PENFOLDS BIN 98 QUANTUM CAB SAUV 2018 750ML

98 James Suckling What sticks with you about this global blend of Napa and Southern Australian wine is the intense and transparent purple and blue fruit. Lots of blackberry and blueberry aromas with some stones and flowers, such as violets. It’s a very layered and intense wine with very refined, creamy and chewy tannins. Full and very impressive. Very Penfolds. Mouth-filling texture. It’s made mostly from Napa grapes and predominantly from Oakville and Diamond Mountain. About one-fifth is from South Australia. Aged in 80% new American oak and 20% new French. Try after 2026.

The first release of this new iconoclastic label, the 2018 Quantum Bin 98 is labeled as a "Wine of the World," although the AVA is the United States and technically 87% is American wine (Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley), while 13% is Australian ("Grade A1" Shiraz from South Australia). The wine spent 16 months in oak, 100% new, 80% American oak and 20% French. In fact, the wine is made very much like Grange, in that it completes fermentation in new, mainly American oak barrels.

A Wine of the World is a big statement, and this blend of 87% Napa Valley Cabernet with South Australian Shiraz creates a purposeful bridge between two national styles. The Cabernet is typically Napa (from the Oakville and Diamond Mountain District AVAs): stern and solid, flexing powerful muscle as earth and iodine notes speak much louder than fruit sweetness. The addition of Shiraz (an elite component, considered for Grange inclusion) isn’t obvious, yet its influence is profound, with a hint of ripe plum adding a vivid burst of color to the dark flavor spectrum. The two varieties strike a happy equilibrium on the mid-palate, wrapping generous layers of rich fruit and supple texture into a seamless weave.

The inaugural release of this red combines 87% Cabernet Sauvignon with 13% Shiraz, using grapes from both Napa Valley and South Australia. Dark and brooding, it delivers a smooth, textured palate of bright red fruit and supple, integrated tannins, with meaty undertones along a continuum of black pepper, graphite and leather.