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| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 93.2 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 160 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Paco55 on 4/5/2024 & rated 96 points: Beautiful cedar and blackberry on the nose. Palate is nuanced - still strong tannins but the fruit is sweet and the whole is wonderfully balanced. Still has years to go but it’s perfect right now. Great vintage of an Aussie classic - so good. (432 views) | | | Tasted by kenv on 1/27/2024 & rated 95 points: Dave B Visits Albany, Day 2 (Salil's, Albany, NY): [Pop and pour.] Big, smokey, black fruit nose. Rich, complex, and long. Smooth and delicious. Should drink well for another decade. (1061 views) | | | Tasted by Rieslingfan on 1/27/2024: The second bottle from an unopened 6 bottle OWC from my dad’s cellar, and just as good as the first that I opened last year. Deep fruit, cedar and earthy elements, and still strong framing tannins. I loved this. (1098 views) | | | Tasted by salil on 1/27/2024 & rated 95 points: Rieslingfan visits Albany; 1/26/2024-1/27/2024 (Châteauneuf-du-Salil, Albany): Just a superb bottle of Cabernet. Equal parts youthful black fruit and more mature cedary, tobacco, earthy, and light minty flavours, all conveyed on a medium weight frame with impressive power and a sense of restraint and finesse. It's still incredibly young, showing quite a bit of tannin that only really eases up after a few hours, and holds up extremely well over a few hours at dinner. (1085 views) | | | Tasted by Cremuel on 1/20/2024 & rated 89 points: Bob’s cellar. Dark brooding black and red. No bricking at all. Spices black fruit with distinct red fruit acidity nose, mocha and liquorice, very heavy. Has strong blended Barossa dark cherry damson and black fruit that has moved to tertiary aging of wood, pepper, liquorice, leather and cedar, I feel slightly disappointed this is not better, so less than 90 (particularly given the extraordinary prices it now commands). (899 views) | | | Tasted by ubercuvee on 6/3/2023: Lovely and nearly fully resolved, but not showing the complexity I would want for current market pricing. (1906 views) | | | Tasted by empire80 on 5/30/2023 & rated 95 points: 25 years old and feels at its peak. Still plenty of fresh blackcurrant and cassis, some coffee and vanilla notes, subtle but exotic spices. A lovely and balanced package. Upgraded a point to 95 on day 2, just because it made me smile so much. Drink now and over the next 5 years, maybe longer - but it's so good now, why wait? (1480 views) | | | Tasted by rgawlowski on 5/29/2023 & rated 96 points: What a great wine; mature (still with some life), lovely, nuanced fruit, subtle nose, some acidity, long finish, great balance; stands up to any world-class Left Bank Bordeaux . (1678 views) | | | Tasted by G_H on 5/7/2023 & rated 95 points: A wonderfully youthful bottle, this shows no age with intense black and blue fruit, a hint of mint and a balance of power and elegance. Stunning and just plain fun to drink! (1634 views) | | | Tasted by Bruce Rolph on 4/23/2023 & rated 94 points: Fabulous. Bought 6-plus on release. Can't recall the price (~$75/bottle?), and now ~$895/bottle. The cork w as amazing. Not only barely any 'seepage', but solid as a rock on removal. The bottle number was 116476. Multiplying the bottle number by $895 = $104,246,020. That's $104MM. And who knows how many more bottles were produced?
Penfolds at its best? Let's see it goes as a Luxury Goods Company? (1652 views) | | | Tasted by Rieslingfan on 3/30/2023: From a six bottle OWC in my dad's cellar that had never been opened, this was in fantastic shape, and showing off with about two hours of air. A short decant might have been even better, as the last bits post-tasting were continuing to flesh out. Either way the deep red and black fruit, integrated tannins and smoke, earth and cedar secondary aromas and flavors were everything I could want in a top Cabernet Sauvignon. Nothing over-the-top here, just a classy, structured Cabernet with a long life ahead. Happy to have more, and think any time will be a good time for a bottle from here on out. (1295 views) | | | Tasted by Cremuel on 1/6/2023 & rated 93 points: Bob's cellar. Deep dark ruby red. Just decanted nose has that lush rich blackcurrant and bramble, a slight pepperiness, cedar and plum. Cassis and tannins burst through on tasting, sweetness balanced with tannins, a sprinkle of pepper, mint and eucalyptus, all still young and lively with a patina of age. Double decanted back into the bottle and left for 2-3 hours. No visible changes. Nose has softened, cassis is still strong, menthol and blackberries. Flavours have melded together, soft blackberry/blackcurrant, a little acidity comes through, still not displaying much age. Tannins are still present, gentle saltiness comes through as it sits in the glass, gets a lot better as it opens up, displaying the eucalyptus, garrigue and cassis, and great fruit. Really enjoyable and years to go. (1566 views) | | | Tasted by lightning on 11/29/2022 & rated 93 points: Left Bank Bordeaux and some Aussies: Opaque garnet, no bricking. On the nose, an opulent blackcurrant with notes of dried coconut and baking spices. Rich palate, a luxurious blackcurrant runs through the entry and midpalate, persistent with fine tannins and reasonable acidity. Still retains a lot of its fruit, and held up very well against a bracket of left bank Bordeaux. (1928 views) | | | Tasted by Claret & CdP Gang on 11/13/2022: Served blind, darn guessed old world, v hard to guess Cabernet, in fact no one did, rich, full bodied, minty, oaky, well made but still young (1716 views) | | | Tasted by Wine Canuck on 4/23/2022 & rated 91 points: [Tasted Blind] This pours youthful medium ruby in the glass. The nose is of plum, black cherry, new oak, bergamot, light touches of eucalyptus, a whiff of truffle, and elevated alcohol. The palate shows youthful black cherry and plum on entry, with a richly fruited mid-palate with medium tannin and medium acid. There is definitely a sense of 14%+ alcohol on the finish along with rich fruit and some new oak. My initial reaction was Australian, but I eventually considered Super Tuscan and modern right bank Bordeaux. (3242 views) | | | Tasted by HarveyManfrenjensenden on 3/19/2022 & rated 97 points: Outstanding Cabernet. At it’s finest right now and probably for a few more years to come. One of the best Aussie Cabernet experiences I’ve had, hard to improve on it. Minimal decanting given the bottle age. (2770 views) | | | Tasted by rossi.wine on 1/20/2022 & rated 94 points: Even better than the last time I had this wine. Still very dark in colour. Expressive and complex on the nose, mix of red and black fruit, spice box, tobacco, eucalyptus. On the palate elegant, layered with good structure and great concentration. Really well balanced, fresh, very long. A great bottle! Drink (or keep). 93-95 (2548 views) | | | Tasted by Cailles on 12/14/2021 & rated 94 points: Tasted double blind and instantly recognizable as an Aussie, I thought it could be Syrah but G_H was sure this was the 707. This had all the signature Asian and christmas spices, lots of complexity, a strong ripe fruit core but. Despite all that stuffing this remains on the more elegant and weightless side of things. I couldn‘t help but think that this is past its peak with some first shy hints of unwanted age aromas peaking through here and there.
TN: Expressive and fresh nose with layers and layers of ripe fruit and spices. Same profile on the palate with loads of christmas and Asian spices, ripe, very dark fruit and a layer of minerality, olives as well as some tertiary notes with old leather but also ever so slight hints of maggi/broath. Very round and soft tannin structure and good acidity, good tension and despite all the substance quite elegant and without much weight. Overall quite balanced.
Decanting: Not decanted. Followed over some time. Good from the go. It didn‘t need much decanting.
Glass: Zalto Universal (3436 views) | | | Tasted by stayhappy21 on 12/7/2021 & rated 90 points: Tasted this at Wah Lok (Carlton Hotel) for a wine dinner with my wine mates. Theme of the evening: Wines from before 2000.
Purple in colour and the wine is still holding up very nicely. Do give it a decant to bring out the flavours nicely. (2608 views) | | | Tasted by NoTrollingerPlease on 8/20/2021 & rated 94 points: Best bottle (Restaurant Brunnenstube, Beinstein): Tasted blind. Clear, deep ruby color. Fine, deep Cabernet nose with some furniture polish scent that went away with air.
On the palate very deep, creamy and round, but never broad or fat. Certainly new world. Wonderful dense body with abundant fruit and a wonderful length. Potential for further development of at least 10+ years. 94+ (2789 views) | | | Tasted by Heeneska on 8/2/2021 & rated 94 points: Early on only just decanted after 20mins: needs to open up more. Berrys, mid palate, no mint as I’ve read previously yet. Well balanced. Check back in after a couple hours after open (2414 views) | | | Tasted by Hawk94 on 5/9/2021 & rated 94 points: Nose is prefect, wonderful blackberry, violet, perfume like penetrating bouquet. palate is smooth, balanced, cream chocolate, vanilla, well integrated tannins, dark fruits, cedar wood, earthy, nuanced, a bit on acidic side in mid palate, smooth and harmonious finish. It did fade away faster than I thought in about 2hr. It may have passed its prime but still wonderful. (2868 views) | | | Tasted by helencapp on 4/25/2021: With michael amd amber hirt from albany (2395 views) | | | Tasted by Ansel Louise on 1/30/2021 & rated 87 points: It seemed to be passing it’s prime. Much of the fruit was gone and more tar and tannins seemed to dominate. We let is breath in the bottle for about 50 mins. Color remained robust. Nose was round with violets and eucalyptus. Seemed a little alcoholic. As we approach 2hrs of open time, tar faded a bit and the wine became more balanced. (2763 views) | | | Tasted by graemeg on 1/10/2021: {cork, 13.5%} Level still into neck. Pristine cork. Decanted just before service and tasted over an hour. Still a deep ruby red, with just a little bricking to indicate age. Sturdy nose, infused with coconut and black fruit. You wouldn’t pick it for twenty. The palate is only partly developed, with the classic Penfolds maturing red characters; some leather, meat and tar, vanilla and chocolate. Black fruit too. Medium powdery tannins, medium acid. Medium/full body. Long finish. Side-by-side with a beautiful example of the 1988, this was more closed on the nose, but heftier on the palate, with more tannin and extract. Absolutely consistent in style, and suggests this will mature further for 15 years easily. No regions identified beyond South Aust on the label. (2380 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (5/17/2016)
(Penfolds, Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon South Australia Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Richard Hemming, MW
JancisRobinson.com (3/21/2016)
(Penfolds, Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon South Australia Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Campbell Mattinson
The WINEFRONT (9/22/2009)
(Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon) Subscribe to see review text. | By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, November 2001
(Penfolds Bin 707) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, July/August 2001, IWC Issue #97
(Penfolds Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 707 Barossa Valley) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of JancisRobinson.com and The WINEFRONT and Winedoctor and Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Penfolds Producer website
Producer Cellar Door - Barossa (Google Maps)
About Us
Australia's winemaking history of less than two hundred years is brief by European measures though, like Europe, punctuated by periods of extreme success and difficult times. From the earliest winemaking days Penfolds has figured prominently and few would argue the importance of Penfolds’ influence on Australia’s winemaking psyche.
Without the influence of Penfolds the modern Australian wine industry would look very different indeed. Sitting comfortably outside of fad and fashion, Penfolds has taken Australian wine to the world on a grand stage and forged a reputation for quality that is without peer.
Penfolds’ reputation for making wines of provenance and cellaring potential might suggest a mantle of tradition and formality is the preferred attire of a company with so much history to defend. But to label Penfolds as simply an established and conventional winemaker, would be to confuse tradition with consideration and to overlook the innovative spirit that has driven Penfolds since its foundation, and continues to find expression in modern times.
If there is anything traditional about Penfolds, it is the practice of constantly reviewing the wines it already does well, and continuously evolving and refining styles as vineyards mature and access to ever older and more varied vineyard sites improves.
Making The Best Possible Wine
At Penfolds, the role of the winemaker is to make the best possible wine within the constraints of each vintage. Penfolds’ house style emerged from a fortified-wine producing culture and evolved as a winemaking philosophy – a way of making wine – which has had a profound effect on the entire Australian wine industry.
The concept of multi-regional and vineyard blending, a feature of the Penfolds house style, is an amplification of the ‘all-round wine’. Without the constraints of a single vineyard, winemakers could choose the best possible fruit with the outstanding characteristics of each vineyard.
While American oak has played a central role in the development of Penfolds red wines, French oak has been increasingly used in the evolution of new wines – particularly RWT and Yattarna. Maturation in oak, which follows fermentation, is also key to the Penfolds house style.
The Penfolds approach to winemaking has percolated through the entire Australian wine industry over the last 50 years. The techniques employed in research and development of Penfolds wines are remarkable and many of the discoveries and innovations have had a lasting impact on winemaking thinking.
Winemakers
In Max Schubert, Don Ditter, John Duval and Peter Gago, Penfolds has nurtured four of Australia's great winemakers. They have passed the Chief Winemaker’s baton of responsibility for crafting some of Australia's most iconic wines, down through the past six decades.
Joining Peter Gago in the Penfolds winemaking team are Senior Red Winemaker Steve Lienert, Senior White Winemaker Kym Schroeter, and Red Winemakers Andrew Baldwin, Adam Clay, Stephanie Dutton and Matt Woo - also the Penfolds Fortified Winemaker. All members of the Penfolds winemaking team ensure that Penfolds’ reputation for outstanding quality is upheld.
Vineyards
Barossa Valley
Penfolds draws fruit from a combined vineyard area of 618 hectares in the Barossa region of South Australia. The Barossa is about 70 kilometres north of Adelaide and in 1911 Penfolds established a winery at Nuriootpa, completed in time for the 1913 vintage. The Barossa region is known for its relatively low rainfall with many vineyards dry grown on single wire trellising.
Magill Estate
The historic and heritage-protected Magill Estate Vineyard was established in 1844 by Dr Christopher Rawson and Mary Penfold—just eight years after the foundation of Adelaide. It was originally known as the Grange Vineyard, named after their new homestead ‘The Grange’, a cottage which still stands intact amongst the vines.
Eden Valley
Joseph Gilbert planted the first vines in the Eden Valley in 1842 and since that time the region has become synonymous with producing elegant riesling and complex shiraz. While its name suggests a concave nature, Eden Valley is actually a wide ridge, situated east of the Barossa Valley with an altitude ranging from 440 – 550 metres.
McLaren Vale
McLaren Vale is located approximately 40km to the south of Adelaide, with the vineyards in the region located between 6 and 15 kilometres from the Gulf of St Vincent. The elevation ranges from 50 to 350 metres above sea level. Penfolds has company owned vineyards throughout the region, using the fruit as blending components for premium red wines such as Grange and Bin 389.
Coonawarra
Penfolds has had a long history with the Coonawarra region, dating back to their first vineyard purchase in 1960. It is one of the most famous red wine regions in Australia with weathered limestone terra rossa soils, relatively cool climate and overall water availability. Coonawarra has played a significant role in many of Penfolds' multi-regional wines as well as the single region wines such as Bin 128.
James Halliday Australian Wine Companion Winery Of The Year 2014: Penfolds
Penfolds is Australia’s foremost winemaker, with an unbroken line dating back to its establishment in 1844 when medical practitioner Dr Christopher Rawson Penfold and wife Mary purchased ‘the delightfully situated and truly valuable of Mackgill … Comprising 500 acres (202 hectares) of the choicest land’. Here they built the house that still stands today, and within a few years had begun the winery and cellar on the site of today’s buildings at Magill Estate.
Mary took charge of winemaking, initially producing grenache prescribed by her husband as a tonic for anaemic patients. By 1870 she, son-in-law Thomas Hyland and cellar manager/winemaker Joseph Gillard had formed Penfolds & Co. With markets in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales, their wine production was over one-third of South Australia’s total.
Growth continued unabated, and in 1945 Penfolds acquired the jewel of the Magill Vineyard, at that time the largest vineyard in South Australia. It now has 2100 hectares of vineyards, the largest share of Australia’s total. Two men came together in the 1950s to lay the foundation of Penfolds today: winemaker Max Schubert, and research chemist Ray Beckwith (who died shortly after his 100th birthday in 2012); indeed, their contribution transcended Penfolds to the entire Australian wine industry.
The architecture for the Penfolds wine portfolio of the twenty-first century was established in the 1960s, half a century ago. There has been growth, both in the range of labels and their price points, but it has been cleverly – indeed sensitively – managed; demand-driven growth has been achieved without any quality compromise whatsoever.
There is no possibility that the pre-eminence of Penfolds will ever be challenged by any other Australian wine business. Equally certain is that the Penfolds brand value will continue to gain ground on the world stage of all consumable products. If proof be needed, the overall quality of the wines in this Wine Companion is the best Penfolds has ever presented to the markets of the globe.
Author: James Halliday Jul 20131998 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 707From Penfolds site.
Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon. 1998
Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon is the Cabernet equivalent of Grange: ripe, intensely-flavoured fruit, fermented and matured in new American oak, and expressing the Penfolds policy of multi-vineyard, multi-region fruit-sourcing. Named by an ex- Qantas marketing man, the first Bin 707 was the 1964 vintage. The wine was not made from 1970 to 1975 (when the focus shifted to Bin 389) nor in 1981, 1995 or 2000 (when fruit of the required style and quality was not available). Big and long-lived, Bin 707 has a secure place among the ranks of Australia's finest Cabernets. Packaged in laser-etched bottles from the 1997 vintage.
8th Edition
5*****
Drink now to 2050
Deep crimson, fresh dark chocolate, mocha and pure blackcurrant aromas. Generous, sweet fruited multi-;eyed wine with dense pure blackcurrant pastille and mocha flavours, superb mid palate viscosity, fine ripe grainy tannins and integrated oak. Wonderful powderdery finish. Everything in balance. One of the great vintages of the decade
“Like the sky at night. You might not see the infinity beyond but it’s there. A magnificent wine with extraordinary density, layered complexity and power.” (NB)
“Rose garden and dark cherry fruit, velvety textures and sappy notes. A hint of coconut adds sweetness, but dusty tannins give a firm dry finish.” (JR)Cabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world. It is now the key grape variety in many first-rate New World wine regions, most notably Napa Valley, Coonawarra and Maipo Valley. Wherever they come from, Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate a handful of common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.
Used as frequently in blends as in varietal wines, Cabernet Sauvignon has a large number of common blending partners. Apart from the obvious Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the most prevalent of these are Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenere (the ingredients of a classic Bordeaux Blend), Shiraz (in Australia's favorite blend) and in Spain and South America, a Cabernet – Tempranillo blend is now commonplace. Even the bold Tannat-based wines of Madiran are now generally softened with Cabernet SauvignonBin 707Homepage for Penfolds, Bin 707:http://www.penfolds.com/collection/luxury/bin-707-cab-sav.aspAustralia Wine Australia (Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation) | Australian Wines (Wikipedia)South Australia South Australian Wine Industry Association | South Australian Wines (Wikipedia) |
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