Penfolds Koonunga Hill Cabernet Sauvignon

Koonunga Hill takes its name from a hill on Penfolds' Kalimna property in the Barossa Valley, the same 290-hectare estate whose Block 42 Cabernet Sauvignon vines date to the 1880s and are among the oldest continuously-producing Cabernet plantings on earth. That lineage matters: even at this tier, the fruit draws on Barossa's ancient, deep alluvial and sandy loam soils — phylloxera-free ground that produces low-stressed vines with naturally concentrated berry character. The wine is assembled via Penfolds' signature multi-vineyard blending protocol, prioritising fruit quality and house consistency over single-site expression — a deliberate inversion of Old World terroir orthodoxy that has defined the house since Max Schubert's era. Maturation follows the Penfolds red-wine template in seasoned American oak, delivering the mid-palate richness and approachable structure that is the house's commercial calling card without the extended new-oak regimes reserved for Bin 707 or Grange. What separates Koonunga Hill from peers at this price point is institutional: it is made under the same Chief Winemaker lineage — only four in nearly 180 years — that governs Grange, meaning quality discipline flows top-down through every tier. Drink now through near-term cellaring.