills, and more

This approach allows Penfolds to craft wines of remarkable depth, complexity, and regional expression.

Throughout the evening, guests will be educated on Australian wine regions and the Shiraz varietal, while being entertained by Brooke Barnett’s personal adventures and insights from the world of fine wine. With a background in theatre and dance, Brooke brings elegance, energy, and authenticity to every engagement. She has judged sommelier competitions, spoken at leading industry conferences, and trained wine professionals in the nuanced art of fine wine education.

An evening of great wines, inspired cuisine, and unforgettable storytelling—this is a dinner not to be missed.

The Wines

Riesling “Bin 51”, Penfolds, Eden Valley, Australia, 2023

The 2023 Bin 51 Riesling leads with an austere, searing nose of grilled lime, bath salts, lemon zest, crushed quartz, preserved citrus and pear skin. In the mouth, the wine is fleshy in its way and light on its feet. It’s a beautiful wine, poised without being heavy or concentrated, and there’s a cleansing finish that has a rounded feel to it.  Rating: 93+ Wine Advocate 

Chardonnay “Bin 311”, Penfolds, Tasmanian/ Adelaide, Australia, 2022

The 2022 Bin 311 Chardonnay hails from three regions: Tasmania (38%), Tumbarumba (33%) and the Adelaide Hills (29%). It matured in French oak for eight months (34% new). Crushed salted nuts, white peach and layers of nectarine and green apple populate the palate. It’s svelte, polished and classy to a tee. It has the Penfolds phenolic stamp of seamlessness without being glossy or overdone. Lovely wine. Pleasure here! It was a lovely season in all three regions. Rating: 93+ Wine Advocate

 Shiraz “Bin 28”, Penfolds , Barossa Valley, Australia, 2022

Quelle surprise! Penfolds impresses with a multi-regional blend. It’s something they do so well; a combination of vineyard resources and masterful blending with such quality and consistency across their ‘Bin’ range of wines. Deep set satsuma plum, blackberry and blueberry fruits with hints of baking spices, charcuterie, violets, fennel tops, dried herbs, nicely-judged American oak and a gentle earthen hue. There’s a lovely, bright fruit presence here; long, flavourful and delicious now with the promise of excellent cellaring potentia Rating: 95+ James Halliday

RWT “Bin 798”, Penfolds , Barossa Valley, Australia, 2022

Sourced entirely from Barossa and aged in partly new French oak, RWT is a ripe fruited, powerful sports car of a wine, There’s currant and blueberry jam, chocolate, dried, crushed violets, ink and a charred veg note. Intensely concentrated on the palate, the muscular, oak-driven tannins are in the driver’s seat, but the plush dark berry fruit rides shotgun. Rating: 94+ Wine Enthusiast

Shiraz “St. Henri”, Penfolds , South Austrailia, Australia, 2017

The latest bottling of St. Henri, from a cool vintage, is a classic. Inky-hued, it’s a deep well of flavor: plush blackberries, roasted vegtables, coffee beans, dark chocolate and a sanguine nuance. The palate is rich and mouthfilling but linear, with polished, spicy oak and fine, powerful tannins. It’s a big wine that needs a major hit of protein if drinking now, but it will age beautifully for many decades to come. Drink through 2045. Rating: 96+ Wine Enthusiast

California Cabernet-Shiraz “Bin 600”, Penfolds, California, 2022

“Bin 600” refers to Penfolds Bin 600 California Cabernet-Shiraz, a premium red wine blend from the renowned Australian winery Penfolds, celebrating their California roots by combining Napa/Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon with Paso Robles Shiraz, known for its complex notes of dark fruit, spices, leather, and oak, offering a smooth, balanced, and often richly fruity experience. Rating: 96+ Wine Enthusiast

Cabernet-Shiraz “Bin 389”, Penfolds, Barossa and McLaren Vale, Australia, 2021

The happy marriage of Cabernet Sauvignon (51%) with Shiraz (49%) rarely looks as cosy or integrated than in this stellar example. A generous mid-palate shows off fine long fruit flavours from the slow-ripening 2022 vintage, with ruddy Shiraz ripeness in step with the more tannic bite of Cabernet Sauvignon’s blackberry and mulberry adding a moreish savoury note. With 36% new American oak hogsheads used for 12 months’ maturation, there’s just enough oak-influenced spice to provide adequate seasoning to the deep, pure flavors. Rating: 97+ Wine Enthusiast

Cabernet Sauvignon “Bin 704”, Napa Valley, California, 2022

 When it comes to cabernet sauvignon, Penfolds hits a sweet spot with its less ambitious though no less beautiful second tier (407 in South Australia, 704 in Napa Valley… both of which are significantly less expensive than the prime selections—707 or, in California, Quantum and Oakville). The fruit on this 2020 is black as night, with the warm intensity of umeboshi plums. Then the flavors last on cassis and the herbal, woody scent of rosemary. There’s juiciness to the currant flavor, bursting with ripeness, creating a lovely textural bliss. This should age with grace. Rating: 94+ Wine & Spirits

 Cabernet Sauvignon “Bin 149”, Penfolds,  South Australian , Australia, 2019

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 149 saw 100% new oak, 80% French and 20% American. The fruit here is really powerful and drives the wine through the front palate, middle and finish. It is concentrated and long and undeterred. This is seriously smart and shows precision and detail in both the winemaking and fruit. The three Californian wines form an equal step up each time of quality, concentration and complexity—as it should be, frankly—which makes for very satisfying drinking. It contains 10.9% Australian Cabernet Sauvignon (a blend of A1 grade Coonawarra and Barossa Valley). Rating: 96+ Wine Advocate

Penfolds Grandfather “20 Year Old” Rare Tawny, Australia

Penfolds Grandfather Tawny (or Rare Tawny) is a premium Australian fortified dessert wine, a rich, complex, wood-matured “liqueur tawny” with flavors of raisin, walnut, toffee, oak, and spice, known for its deep amber color, luscious texture, and long finish, made via a traditional solera system for consistent quality, offering incredible age-worthiness and often compared favorably to Portuguese Ports. Rating: 94+ Wilford Wong