News

This is our best Cabernet of 2022

03 August 2022 By Patrick Schmitt

Having completed the judging of The Global Cabernet Sauvignon Masters – taking in the best expressions of this grape from around the world – we can reveal our best Cabernet of 2022.

Although the competition accepts blends, for which Cabernet must be the dominant grape, it was in fact a pure Cabernet that garnered the highest scores in this year’s competition, when often it’s a wine made from a mix of grapes that yields the best results.

But in this case, while the wine was made with a single variety, the sourcing was unusually broad for such a high-level wine, taking in Cabernet from across a wide area of a nation.

Hailing from Australia, this wine was crafted using grapes from old vines across four regions, which were McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, Barossa Valley, and Padthaway, mixing areas renowned for producing rich styles of Cabernet with those famous for fresher expressions.

The end result was an outstanding wine, with depth and class, complexity and persistence, and, while a powerful, youthful Cabernet from the 2019 vintage, it is one that’s delicious now, but created to age for decades in the great cellars of the world.

That wine is Penfolds Bin 707, the top expression of Cabernet from the producer, and first made from the 1964 vintage (although not made from 1970-75 – when the grapes were used for other wines – nor ‘81, ‘95, ‘00, ‘03 or ‘11, when the Cabernet was not of the desired style and quality).

Tasted ‘blind’ against a truly global competitive set on 17 June, you can read my tasting note on Bin 707 below, as well as see some more details on the wine, and the competition that it took part in.

Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon

Producer: Penfolds
Region: McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, Barossa Valley, Padthaway
Country: Australia
Grape varieties: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Abv: 14.5%
Acidity: 6.9 g/L, pH: 3.52
Maturation: 18 months in American oak hogsheads (100% new)
Vintage: 2019 – A hot, low-yielding harvest that produced “outstanding cabernet sauvignon” with “excellent colours, firm tannin profiles and intense flavours.”
Closure: Cork
Approx. retail price: £450
Medal: Master

The top-scoring wine of the competition, this flagship pure Cabernet from Penfolds is an outstanding expression of the grape, and a beacon of brilliance from Australia. Hailing from the 2019 vintage, this is an early taste of a powerful, fine wine with a long life ahead of it, but that does not prevent it being a delicious drop right now. Taking the drinker on an invigorating journey, it starts with notes of fresh fruit, from dark cherry to fresh currants, followed by fleshy red, blue and black berries, before the flavours progress to notes of creamy vanilla, then cocoa powder, and coconut shavings, before the appealing characters gradually subside to leave a fine-sandy-textured finish, with plenty of dry tannins to refresh the mouth. A complete glass of wine with layers of flavour emanating from a single variety, but myriad sources. (Patrick Schmitt MW)

About the competition

With high-quality judges and a unique sampling process, The Global Cabernet Sauvignon Masters provides a chance for your wines to star, whether they hail from a famous region for the grape or a lesser-known winemaking area of the world.

The top wines are awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze medals according to their result, and those expressions that stand out as being outstanding in their field receive the ultimate accolade – the title of Cabernet Sauvignon Master.

Please visit The Global Masters website for more information, or, to enter future competitions – giving you the chance to feature online and in print – please call: +44 (0) 20 7803 2420 or email Sophie Raichura at: sophie@thedrinksbusiness.com

The wines for this year’s Global Cabernet Masters were judged on 17 June by the following professionals: