1.5L Magnum with Wooden Gift Box
Awards, Ratings & Reviews
GOLD — Mundus Vini · 2005
96/100 — Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux · 2002 Vintage · Tasted: Feb 2024
Drinking Window: 2024–2038
96/100 — Jeremy Oliver · 2002 Vintage · Tasted: Jan 2003
Drinking Window: 2022–2032
94/100 — Wine & Spirits Magazine · 2002 Vintage · Tasted: Oct 2005
93/100 — Gismondi on Wine · 2002 Vintage · Tasted: Oct 2005
“Bin 707 is Penfolds' cabernet equivalent of Grange and it is usually gigantic. As winemaker Peter Gago is fond of saying this is 707 it just happens to be a cabernet, in fact it is a serious red made only in the best years. Since there will not be a 2003 Bin 707 (the winery also skipped in 2000, 1995, 1983 and 1970 to 1975 inclusive), this is your only chance to buy 707 for the next two years. The colour is opaque, the nose brimming with ripe fruity notes of black berries streaked with mocha, coffee and black olive. Dense round and intense, this is another big 707 that should really appeal to cabernet freaks. Made for the long haul the tight, grip-y cedar-y/cassis-flavoured tannins will live well into the next decade. A star in a cool year. The fruit is a blend of Kalimna and Koonunga Hills vineyards in Barossa with some additions from McLaren Vale and Padthaway.”
About This Wine
Inspired by the iconic jet that took it to the world, Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon is Penfolds' first commercial release of a single cabernet-based wine and is linked to Max Schubert’s ambition to create a great Australian red wine capable of ageing for at least twenty years.
Although Cabernet Sauvignon was primarily used for blending during the 1950s and early 1960s, Schubert's breakthrough with the variety as a stand-alone wine culminated in the inaugural Bin 707 vintage in 1964.
Early Bin 707 vintages were typically open fermented under wax-lined header boards and matured in seasoned old oak rather than new oak.
The wine was not produced from 1970 to 1975, nor in 1981, 1995, 2000, 2003, 2011 or 2017 when fruit of the required style and quality was not available.
Regular winter rainfall during the 2002 growing season ensured ideal soil moisture levels and healthy vine growth. Spring and summer temperatures were amongst the lowest on record, reducing yields and slowing ripening. A warm, dry autumn combined with careful vineyard management enabled the grapes to reach ideal ripeness.
Producer Notes
Colour
Impenetrable black/purple with a concession of red at the rim.
Nose
An unashamedly powerful, 'sweet' nose of ripe fruits, (blackcurrant, concentrated cassis) and unbaked Christmas cake mix, align with an aromatic coal/smoky barrel ferment lift. Complex and distinctive!
Palate
Dark stone fruits, mocha and dark chocolate flavours stand apart with a black olive, tarry 'darkness' lurking behind - 14 months in 100% new oak handled comfortably. Succulent and fleshy without any suggestion of over ripeness, facilitated by huge, ripe tannins that add lovely texture and length on the finish.
Specifications
- Vintage: 2002
- Grape Variety: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
- Region: South Australia / Australia
- Maturation: 14 months in new American oak hogsheads
- Alcohol: 14.5%
- Sweetness: Dry
- Acidity TA: 6.8 g/L
- Acidity pH: 3.54
- Winemaker: Peter Gago
- Ownership: Treasury Wine Estates
- Closure: Cork or screwcap
- Drinking Window: 2007–2020
