Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 2023

Bin 407 is never my favourite red from the annual release – there is always better value, and more excitement, to be had elsewhere – but this is one of the better examples from recent vintages. The fruit is widely sourced, this time from Padthaway, Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, the Barossa Valley and Wrattonbully. An opaque black colour, the nose is all tar, graphite, axle grease, bay leaves, dark chocolate, soy, licorice, spices and blackberries, with hints of dried herbs intruding. Even a touch of raspberries. An intense style, it is perhaps a little straightforward, but a very good 407. Seamless, with fresh acidity and medium length, there is still noticeable vanillin oak here. A wine which is not giving us complexity at this stage, nor the suggestion it will emerge in the future, but it is what it is – full of flavour and a rather enjoyable wine. Enjoy over the next ten to twelve years. It may even surprise those prepared to cellar it for longer.