James Suckling 94
“This is a blend of three regions, Tasmania, Tumbarumba and Adelaide Hills. It’s Tasmania that really powers this wine in 2019. Opens on a chalky and stony edge with intense, vibrant white-peach and citrus aromas. The palate has a resolved, complete and smooth-honed texture. Flavors of ripe peaches, honey and citrus sit amid fresh, crisp acidity and a long, attractively pithy grapefruit and peach finish.”

Wine Enthusiast 92
“This is a likable, multi-regional Chardonnay blend that is at first tightly reined and straightforward in nature, but reveals more layers as it opens in the glass. It weaves stone fruit, pineapple, salted nuts and toasty characters into a slippery, creamy mouthfeel. The oak is present but not overwhelming and an appealing salted peach note lingers on the finish. It's a solid example of modern Aussie Chardonnay.”

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 91
“Sourced from Tasmania, Adelaide Hills and Tumbarumba, Penfolds is seeking to position the 2019 Bin 311 Chardonnay as something of a "Junior Yattarna." I guess that's one way to characterize the stuff that doesn't make the cut for the flagship Chardonnay. In truth, this is a fine wine in its own right, boasting struck-match complexity on the nose alongside hints of apple, white peach and lime. Barrel fermented and matured in 35% new French oak, it's medium-bodied and silky textured, but it hides the oak well, ending in a lingering wash of citrus.”

Wine Spectator 90
“Fresh and citrusy up front, with lemon zest, tangerine and pomelo flavors that are clear and bright, on a juicy frame. Balanced, with notes of toasted hazelnut and spice on the finish, which gain momentum.”

Decanter 90
“Deceptively delicate, even though it has been framed within a quite sturdy oak outline. The body of the wine is quite fragile – a fine porcelain vase. A whiff of toasty oak rides ahead of very gentle peach blossom. The sliver of lemon has surprising persistence, revealing some pleasing roasted cashew and mineral bite before a squeeze of tart grapefruit providing pucker at the finish. It’s all very prim and elegant, straight-backed and on its best behaviour, but one wonders whether it can loosen up with age.”


The 2019 Penfolds Bin 311 Chardonnay is a light straw color. The nose is full-flavored, endowed with a concentrated fruit spectrum of citrus, grapefruit and white peach. Hints of sherbet, camomile and goats cheese complex the aromatic offer – a chardonnay cast assembled from three States of Australia. Certainly, there’s quite the performance happening in the glass, with barely a swirl of the glass and some air required to light up the stage! First and foremost, this wine extolls freshness, yet not at the expense of an endearing richness and generosity of flavor. Whilst some may perceive it to be slightly ‘larger-framed’ than in previous years it nevertheless retains trademark Bin 311 mineral acidity and linearity. Rockmelon and white peach fruits are pronounced. Underlying sherbet and fresh lemon tart impressions coupled with a lovely creaminess add to the structural and flavor pool.