Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon 2024 (Gift Boxed) (Pre Order)

Cabernet from Coonawarra was excellent in 2024 and core to this 707, joined by fruit from the Barossa Valley and Padthaway. Maturation was in American oak hogsheads, new, for sixteen months. A very dark purple/magenta, the nose exhibits aromas of dark plums, cassis, cigar boxes, chocolate, vanilla, spices and dried herbs. Early complexity is most certainly evident. On the palate we move to even more intricate flavours, including blackberries and blueberries, smoked meats, beef stock, tapenade, coffee beans and tobacco leaves. A wine with focus and balance, satiny tannins and serious length, with its intensity maintained throughout. A wonderful 707 for enjoying over the next three decades, during which we can expect that there is every chance the score might edge up just a smidge.

Cabernet Sauvignon from Coonawarra, Barossa Valley and Padthaway; 16 months in 100% new American oak hogsheads. The flagship Cabernet in the Penfolds stable continues to champion the house philosophy of multi-regional blending, marrying the structure of Coonawarra with Barossa Valley depth and Padthaway generosity. Matured exclusively in new American oak, Bin 707 remains one of Australia’s most ageworthy expressions of Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep and commanding from the outset with blackcurrant, cassis, blackberry and dark plum wrapped around black olive, graphite, cedar, tobacco leaf and dark chocolate. The palate is dense and authoritative, layering blackcurrant, blackberry, liquorice, cedar spice and cocoa over a frame of substantial but beautifully ripe tannins. Concentration is exceptional without feeling cumbersome, while bright acidity keeps the wine remarkably energetic through an exceptionally long finish. A commanding release with decades ahead of it.

This is a massive and unnerving Bin 707, and I am getting the same vibes as villagers do in Game of Thrones when the silhouette of a massive dragon passes behind a cloud. It’s not often a wine makes me feel this much on edge. And unlike RWT, which turns Hyde to Jekyll, this wine is malevolent, confrontational and all-powerful. Thank goodness then the nose is intensely Cabernet-soaked and identifiable because the rest of the wine is a leviathan. It’s too much for me, so I will duck out. But lovers of structured, imposing Cabernet will perform cartwheels for this wine. My score reflects its dimensions.