PenfoldsBin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon (OWC) 2021

"Peter Gago now describes Bin 707 as ‘the Grange of cabernet’ and its price is certainly heading this way (2019 was $650 and there was no 2020, so a jump to $800 represents the only significant price rise in the Penfolds release this year). But there’s no doubt this is a vintage with the stature and endurance to support his association, with more than 50% sourced from Coonawarra in what he rightly considers one of the greatest seasons since 1991. The explosion of chalk mineral tannins, the brightness of acidity and the mesmerising confidence with which it holds its line and length in suspended animation make this one of the greatest and most enduring Bin 707s in the long lineage of this fabled label.

707 har en excellent nos och just detta spel mellan det robusta och den syrliga fruktglansen är magnifik i viner som dessa och skapar en kontrastfull elegans. Skopor med kaffebönor, choklad, cedernosad tobak, salviadragna mörka plommon och björnbär med rödkittliga vinbär och körsbär böljar vinet fram. Närvaron av mineralisk, frisk edge och sandgrusigt, distinkt smekande tanniner med vällustig magnetisk dragning, ger vinet svalka och edge. 707 har kusiner från Bordeaux i trädet men det reflekteras även sysslingar i Italien med tanke på de maritimt fuktiga tobaksnoterna. Det råder slutligen en stor intensitet och koncentration och temperamentet är krävande och lika givmild i samma andetag. Bin 707 är ett stort vin, även i denna årgång.

The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 707 is a stunning expression of South Australian Cabernet Sauvignon from Coonawarra, Barossa Valley and Wrattonbully. It offers the ultimate combination of power and grace. It’s bursting at the seams with detailed cassis, violets, dried herbs and cedar aromas wrapped up in a thick blanket of primary oak. The flavor profile has an impressive density, which is controlled and tight, with a rich vein of muscular tannins focusing on the overall package. Long, energetic and robust, this is a wine that will go on and on and on.

This is a very fine 707. Often a bit of a yeoman, this is more sophisticated than I recall. Gun barrel tannins with the glint of steely intent. Like a slick of alloyed ball bearings, rolling across the generously weighted palate while delivering iodine, bouquet garni, a swab of tapenade and cassis in all the right places. Rich and powerful, yet detailed and savory all at once. The juiciness of the fruit effortlessly transcends the slathering of oak, predicting a very bright future. A wonderful wine in the making. Best after 2027.

The 2021 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon was sourced from Coonawarra (55%), Barossa Valley (32%), and Wrattonbully (13%), and it was aged for 16 months in 100% new American oak hogsheads. It has a deep garnet-purple color and the nose opens with profound scents of crème de cassis, juicy blackberries, and warm, ripe plums, followed by hints of dried mint, dark chocolate, cedar, sassafras, and vanilla pod. Full-bodied, the palate is surprisingly graceful, bright, refreshing, and refined, with bags of energetic fruit and a very long, spicy finish.