Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet 2021

Bin 707 is Penfolds' statement Cabernet Sauvignon, the varietal counterpart to the Shiraz-led Grange. Like Grange it is a multi-regional South Australian blend, allowing the winemakers to assemble Cabernet from the sites that ripen best each vintage. Cabernet Sauvignon has small, thick-skinned berries with a high ratio of skin to juice, which gives deep colour, firm tannin and the wine's classic blackcurrant and cassis character. The warm South Australian climate ripens the grape fully, rounding the green edge the variety can show in cooler regions. Eighteen months in new American and French oak adds a layer of dark chocolate, cedar and sweet spice, and the slow exchange of oxygen through the barrel polishes the structure while preserving the dense fruit. The wine is deep, near opaque, with blackcurrant, mulberry, mint and dark chocolate over tobacco and cocoa. The palate is concentrated and tightly built, the tannins firm and fine grained, the finish long. It will reward a decade or more in bottle. Decant well ahead and serve at 18 degrees with grilled beef, roast lamb or aged cheese.