2023 Penfolds Bin 704 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

A graceful Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon that sits deep crimson in the glass, with aromas of damson plum, blueberry and blackberry fruits with underlying hints of baking spices, rose petals, vanillin oak, shiitake mushrooms, roast meats, black pepper, black olive tapenade and earth. Quite tautly framed on the palate, with a core of ripe Napa fruits, tight, silty tannins and lacy acidity providing ample drive and framing the red and dark fruits beautifully. The wine trails away with a velvety mouthfeel, tending to savoury on the extended finish.

95+ points Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion

Penfolds Bin 704 represents a fascinating reversal of the Australian story: an iconic South Australian producer taking its Cabernet expertise to Napa Valley. The name is a deliberate mirror of Bin 407, linking the two sides of the Pacific while allowing Napa’s distinctive terroir to take centre stage. Rather than chasing sheer Californian opulence, Bin 704 brings Penfolds’ house style to Napa Cabernet, balancing ripe fruit and structure with freshness and savoury detail.

The 2023 vintage produced Cabernet with excellent concentration and aromatic definition. Napa’s warm days build cassis-rich fruit, while cooler nights preserve acidity and perfume. Penfolds’ blending and maturation expertise gives the wine polish and structure, but beneath it remains unmistakably Napa — plush, dark-fruited and generous, with that characteristic graphite and mountain-herb edge.

Deep crimson with purple-black highlights, the nose opens with cassis, blackberry and black cherry alongside violet, bay leaf and liquorice. With air come graphite, cedar, cocoa nib and espresso, followed by a flicker of dried sage. The palate is concentrated and velvety, with dark fruit wrapped in firm, beautifully shaped tannins. Blackcurrant, bitter chocolate and savoury herbs build through the middle before a long finish of graphite, cedar and dark spice.

This wants something with serious char: a thick rib eye with café de Paris butter, sticky beef short ribs, rosemary-roasted lamb shoulder, smoked brisket or a wild mushroom and taleggio pie. Our pick is the rib eye — hard sear, pink centre, melting herb butter and Napa Cabernet is not a situation where anyone needs to pretend they're ordering the salad.

Cellaring: Drink from 2027 to 2043.