A deep, dark and brooding cabernet that simply needs plenty of time to unlock its brooding layers of rich, meaty fruit. Scented with a wild, heady and floral perfume, itÕs steeped in dense aromas of cassis, violets, cedar and dark, high-cocoa chocolate. Framed by a drying cut of firm, fine-grained and kernelly tannin, itÕs long, sumptuous and profoundly ripened, finishing with persistent and slightly meaty flavours of dark plums and prunes. I have no doubt the wine has the balance to flower, eventually!

Supremely elegant, long and fine-grained, this very modern expression of the Penfolds style reveals a cool, floral perfume of sweet small berry fruit, dried herbs and fresh cedar/vanilla oak backed by nuances of mint and menthol. Wound tightly around fine, dusty tannins, itÕs brightly lit, pliant and juicy, delivering genuine emphasis of cabernet flavour and structure. A break from tradition, but equally well-bred.

A more elegant and finely crafted Bin 707 whose sweet, deeply ripened aromas of cassis, blueberries, dark plums and cedar/vanilla oak overlie smoky mineral notes and a hint of bubblegum. Relatively fine and linear, with a juicy presence of mulberries and dark plums tightly knit with cedar/chocolate oak, itÕs framed by a fine, drying and faintly mineral backbone of dusty tannins, finishing long and vibrant with a suggestion of dried herbs.

Not entirely convincing, this firm and drying cabernet reveals a both under and overripe expression of raspberries, raisins, herbal notes and fruitcake-like spices backed by sweet vanilla oak. Fullish to medium in weight for a 707, it slowly reveals more depth of flavour, with lively red and black fruits knit with smoky, polished cedar/vanilla oak moving down a firm, drying backbone towards a finish of roasting meats, herbal notes and slightly dehydrated fruit.