Penfolds Bin 707, Vintage by Vintage: The Years It Was Made, and the Years It Wasn't
Fast fact: Since its 1964 debut, Penfolds has made Bin 707 in 48 of 61 vintages – and chosen not to make it in 13.
The just-released Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon 2024 is the wine that jumped at me in this year’s Penfolds Collection 2026. It’s a stunning wine. This prompted me to reacquint myself with the Bin 707 lineage. Its details are interesting – not least because, unlike Grange, it’s not produced every year.
Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon has been produced in most, but not all, vintages since it was first made in 1964. In 13 vintages Penfolds did not make it at all – in the early years because the fruit was directed to other wines, and later because grapes of the required style and quality weren't available.
The distinction matters. The 1970 to 1975 gap was a diversion of fruit. Every skip since – 1981, 1995, 2000, 2003, 2011, 2017 and 2020 – was a quality decision: no declaration in years the fruit didn't meet the mark. It's a wine Penfolds withholds rather than dilutes, and that gate is part of what sits behind its standing, and its $800 price on the current 2024 release.
Vintages of Bin 707 never made:
1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975 (fruit diverted to other wines)
1981
1995
2000
2003
2011
2017
2020
On this record, that's 48 releases across the 61 vintages from 1964 to 2024. The most recent skip, the 2020, is why there was no Bin 707 in the 2022 Penfolds Collection.
FAQ: Penfolds Bin 707
When was Penfolds Bin 707 first made?
The first vintage of Bin 707 was 1964.
How did Penfolds Bin 707 get its name?
Bin 707 broke with Penfolds' practice of naming wines after their cellar storage-bin numbers. It was named instead after the Boeing 707 – the jetliner that had recently opened up Qantas's London-to-Sydney "Kangaroo Route" – with the name traced to a Penfolds marketing staffer who had previously worked at Qantas. Penfolds' own reference book, The Rewards of Patience (9th edition), records the Qantas connection, so the story is documented rather than folklore. The wine's 1964 debut sat squarely in the jet age the name evokes.
Which vintages of Bin 707 were never made?
1970 to 1975 inclusive, then 1981, 1995, 2000, 2003, 2011, 2017 and 2020 – 13 vintages in all.
Why does Penfolds not make Bin 707 every year?
Two reasons. From 1970 to 1975 the Cabernet fruit was directed to other wines. In the later skipped years, Penfolds judged that fruit of the required style and quality wasn't available, and declined to declare the wine rather than lower the standard.
Was there a 2020 Bin 707?
No. 2020 is the most recent vintage Penfolds chose not to make, which is why the wine was absent from the 2022 Collection.
How many vintages of Bin 707 have been made?
By this record, 48, across the 61 vintages from 1964 to the current 2024 release.
How is Penfolds Bin 707 matured?
Much like Grange. Bin 707 is matured in 100 per cent new American oak hogsheads – 300-litre barrels – typically for around 16 to 18 months, with the current 2024 release spending 16 months in barrel. It shares the all-new American oak regime that defines Grange, which is one reason the two are so often spoken of together.
What is the current release of Bin 707?
The 2024 vintage, in the 2026 Penfolds Collection, at $800.
