Penfolds, South Australia (Australia) Shiraz – Mataro 2014

 This wine from Penfolds — a genuinely great producer and a standard-bearer for all of Australian wine — falls somewhere in the middle of a range of releases that stretches from very affordable wines to the legendary "Grange," which is definitely in the league of "First-Growth" Bordeaux any of the world’s greatest and most age-worthy wines.  Why this preamble to reviewing the 2014 "Bin 2"?  Because this could easily be overlooked by those glancing higher or lower in the range, which would be very unfortunate.  Blended from 82% Shiraz and 18% Mataro (a.k.a. Mourvèdre in France and Monastrell in Spain), this is a thrill ride in a bottle.  Very deeply pigmented, highly aromatic, seriously concentrated and deeply flavorful, it really has the impact of a $75 wine for 1/3 the price.  Yet, that’s only half the story, as this is no mere fruit bomb.  On the contrary, it is beautifully balance with lots of fresh acidity, and savory, meaty undertones make this as "interesting" as it is "impressive."  Like most Penfolds wines, it benefits hugely from aeration, and really shows twice the dimension after a couple of hours than immediately after opening.