Penfolds Bin 407 South Australia Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 750ml

Cabernet Sauvignon from South Australia, Australia

Notes from the Winemaker

Vibrant crimson red color. The aromas soars brazenly, immediately cabernet – tomato relish/chutney, cassis. Other fruits edge forward for shelf-space, like yellow fleshed plum (El Dorado?) and ripe persimmon. Intriguingly, other less assertive aromatics offer more complexity: sage soaked in butter/oil (pre-saltimbocca preparation); olive leaf/turmeric spices, caper brine. Reticent oak (cedar) noted – manifested as a seasoned/maturation character. On the palate the wine is medium-bodied and elegantly framed. No mid-palate deficiencies! Blackcurrant and plum fruits sit alongside mocha/chocolate/walnut flavors. Oak? A genteel (washed, older oak) character – affording a maturation, not a flavor imprint. Mouth-watering with fine, rounded/polished tannins. In sharp palate contrast – a finessed, varietally-driven alternative to the muscular and Grange-like Bin 707 Cabernet.

Reviews and Accolades

93 Points/James Suckling
An amalgam of redcurrant and blackcurrant aromas with cedary and leafy tones, dark berries and pepper and plenty of oak strut. The palate has a deep vein of black-fruit flavors, as well as plum and chocolate. Bold extract. A blend of Padthaway, Coonawarra, Wrattonbully, McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley. Drink now.

93 Points/Wine Spectator Polished from top to bottom, this red boasts fine-grained tannins, offering a generous core of blackberry and cassis flavors that show accents of cured black olive, sandalwood and vanilla-laced cedar, with a whiff of peppermint and dried sage, all harmonious on the long finish. Drink now through 2035. 

90 Points/Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate 
While the 2019 Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon shows ample concentration and ripe tannins, there's a pervasive herbal note. While some will call it Cabernet's varietal character—and I won't dispute that a bit of pyrazine is indeed endemic to the Cabernet family of grapes—balance is key. To this taster, there's just a bit too much mint and other green stuff for me to go gaga over the 2019 Bin 407. It's still an excellent wine, with plenty of weedy cassis fruit, a ripe, lush feel on the medium to full-bodied palate and a velvety, dark-chocolate finish. Sourced from Padthaway, Coonawarra, Wrattonbully, McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley, it spent a year in a combination of French and American hogsheads.