An Exclusive Evening with Penfolds: Five Icons, Four Courses, One Table
There are wines you read about, wines you mean to open one day, and wines that come with a bit of folklore attached. Penfolds has more than its share of the third kind: bin numbers that collectors recite like football scores, barrels that once held Australia's most famous red, and a house style that has barely wavered since the 1950s.
On Thursday 8th October we are giving five of them a night of their own. Our Penfolds Wine Dinner at The Railway Inn pairs a guided tasting of five Penfolds wines with four courses from chef Andrew Baxter in Sandford. Charlie Lewis, Penfolds ambassador, hosts alongside Kelli from The Wine Shop. Tickets are £79 per person and seats are reserved by name.
Why Penfolds Still Sets the Standard
Penfolds began in 1844, when Dr Christopher Rawson Penfold planted vine cuttings at Magill, on the edge of Adelaide. For its first century it was better known for fortified wine than for the reds that made its name. The turn came in the early 1950s, when chief winemaker Max Schubert returned from Europe determined to make an Australian red that could age for decades. The result was Grange, initially so unpopular with the board that Schubert was told to stop making it. He carried on quietly. Grange is now the most collected wine in Australia.
What followed was the Bin system: a numbered sequence of wines, each with its own blend, region and personality, all built on the same principles of multi-region blending and confident oak. Tasting several of them side by side is the clearest way to understand what "house style" actually means, and it is not something you can do easily from a single bottle at home.
The Five Wines
Penfolds Champagne Rosé Brut NV, the welcome
Champagne through a Penfolds lens, made in collaboration with Champagne Thiénot. Salmon pink and vibrant, with cherry, strawberry and raspberry riding fine bubbles, a whisper of Parma violet and a zesty, satin textured finish. An unlikely bottle on paper, and a very persuasive one in the glass.
Bin 311 Chardonnay
Cool climate fruit from Tasmania, Tumbarumba and the Adelaide Hills. Struck match complexity, white peach and grapefruit, with the taut mineral drive that has made Bin 311 a modern Australian benchmark. Proof that the house does restraint as convincingly as it does power.
Bin 138 Shiraz Grenache Mataro
The Barossa's answer to the southern Rhône, drawn from gnarled old bush vines. Generous plum and raspberry fruit, warm spice and supple tannins. Rich, welcoming and built for a dinner table rather than a cellar.
Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz, the "Baby Grange"
The wine most people come for. Bin 389 is matured in barrels that previously held Grange itself, which is where the nickname comes from, and it is Penfolds' most celebrated red after the flagship. Blackcurrant and dark chocolate layered over cedar oak, with the structure to keep going for a decade or two. If you have ever wondered what the fuss is about, this is the glass that answers it.
Father Grand Tawny 10 Year Old, the finale
A decade in seasoned oak in the Magill cellars gives roasted walnut, fig, toffee and rancio spice, all wrapped in a gloriously silky texture. Fortified wine is where Penfolds started, so there is a certain symmetry in finishing the evening here.
Four Courses to Match
Andrew Baxter is cooking four courses around the wines rather than the other way round, which is the right order for an evening like this. The kitchen at The Railway Inn has a deserved local following, and a Barossa Shiraz blend or a Cabernet Shiraz of this weight deserves food with some presence behind it.
If you have dietary requirements, let us know when you book and they will be passed to the kitchen well ahead of the night.
The Details
- Date: Thursday 8th October 2026
- Arrival: 7.15pm, with Champagne and canapés from 7.30pm
- Finish: approximately 10.00pm
- Venue: The Railway Inn, Sandford
- Hosts: Charlie Lewis of Penfolds, with Kelli from The Wine Shop
- Price: £79 per person, including all five wines and four courses
There is no physical ticket. Book online, and we will have your name on a reserved seat on the night.
Take the Wines Home
Every wine poured on the night is available to buy from us, so anything that wins you over can come home with you. Most are on the shelves already, and anything we are out of on the night we will happily order in for you, which usually takes only a few days. You will find the range on our Penfolds collection, including Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz, Bin 138 Grenache, Shiraz and Mataro and the Father Grand Tawny 10 Year Old.
Evenings like this one are deliberately small, and Penfolds tastings tend not to hang about. If the idea of five icons and four courses appeals, book your place for Thursday 8th October while there are still seats at the table.