Winery: Penfolds
Region: Coonawarra, Barossa Valley, Wrattonbully
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2008
Your Wine Guy says:
Peter Gago says, “Bin 707 is a Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon reflection of Bin 95 Grange.” This year’s Bin 707 is a brooding black crimson colour in the glass. The nose shows classic Cabernet characters of blackberry liqueur, cedar, cigar box and blackcurrant. The palate displays enticing flavours of chocolate, mocha, cassis and vanilla. Exceptional length and depth of flavour with great intensity and fine grained tannins. The 707 is a complex combination of ripe, concentrated fruit and oak that is beautifully balanced and looks like it will repay decades of cellaring.
96 Points YWG Drink to 2035+
Critics say:
“Ignore the name, Bin 707 is the right hand man to Grange, hovering well above any other Bin wine on the Penfolds ladder – and a line of monumental releases confirms it. Penfolds has worked magic with 2008 cabernet on all fronts and in the grand scheme of international cabernet, 707 is the bargain of this release. Coonawarra, Barossa and Wrattonbully all play their part in building formidable power yet consummate control. Bang-on cabernet hallmarks of vibrant blackcurrants, tobacco, coffee and a lingering violet perfume smash into the most prominent oak of any Penfolds wine this year (100 percent new American). Surging, looming, exact.”
96 Points Tyson Stelzer, April 2011
A gorgeously perfumed, generously proportioned wine with a strong Coonawarra accent! Deep colour, fresh blackcurrant/ mulberry/ espresso/ sage aromas with underlying vanilla/ nutmeg oak. The palate is rich, substantial and velvety with smooth blackcurrant/ mocha flavours, integrated spicy new oak and plentiful/supple tannins. It finishes long and fruit sweet with a long tannin plume. This is an exceptional Bin 707 with lovely freshness, clarity and density of fruit.
96 Points Andrew Caillard MW, April 2011
The winemaker says:
Colour: A deep and dark beetroot red.
Nose: Intense, almost pungent, yet fresh and expressive. Textbook violet upon sitting, with Coonawarra cassis signing off on varietal/regional DNA. Scents of beetroot juice, raspberry and lavender ascend effortlessly, but glaceed fruits and ground espresso coffee require some work in the glass.
Palate: Even and long. Confident, firm. Massive fruits - blackcurrant, liqueur cherry - meshed with raspy tannins, red liquorice. Could there be some Block 42 Cabernet concealed?! All in balance. Oak? What oak?!! 100% new oak 100% absorbed... Peter Gago - Penfolds Chief Winemaker
Winery/Label Information:
Bin 707 is Penfolds' Cabernet Sauvignon version of Grange: ripe, intensely-flavoured fruit; completing fermentation and maturation in new oak; fully expressing a Penfolds understanding of multi-vineyard, multi-region fruit sourcing. Named by an ex-Qantas marketer, Bin 707 was first vintaged in 1964. The wine was not made from 1970 to 1975 when fruit was directed to other wines, nor in 1981, 1995, 2000 or 2003 (when fruit of the required style and quality was not available). Full-bodied and with proven cellaring potential, Bin 707 has a secure place among the ranks of Australia's finest Cabernets. Penfolds Wines