Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon - 2001

1980: Dense powerful and tannic wine, with the fruit leaning into tertiary tobacco and leather notes.

2001: Deep crimson. Intense blackberry, blackcurrant pastille and praline aromas with herb garden notes. Generous, supple and fruit sweet with blackcurrant pastille and blackberry fruits, fine plentiful ripe velvety tannins and underlying mocha espresso oak. Lovely generosity of fruit and completely integrated tannins.

Wine Advocate 87: One of the deeper colored wines in Penfolds’ portfolio is the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 707. Aromas of forest floor, underbrush, black currants, and old wood emerge from this medium-bodied Cabernet. A clipped finish again suggests a bizarre fascination with low pH and acid levels that has nothing to do with the vineyard, terroir, vintage character, or pleasure. Nevertheless, there is enough black currant fruit to pull this wine into the acceptable category.

Wine Enthusiast 90: Soft and supple in the mouth, with plum and oak the key flavor components. There are hints of sweetness here, from the brown-sugary aromas that appear with time in the glass, to the ripe, ripe fruit on the palate. Still, it's an excellent, delicious wine.

Wine Advocate 96+: I recently tasted through a vertical of Bin 707, back to the very first vintage made in 1964. I have had some older vintages of this cuvée in the past, and once the 1964 vintage, but never a full suite. It was immediately obvious that the American oak élevage works very well in the cuvée over time, and it has the capacity to be an incredibly elegant wine. I did note that the alcohols have slowly risen over time, from as low as 12% alcohol from the 1960s, through to 13.5% in the late 1990s. As we progress through the 2000s, the wine sits at around 14% to 15% alcohol. This does make me wonder about the longevity of the wine over time, as those older wines were just so lovely in their delicacy and claret feel. So, to this 2022 Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon. It is more structural, firm and restrained than the 2021 before it, and while the oak is pronounced and firm, the wine expounds symmetry, proportion and length. Don't drink it for a while though, unless the oak is the aspect you seek. It matured for 18 months in American oak (100% new).

James Suckling 97: Rather seductive aromas of cedar and bark with blackberries, blackcurrants, light milk chocolate and stone. Full-bodied, very round and polished. Tight, focused tannins at the end. Ink and baking spices. Finished fermentation in American oak and aged 18 months. Try after 2027.

Vinous 97: This benchmark vintage for Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon in 2022 carries both raw power and impressive vibrancy. It ripples with persuasive aromas of blackberry and blackcurrant topped by grated chocolate-mint and a strong oak component. Super power on display in a dense and full-flavored package marked by quite serious tannins that draw out an enormous, immovable finish. A serious wine in every way.

Decanter 94: With its rich swirl of blackberry and black olive, this flagship Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from multiple regions (Coonawarra, Barossa, Padthaway, McLaren Vale) provides lots of savoury pleasure in the mid-palate, but little of the elevated pretty aromas that defined the outstanding 2021 vintage. There’s plenty of drive and persistence through a long palate, finishing politely with fine-grained, elegantly groomed tannins.

Falstaff 97: An extremely complex and multi-layered nose, with notes of nutmeg, plum, dark cherry and oak. Round and expansive on the palate with ripe, fine but noticeable tannins, perfectly integrated, ripe acidity and an extremely long and complex finish. Already enjoyable, but will mature over many years.