Wine Spectator Red of the Year. History will record 1990 as one of the great Australian vintages of a generation. Grange 1990 was one of the very best to date, with the potential to rival the classic vintages of 1955, 1962 and 1971. A superbly balanced wine, and a very great Grange vintage with tremendous finesse and understated power.

Grange began as a secret project during the 1940s and 1950s to construct Australia's ulimate red wine. The original experiments were fashioned after the great growths of Bordeaux but were dedidedly unsuccessful due to the quality of Cabernet available in Australia at the time. Penfold's banned the entire project from 1956 to 1956 due to the spiralling costs but Max Schubert continued with trials until production resumed in 1960. Vintage 2007 exhibits a generous palate profile, flavours of dates and persimmon, roasted nuts and freshly baked pecan pie.

Ever since the ambitious, experimental trials and tribulations of Max Schubert throughout the 1950s, to conceive and formulate the nation's first growth, Grange has maintained its place as Australia's most prestigious wine. A Shiraz of extraordinary dimension and power, richly textured, intensely concentrated and packed with fruit sweetness, the tasting of any Penfolds Grange regardless of vintage, is a profound and unforgettable experience. Rich and exciting in it's youth, Grange develops into an immensely complex, beguiling wine that seduces the senses.

Penfolds Grange is an Australian icon, a National Trust of Australia heritage listed wine which captures the essence of Australian ingenuity and innovation. The story of Grange is steeped in the Australian ethos. It is the story of a winemaker who battled against the odds, possessed by the ideal of creating one of the very great wines of the world. The enduring spirit of Grange means that each vintage boasts its own character as the marque evolves and surprises. A seductive, richly concentrated wine, a timeless classic.

One of the great strengths of Grange is that it does not rely on the performance of a single vineyard. Nowadays, only a few hundred Grange magnum arew bottled each year. 2003 produced Shiraz with dense colour, impressive varietal characters and soft tannins.

Penfolds remarkable winemaking philosophy ensures each vintage of Penfolds Grange has its own vintage character, which continually evolves and surprises. The 2002 is at the other end of the Grange spectral offer to its previous vintage, purely as a result of two very different climatic vintages.100% new oak is completely absorbed, meshed with ripe tannins, completing a palate of impressive length and youthfulness.

Soon after Wine Spectator named Grange 'The Best Red Wine in the World' the price of subsequent vintage releases soared at auction. An Australian icon, Grange represents a tradition in winemaking that is totally uncompromising. Grange has bypassed the fads and trends of modern winemaking in the sense that it has maintained an integrity of style and remained true to its origins in the mind of Max Schubert. Penfolds Grange is the quality standard against which all other Australian red wines are judged. To share a magnum of Grange from one's own cellar is one of the great wine experiences.

Penfolds renowned 2000 Grange is only the fifth vintage to be made from 100% Shiraz. It is also, atypically, 100% Barossa fruit. While it is not considered to be one of the great Granges, the 2000 exhibits outstanding potential, and is much more accessible than usual. One of the top wines I tasted from this vintage, its dense ruby/purple color is followed by a big, sweet nose of blackberries. While this is no wimpy wine, it is an ideal example for readers who are unwilling to invest the patience required for the big, blockbuster Granges.

Grange boasts an unbroken line of vintages from the experimental 1951 and clearly demonstrates the synergy between Shiraz and the soils and climate of South Australia. Penfolds Grange displays fully-ripe, intensely-flavoured and textured Shiraz grapes in combination with new American oak. The result is a unique Australian style that is now recognised as the most consistent of the world's great wines. The Grange style is the original and most powerful expression of Penfolds' multi-vineyard, multi-district blending philosophy.

A big, typical Grange and a very good wine from this vintage. Smooth, sumptuous and firmly structured, its deep, long palate of dark red and black berry flavours is wound around firm, but powder-fine tannins.

Sourced from Kalimna in the Barossa, McLaren Vale, the Magill Estate and Padthaway. An exceptional vintage in both quality and quantity.

The 1995 Grange is the 45th consecutive vintage of the wine that carries the flag for the Australian wine industry. Fruit from the Barossa and the McLaren Vale, the Magill Estate and Padthaway.

Grange 1994 represents an excellent offering from an above average vintage. Layers of massive Shiraz fruit and expertly crafted oak manifest themselves. Forceful, ripe tannins are balanced by sheer weight of fruit.

Penfolds Grange, blossoms with fifteen to twenty years of bottle age, when most other reds have past their best, and better vintages can live and continue developing for decades longer. A self-taught, practical winemaker with a natural inquisitiveness for winemaking theory, creator Max Schubert embraced a romantic view of winemaking. Though he retired as Chief Winemaker at Penfolds in 1973, Max remained involved as a mentor and Winemaker Emeritus for another 20 vintages. 1993 is an earlier maturing vintage under Magnum, kept optimumly cellared.

The pinnacle of Australian reds, Grange represents opulence, vintage 1992 offers great complexity and balance, a powerful and rich release with mouth-coating tannins. No other red wine in Australia can rival the reputation, consistent quality or proven development pattern of Penfolds Grange. A full-bodied Shiraz wine, fleshed out with a component of exceptional Cabernet fruit, under magnum, the 1992 was destined for a long cellar life. Deep crimson in colour, with smoky/dark chocolate/blueberry/ plum aromas and flavours, fine grained with slightly leafy tannins, finishing very firm and tight.

The 1991 Grange shocked me with its sweet, forward display of jammy black fruits, smoke, roasted coffee, and copious toasty oak scents and flavors. This mouthfilling Grange, inevitably becomes more complex and civilized with ten or more years of cellaring.

The 1990 and 1991 Granges are regarded by many as extraordinary wines with incredible power and finesse. James Halliday calls this vintage flawlessly supple. In 1990 Grange dropped the Hermitage tag, to align with the name by which it had been known internationally for many years. 95% Shiraz, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon from Kalimna and other Barossa Valley vineyards, Clare Valley and Coonawarra. A very great vintage with a perfect warm, dry growing season and harvest, yielded a Grange with solid structure and dominant fruit characters.

An assemblage of old vines Sangiovese, from the Georgiadis property in Barossa Valley and illustrious Penfolds Kalimna Vineyard on Adelaide Hills. Naturally wild yeast vinified in a selection of old, wax lined open top fermenters at the historical Penfolds Magill Estate wineworks, followed by sixteen months maturation in seasoned French oak barriques. Fashioned to be engagingly old world in charm, a tapenade of sun dried tomatoes, olives and tannin, on a lengthy palate defined by a juicily piquant cranberry twist and resolving on a whisper of cocoa carob oak.

A long time between drinks, the last Cellar Reserve Cabernet Shiraz was the tiny, yet unforgettable 1993. The tradition of innovation and experimentation is central to Penfolds and is perpetuated in the form of Penfolds Cellar Reserves. These one-off releases emerge periodically when experimental wines are deemed appropriate for public release. The wines do not necessarily fit into any particular genre and provide Penfolds winemakers with the freedom to strive for new styles and definitions of excellence in their expression.

Cabernet Sauvignon was at the heart of Max Schubert's quest to establish the national flagship Australian red. Max Schubert was deeply inspired by Cabernet following his return from Bordeaux, Penfold Grange was originally planned as a Cabernet Cuvée. After many vintages of trial and tribulation, he became frustrated in his attempts to formulate a great Australian Cabernet but the lessons and experiences were passed on to successive winemakers. The tradition of development and refinement continues to this day, Penfold represent the first Australian growth of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Bin 707 is the Cabernet Sauvignon equivalent to Grange, crafted from ripe intensely-flavoured fruit, fermented and matured in new American oak, and expressing the Penfolds policy of multi-vineyard, multi-region fruit sourcing. Branded by a Qantas marketer, Bin 707 was first vintaged in 1964. The fruit selected for Bin 707 is subject to stringent quality regimens, sometimes a vintage goes unreleased if Cabernet grapes of the required style and quality are unavailable. Big and long-lived, Bin 707 has a secure place among the ranks of Australia's great Cabernets.

A mouthful of exceptional vineyard Cabernet fruit, fermentation in barrel, and maturation in new American oak.

The 1996 Bin 707 may well turn out to be one of the best of the last two decades - complex and firm with superb balance and character.

The 1994 Bin 707 is a spectacular wine from an outstanding year.

When Max Schubert returned from Bordeaux and began his quest to make a great Australian wine, his mind was on Cabernet Sauvignon. Schubert experimented with Cabernet as the possible contender for his Grange project. He recognised however, that the finest Australian Cabernet vineyards could not always deliver the consistency of quality he needed, nor could it supply the volume required for a commercially viable fine wine. ln the end, pragmatism won the day, and plans to craft a pure Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon were delayed until the inaugural 1964 vintage.

The foundations of Bin 707 are carefully selected ripe grapes, barrel fermentation and new American oak maturation. Complex and firm with superb balance and character, the Coonawarra contributes strength and firmness, while the Barossa component adds mouthfilling richness, resulting in a completeness of structure and flavour. An immense wine, dominant and richly satisfying, 1992 was a vintage which came up to Penfolds exacting standards for the release of a super premium Cabernet. An excellent year, and a great Bin 707.

Cabernet Sauvignon was at the heart of, Penfolds patriarch Max Schubert's quest for the singular, and first growth, grand Australian red. He partially succeeded, in that Cabernet traditionally makes up a tiny proportion of the finished Grange cuvee. The best batches of sophisticated Cabernet fruit are always reserved for the Bin 707, if and only if, the quality of the vintage meets Penfolds exacting standards for what is arguably Australia's best Cabernet wine. A warm sunny growing season, arriving on the back of the outstanding vintage from the previous year.

When Bin 707s eminent architect, the great Max Schubert returned from Bordeaux and began his quest to create the Australian Premier Grand Cru, his mind was on set firmly on Cabernet Sauvignon. It was not until 1964 however, that Schubert could be satisfied he'd got the formula right. Designed to be a national flagship Cabernet of the highest order, Bin 707 was not made from 1970 to 1975, nor in 1981, 1995, 2000 or 2003. Bin 707 holds a secure place within the pantheon of profound Australian icon wines, undisputedly retaining its Grange of all Cabernet moniker.

Coonawarra Cabernet seemed to be the only fruit which distinguished itself this vintage, heatwaves and a dry growing season destroyed the size and quality of grapes. Coonawarra terra rossa Cabernet was spared the fate of most Australian wines, Penfolds took the decision to release a Bin 707 from the 1989 vintage, solely on the quality of their superior Cabernet fuit, and the stature of the finished wine. As always, only ever released if the result meets exacting standards worthy of Australia's best Cabernet, wonderfully complex and engaging.

On initial tastings, a highly scented release with good cassis fruit. A cold winter throughout, the wet chilly growing season confounded the Barossa Cabernet, limiting the crop through hailstorm damage. A vintage of adversity for the Penfolds vineyards, nevertheless the yields produced a spine of good Cabernet fruit from which it was determined an excellent ultimate cuvee would be fashioned. Though the finish was originally noted as being quite hard and dry, the wine is characteristically savoury, with cassis, and immensely fine tannins.

A favourably warm, dry and ideal growing season yielded some of the most exceptional Cabernet, Penfolds Bin 707 is a standout wine of this vintage. A deeply flavoured, complex and beautifully developed wine with blackcurrant/ sous-bois/ cedar aromas and leafy Cabernet notes. An immensely concentrated wine of richness and longevity, Bin 707 lead the way of the super premiums. The 1986 release sat sweet with luscious blackcurrant/ chocolate/ minty fruit and ripe tannins, a persistent dry finish from a classic vintage year.

A very mild growing season which suited the Coonawarra vineyards down to a tee, this was the year for exceptional Coonawarra Cabernet. The Barossa and McLaren Vale also yielded excellent batches of Cabernet for Penfolds, finer and more restrained, yet suitably impressive for inclusion into the super premium Bin 707. Brick red in colour, complex and controversial, the distinctive cherry/ tomato leaf, almost porty aromas and flavours of the 1982, were supported by a smooth palate, and the rich, fleshy characters of the vintage.

An unfavourable vintage across most of Australia's winegrowing regions, the best reds this year were made by Penfolds. Extremes of cold and wet, around the country reduced much of the Cabernet Sauvignon in terms of quality and yield. Penfolds managed to creep through the adversities of the vintage, by selectively collating reduced batches from individual vineyards which made the A-grade. A well developed Bin 707, with spicey/ olive/ berry aromas, earthiness, balanced palate, sweet fruit, fine savoury tannins and vanilla oak.

Exceptional Langtons Classification. Bin 707 is the Cabernet equivalent to Grange, a wine of ripe and intensely flavoured fruit, treated to new American oak, the achievement of many decades commitment. Named by a Qantas marketing guru, Bin 707 was inaugurally vintaged in 1964 but was not made from 1970 to 1975, when the focus shifted to Bin 389, nor in 1981, 1995, 2000 or 2003, when fruit of quality and style was unavailable. Full bodied, with proven cellaring potential, Bin 707 is Australia's finest construct of multi vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.

Exceptional Langtons Classification. Awe inspiring and long lived, another breathtaking chapter along a journey begun by Max Schubert's quest for the ultimate first growth in Australian wine. Bin 707 has established international renown as the new world's final word in Cabernet Sauvignon, it has endured for decades as an articulation of the vintage and of its provenance. A graceful yet statuesque construct, the essence of Cabernet Sauvignon, imposing in it's breadth and scope, it continues to unravel layers of complexity as it evolves for hours in the glass.

Exceptional Langtons Classification. Impactful and multi dimensional, Bin 707 first announced it's muscular structure in the inaugural vintage of Penfolds Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon. Bin 707 is the Cabernet equivalent to Grange, a wine of ripe and intensely flavoured fruit, treated to new American oak, the achievement of many decades commitment. Named by a Qantas marketing guru, Bin 707 was first vintaged in 1964 but is never made if fruit of the requisite quality and style is unavailable. Bin 707 is Australia's finest construct of multi regional Cabernet Sauvignon.

Australia's most conspicuous Cabernet Sauvignon, everything about Bin 707 is large scale. The profound essence of physiologically ripe fruit with strong flavours is enhanced through partial barrel fermentation and extended maturation in exclusively new American oak hogsheads. Bin 707 is no shrinking violet, an immensely concentrated style with dark berry/ dark chocolate fruit balanced by polished new oak, plenty of fruit sweetness and powerful, but not overwhelming tannins. Bin 707 builds up into a wonderfully complex and engaging wine.

Cabernet Sauvignon was at the heart of Penfolds patriarch Max Schubert's quest for the singular first growth grand Australian red, after his return from Bordeux. The original plan for Grange was that it should be an exclusively Cabernet wine, however Schubert found Australian Cabernet to be unreliable for the purposes of an elite flagship wine. Today, everything about Bin 707 is large scale, Penfolds seek physiologically ripe fruit with equally strong flavours derived from partial barrel fermentation and maturation under new American oak.

The obsessiveness of the Penfolds winemaking fraternity is clear to see with the Bin 707, regularly choosing to withhold release of this exceptional Cabernet, in vintages when fruit doesn't come up to scratch, 2000 and 2003 are recent no-shows. Full bodied and with famous cellaring potential, Bin 707 holds a secure place among the ranks of Australia's finest Cabernets. 2004 was an excellent year for first class Cabernet across the Penfolds vineyards, Bin 707 under Magnum can only be classed as outstanding, from a superlative vintage that will develop into a memorable wine.

Originally received by a grateful follwing as a return to basics, the 2002 was considered to quite possibly be in the league of the great 1990 and 1996 releases. Unique for it's total exclusion of the usual backbone of Coonawarra Cabernet fruit.

Full bodied , long cellaring potential under Magnum, the 2001 offers intense styling and varietal definition. A wine of richness, power, harmony and concentration that holds a secure place among the ranks of Australia's finest Cabernets.

Medium to full red-purple; ripe blackberry/earthy varietal character on the bouquet, then a palate with great depth and power, supported by controlled, savoury tannins and lingering blackberry fruit. The oak handling throughout cannot be faulted.

The growing season started late in South Australia due to cool spring weather, although conditions were generally frost and diseasefree. Early, very warm summer weather led to an early vintage, especially in northern inland areas, with excellent fruit quality across all regions. An outstanding vintage Bin 707 to challenge the great 707s of 1996 and 1990.

When Max Schubert returned from Bordeaux , his mind was on Cabernet. After determining the unreliability of South Australian Cabernet, Schubert's decision was to release a super premium Cabernet wine only if the fruit were up to scratch. To this day, Bin 707 can only be made in good vintages. A multi-district blend sourced from Coonawarra, Bordertown, Padthaway and Barossa Valley, barrel fermented and wood matured for fifteen months, 1997 is rich with blackberry, currant and mint, presented in a smooth robe of deliciously handled oak.

The 1994 Bin 707 is a spectacular wine from an outstanding year. A crimson purple wine offering virulent aromas of saturated black fruits and mocha. Complex and firm with superb balance and character, this superb vintage continues to reinforce the Bin 707 reputation as an international benchmark for Australian Cabernet. Made from the finest fruit, it transcends the variances of the growing season, achieving a consistent style and outstanding quality. A very powerful palate with blackcurrant fruit, malt oak and masses of ripe tannins.

A classic release for the 1991 edition of Bin 707, the weather was relaxed and favourable, though yields were a little down. Coonawarra terra rosa Cabernet performed brilliantly. Fruit was sourced from superior South Australian vineyards, the focus as usual was the exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon grown around the Coonawarra. Arriving on the back of the outstanding 1990 vintage the previous year, Bin 707 1991 transcended the vagaries of vintage, maintaining the reliable and consistent styling, worthy of Australia's finest Cabernet wine.

A standout vintage, a very great year for the Bin 707, from one of the most exciting of all Australian red wine growing seasons. The Penfolds Cabernet vineyards on the Coonawarra's terra rossa strip, enjoyed an exceptional season, yielding a memorable Bin 707 of unusual concentration and extract. A densely concentrated palate with thick purpleness, cassis and chocolate, pefect mocha oak and satiny tannins, concentrated with flavour, powerfully structured, the trademark indications of a Cabernet which aspires to live forever.

If you can wait the distance, Bin 707 builds up into a wonderfully complex and engaging wine. The Penfolds philosophy of winemaking is unique, as the concepts of multi-district blending which are central to fortified wine production, have been applied to the project of crafting a pure and consistent, exceptional Australian Cabernet Sauvignon. When it comes to Bin 707, the Penfolds winemakers are looking for ripe Cabernet characters, concentration and chocolatey tannin structures. A wine, crafted to meet the exacting standards worthy of Australia's best Cabernet.

The development of Cabernet Sauvignon has been one of the longest running projects at Penfolds. Origninally formulated by John Duval, Bin 407 can establish kinship to the mighty 707. Bin 407 remains more restrained in style than it''s older sibling, a wine of elegance, consistently showing a clear varietal blackcurrant and cassis definition backed by fine grained tannins and cedary oak. The Cabernet fruit takes centre stage, oak never overwhelms but serves to frame the wine. The styling is masculine and reminiscent of a Bordeaux or Moulis.

Bin 407 was developed by Penfolds maestro John Duval in response to the increasing availability of high quality Cabernet Sauvignon fruit. Inspired by Penfolds Bin 707, Bin 407 offers varietal definition and approachability, complete with solid structure and great depth of flavour. As such, Bin 407 shares kinship with Australia's flagship Cabernet wine. Fashioned to a slightly more restrained, elegant style, with distinct varietal blackcurrant cassis fruit definition, fine grained tannins and cedary oak, which never overwhelms but serves to frame the fruit.