The most famous vineyard soil in Australia and possibly the world is the renowned and unique Terra Rossa of Coonawarra. A million years in the making, this long, narrow, celebrated ridge of earth is the oldest and most fertile of its kind on the Limestone Coast. It comprises a surface layer of permeable clay-like soil, rich in iron, silica, and nutrients, upon ancient limestone bedrock. The unique Terra Rossa soil, together with pure underground water, cool nights, and a long, mild growing season, is nature's gift to wine lovers across the globe. This precious parcel of land is some of the most valuable agricultural land in the nation. It is recognized as Australia's premier red wine region, contributing fruit to some of the finest wines in the world.

The Coonawarra region was once under the ocean until the ice age froze the water into polar ice caps, causing the shoreline to recede. After the ice age, the land that rose above sea level was limestone. All the region's soils sit on top of this limestone base. After the melting of the ice caps exposed the limestone, winds coming off the ocean blew silt from nearby plains, creating light clay soils rich in nutrients. This clay oxidized into the renowned red-colored soil. The soil drains well, behaving like sand, which regulates the vines' amount of available water. The limestone restricts the root growth, which helps with the quality of the wines being produced. With cold winters and a long, cool ripening season, the grapes can slowly develop flavor and tannin ripeness. Coonawarra runs nine miles long by one and a half miles wide. The name Coonawarra is from the Aboriginal language, meaning "wild honeysuckle."

"Penley Estate is one of the finest Coonawarra producers, fashioning wines of greater richness, nuance, and aging potential than most of their peers." - Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate.

Penley Estate is one of only 36 wineries in Coonawarra. Continuing a family tradition that spans five generations, the winery was established in 1988 when the Tolley children continued the winemaking heritage of their pioneering families, Penfold and Tolley, both storied names in the Australian wine industry. It all started when Reginald Tolley (son of a local winery and distillery owner) rolled up to a function in his sexy red sports car. Judith Penfold Hyland (from the Penfold wine family) was suitably impressed by the car and rather taken by the man behind the wheel. Sparks flew, romance blossomed, and Penley (Penfolds & Tolley) was conceived (as a business name) in 1947 after Reginald and Judith married. Reginald Tolley's family distilling company dates back to 1858, The Phoenix Winemaking and Distilling Company.

Penley Estates came to life in 1988 when the children of Reginald and Judith (Kym, Bec, and Ang) bought a plot of land in the famed Coonawarra region and planted Cabernet grapes. Kym worked as a winemaker at Penfolds and needed a more creative, hands-on project with 240 acres of estate vineyards producing terroir-driven wines. Their first vintage of 1989 Cabernet was named after Kim Tolley's family heritage winemaking company Phoenix, a reference to the re-emergence of Tolley winemaking traditions from Coonawarra vineyards. That first wine from Penley, Phoenix Cabernet, won a Gold Medal at the Adelaide Wine Show—the start of a long list of highly decorated wines for the estates. In 1995, they built a new winery at Penely Estates with all the bells and whistles to put that 1945 red sports car to shame. 

In 2015, Kym decided to retire, and sisters Bec and Ang, rather than sell the winery in true Penfolds/Tolley style, bought more vineyards and went on to revitalize, reinvigorate, and refresh the wine. They brought on winemaker Kate Goodman, who has become one of Australia's best contemporary winemakers. Thanks to her successes at Penley Estate, Kate was named 2018 Winemaker of the Year at the Australian Women in Wine Awards. More recently, Kate Goodman was awarded Halliday Wine Companion Winemaker of the Year 2024 and also received a 5-star rating for the winery.

Winemaker of the Year is all about 'best winemaking practice,' but it's also about the significance and importance of the stamp the person has or is making on the Australian wine landscape. Kate Goodman is one of those people who is passionate about the job at hand, or she's not doing it. She puts her heart and soul into every wine she makes. She's done this at Wirra Wirra, Tim Knappstein, Seppelt, and Punt Road in the past, as well as with her personal winemaking projects. But it's at Penley that she's taken wine by the scruff of the neck and given it an almighty shake. – Campbell Mattinson, Halliday Wine Companion

Since its inception, Penley Estates' primary focus has been Coonawarra Cabernet, and their flagship wine is their Phoenix Cabernet. It is highly taunted by wine writers worldwide and the winner of a chest full of gold medals. Since Kate took over the wine program in 2015, every vintage of Phoenix Cabernet has been awarded over 90-point ratings. For us to offer a wine of this caliber at this price makes this an unsurpassed deal of the year.

A complex bouquet full of black fruits and varietal herbs. Blood plum, blackcurrant, anise, and fresh thyme with a glimpse of purple flowers. Medium-bodied in structure with a juicy core of ripe fruit flavors. Integrated French oak notes complement the seamless powdery tannins, giving rise to a long, satisfying palate.

Notes of ripe dark fruit with hints of eucalyptus, cedar, leafy herbs, and wet stones. Medium-bodied with polished tannins. Juicy and fresh with crunchy berry fruit and blue flowers. Gentle, but long. James Suckling 92 pts

The 2021 Phoenix Cabernet Sauvignon spent 15 days on skins with twice-daily pumpers and matured in a combination of vessels for 12 months (65% seasoned French oak, 5% new French oak, 30% in stainless steel). This is an unashamedly bright, fruit-driven Cabernet Sauvignon that rests on a very fine rachis of tannin on the mid-palate. It is supple and fine and oh so fresh. It is modern, juicy, vibrant, and crunchy, even reminiscent of good Loire Chinon. It is also a very good value, with a suggested retail price of $20AUD. Best after 2023. Wine Advocate 91 pts

Coonawarra cabernet, of which 70% spent 12 months in French oak (65% new), the remainder matured in tank only. Freshness was clearly a priority of the winemaking team. Boysenberry, plum, juicy blackcurrant, and grass-like characters burst energetically onto the palate. There's a chalk dust character in play here, too, which is entirely varietal, along with crisp apple-like acidity. A gentle whisper of chocolate finishes off an attractive red wine. Halliday Wine Companion 91 pts

Penley's Estate Phoenix Cabernet Sauvignon

When Dena, John, and I had the chance to taste this wine, we were happy to see it was a Stelvin-enclosed wine. Argue it any way you want; screwcap enclosures are the way of the future. Think about it: they remove any chance of cork taint, allow the wine to be stored upright because you don't worry about a dry piece of bark stopper, it's easy to remove and reseal and allow less oxygen into the wine, preserving it better. The concept that wine ages better with corks has been disproven, and the disadvantages of a cork enclosure are many, including making your prized wine undrinkable years down the road. Well-made Stelvin enclosures are just better for the wine, so get over it! But I digress. The Phoenix poured out opaque ruby red—tightly knit aromas of bright cherry and boysenberry. In the mouth, there was bright fruit, also tightly knit, moderate to full body, moderate tannins balanced by good acidity. After some swirling, we found some root vegetables and a hint of roasted fennel with juicy acids abound—a fat-weighty finish of bitter dark cherry. I returned in an hour, and the wine had opened up even more, with more layers of complexity, more fruits like plum and currant. This is a wow wine and an obscene value at this price. Grab it while you can.

Regular Price: $19.99

*Sale Price is on 6 or more bottles

Wine is packed in a 12-bottle case

*Wine pricing for these wine promotions are held for two weeks after the email offer.

We can hold wines in unpaid reserves for two weeks to allow you time to pick up your wine. If it takes you longer than that to pick up your wines, give us a call, and we can process your wine and move it to paid reserves.

Orders must be done by replying to this email. The reason is that I need to keep control of the inventory in one central spot. Emailing or calling your favorite wine geek at one of our four stores may not get your orders in on time to be counted or processed and this creates a helter-skelter for us to get you the wine. For the same reason, ordering on our online Web Store is linked to our regular price, and this sale price is only offered on the email platform. It is also why it takes me some time to respond due to the deluge of orders that I sometimes get. We haven't reached the efficiency or volume of Amazon yet. Thank you in advance for your patience.

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