Penfolds - Bin 169 2021

Tyson Stelzer

Tony Love

The Wine Front

The Wine Independent

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 707 hails from Coonawarra, Barossa Valley and Wrattonbully and is matured for 16 months in American oak hogsheads (100% new). On the nose, the wine is aromatically reticent, but in the mouth, the tannins (then fruit) hit with full force. This is a powerful wine that, to be honest, I find little joy in on release. The firm caveat I would assert at this stage is that old Bin 707—we are talking 20 or 30 years old—is a graceful, powerful, exciting wine. And 2021 was a gorgeous vintage: long, cool and even in the growing season, so the wines produced in this year (from South Australia particularly) are elegant and composed. The fruit here speaks of its vintage origins; however, the oak remains a big part of the story at this early stage. The

James Suckling

For the record, 2021 is exceptional across South Australia. Choosing the best wines is, at times, like pulling needles from a haystack. Crushed blackcurrants, a waft of sage, dried lavender and black olive paste are lathered across an impenetrably juicy finish that runs very long. A lick of Coonawarra menthol. Just a lick. This will age very well and I may be underscoring this today. Drinkable now, but best from 2026.