Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

A blend of Cabernet from Coonawarra, Wrattonbully, McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, Padthaway and Robe, which spent 12 months in French and American hogsheads. 21% of the French was new and 9% of the American.

I'm always keen to talk to Peter Gago about the 407 because it is the one Penfold's wine that I simply do not get. I fail to see the point and unfortunately, this release is no different. The inaugural release, 1990, was a superb Cabernet. 1996 also impressed, but other than that, I do not recall another 407 providing any excitement. Not that they are bad wines, but there is none of the thrill, the precision, the excitement that one finds with so many of the Collection wines.

Discussion of price is usually limited to the Grange and perhaps a few of the other elite red releases, but, and I say this in the full knowledge that Penfold's have no difficulty selling all the 407 they make and that they receive no complaints about the price, for me, that this wine has now edged higher than Bin 389 is utterly baffling. It makes as much sense as someone asking more for their Village Burgundy than one pays for La Tache. If wines like Bin 138 and 389 overdeliver for their prices, 407 is the reverse. 

The nose, slightly muted. Cherries, a little dusty and the integration of the oak is not as immaculate as we have encountered throughout the Collection. A hint of tomato bush, but overall, flavours are somewhat muddled. There is length but again, less so than one would wish. A touch clumsy and lacking focus. 87. It is possible that I am perhaps a little harsher on this wine than I would be if tasted in isolation, and that its perceived shortcomings are highlighted by the wealth of quality which surround it, but it does nothing for me.

A modern benchmark for Bin 407 from an extraordinary harvest. Soaring aromatics of saturated cassis, blueberry, dark plum, and violets are layered with mocha, graphite, and subtle wood spice. The palate delivers weightless intensity—a powerful, pure core of black fruit expanding effortlessly across the tongue, supported by pixelated, ultra-fine tannins and vibrant natural freshness.

Deep crimson. Fragrant lifted blackcurrant pastille, herb garden/ bay leaf/ mint aromas with mocha notes. Generous fruit sweet blackcurrant espresso herb aniseed flavours, persistent grippy fine tannins, mocha roasted walnut notes and long fresh underlying acidity, Finishes leafy firm with plentiful dark berry fruits. Neatly balanced wine. Seal; screwcap Drink 2024-2038 14.5% 94 points.
 
A robust but expressive cabernet with classical varietal definition, fruit complexity, richness and vinosity. Keep for a few years to allow the elements to fold into each other.
 
Coonawarra, Padthaway, Wrattonbully, McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley Robe
 
12 months in 21% new French, 9% new American and 70% seasoned oak hogsheads