Brilliant Penfolds 2018 Bin 149 Cabernet Sauvignon

Penfolds is one of the world’s great wine producers, revered for crafting wines of distinction, expressively embodying their varietal, origin, and house style.

Their California series encapsulates twenty years of research; beginning when Penfolds winemakers imported heritage cuttings from South Australia to California.

The inaugural release of 2018 Bin 149 is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, marrying 85.1% premium Napa grapes with the remainder from Penfolds’ vineyards in South Australia.

The name, Bin 149 comes from the percentage of amount of Cabernet Sauvignon used that came from Southern Australia.

The resulting wine is powerfully captivating, irresistible and perfectly uniting California and Australian terroirs, and as Antonio Galloni puts it, “a total knock-out.”

From JamesSuckling.com, “Lots of blackberry, currant, light chocolate and hazelnut. This is rather dense and plush, but shows impressive layers of tannins that have a rough-velvet texture. Juicy and intense fruit…”
97 Points

From Vinous, “… Inky, deep and unctuous, the 2018 is a total knock-out. Although quite opulent and rich in feel, the 2018 also has tons of backing structure to balance things out. All the elements come together effortlessly…”
96 Points

From Decanter, “…moving it beyond the expected Napa Cab expression to instead exert its own unique personality. The Australian component introduces rich, lifted aromas of blueberry and blackberry, and a more opulent fruit presence. It adds freshness and vibrancy to the dense Napa body, resulting in a vivacious, cheery red still bound by firm tannins.”
96 Points