Penley Estate Steyning Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 - Coonawarra, South Australia

95/100 Erin Larkin, Halliday Wine Companion
93/100 James Suckling
93/100 Wine Enthusiast
95/100 Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion (2018 vintage)
92/100 Ralph Kyte-Powell, The Real Review (2018 vintage)
93/100 James Suckling (2017 vintage)
92/100 Wine Enthusiast (2017 vintage)

Winemaker of the Year 2024 - Halliday Wine Companion

5 Stars - Halliday Wine Companion

Erin Larkin, Halliday Wine Companion "This is the sweet, vibrant, energetic sister to the Chertsey. This is poised and exciting – a cool combination – and shows a sumptuous spread of ripe berry fruits and fresh exotic spices. Star anise, blood plums, blackberries, raspberries and fennel seeds are woven into the very fabric of the wine. Pretty gorgeous stuff, here."

James Suckling "A conventionally styled cabernet with complex aromas of dark berries and herbs, as well as olives and forest wood. The palate has bright blueberry and plum flavors, served up with a composed, groomed style."

Wine Enthusiast "An open-knit, modern expression of Coonawarra, this finds lovely balance between ripe, tangy berry fruit, dark chocolate and savory spice. It's more medium bodied than full but the mouthfeel is luscious, gently tugged by well-integrated, spicy and leathery tannins."

Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion "...evolve superbly, a hallmark of this majestic variety. But it is also approachable now, with the appealing freshness of bright dark fruit. It's lightly scented, delicately spiced with powdery tannins and finishes long. (2018 vintage)

Ralph Kyte-Powell, The Real Review "Medium to deep red colour with a purple tint. Tightly-wound blackcurrant fruit has a light minty leafiness and well measured cigar-boxy oak adds aromatic interest. This is a medium-weight mouthful, dry and quite austere in style, with tasty ripe fruit at its heart. At the moment it seems to fall away very slightly in intensity across the palate, but it has real length of flavour, and it should build apparent depth with age as its firm tannins melt away. A wine for the cellar." (2018 vintage)

James Suckling "A juicy and velvety red with plums, crushed berries and hints of spice. Full body, soft tannins and a flavorful finish." (2017 vintage)

Wine Enthusiast "This is classic Coonawarra. Purple and red fruit mingle with earthy, herbal notes, along with a briney streak black olives and subtle charred vegetable notes at the back. The powerful palate is somewhat austere, wound by raspy tannins, but there's a lift of juicy currant and plum fruit alongside a flicker of oak in a supporting role." (2017 vintage)

The iconic Penley Estate arose from a combination of the prestigious Penfold and Tolley wine families. Winemaker Kate Goodman is regarded as one of Australia’s best contemporary winemakers, having worked at wineries in McLaren Vale, Clare Valley, Great Western and Yarra Valley. Penley Estate estate shot to prominence in 1989 when Phoenix Cabernet Sauvignon won Gold at the prestigious Adelaide Wine Show. Since that time the estate has grown significantly to over 80 hectares of vines and is run by 5th generation family members, sisters Ang & Bec Tolley.

Coonawarra is the most important wine region within the Limestone Coast zone of South Australia, credited with producing some of the best red wines in the country, and often described as Australia's most famous terroir. The region's prime Terra Rossa land, which has a reddish-brown topsoil over a thick layer of soft limestone, covers a narrow strip only 12 kilometres long. The reddish colour of the soil is caused by iron-oxide (rust) formations in the clay. Vineyards on this soil benefit from good drainage and nutrient-holding capacity.

Cabernet Sauvignon – Merlot wines are made from two of the world's most famous and most widely grown wine grapes. The pair form the foundation of many of the great wines of Bordeaux, where this classic blend (often dubbed ""Bordeaux Blend"") is thought to have originated. For centuries, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot have been the quintessential Bordeaux wine grapes, but their fame and popularity have now taken them far beyond the banks of the Garonne, Dordogne and Gironde, to the furthest reaches of the wine world.