
Red wine
Penfolds, Bin 98 Quantum Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
There’s 13% Australian Shiraz in the Quantum, the flagship wine of Penfolds’ new California Collection. It reminds me of the ferociously compromising Diamond Creek (the fruit is from Oakville, and 500m up on Diamond Mountain), whose tannins take years to soften. Inky purple colour. The nose is satisfyingly deep and expressive, savoury with perfumed earth and leather. On the palate it’s tight and coiled but so alive, instantly releasing juice, your entire mouth and sinus is stimulated. The tannins intensify as you absorb the acidity. Fruit is blueberry-sweet with sharp graphite but it’s all background at the moment, ready to ripen and burst out as the wine ages. A masterpiece of controlled power and stored energy whose famous terroirs (never mind the Aussie fruit) will reveal themselves more and more as the wine ages. A triumph.
Score
Wine Details
Colour
Red
Wine Style
Still
Grape Varieties
Cabernet Sauvignon (87%), Shiraz (13%)
Alcohol
14.5%
Bottle size
750ml
Drink dates
2028 - 2040
Origin
Country
USA
Region
California
Tasting Information
Blind
No
Tasted by
Adam Lechmere