“Penfolds Chinese Wine Trial is a blend of 77/23% cabernet sauvignon/marselan from the whimsically named region of Shangri-La in Yunnan province and Ningxia in the north, respectively. Deeply coloured with bright berry fruits underscored by the deep of the cabernet and the fruit-forward enthusiasm of marselan. Plum and dark berry fruits with hints of licorice, baking spices, sumac, fried meats, purple flowers and crushed stone. There's a wild-eyed, bucolic edge here which I really enjoyed. Marselan has always presented itself as a future star of the Chinese grape varieties.” 

93 points. – James Halliday's Wine Companion

“The 2022 CWT 521 Cabernet Sauvignon Marselan contains a higher proportion of Marselan this year than last. After judging in 2024 at the China Wine Awards and seeing more Marselan in one place than I ever had before, it is obvious to me that Marselan is the star red variety of China. Although having said that, the Chinese wine industry is voraciously progressing forwards into the future, so it is possible that it is an immature statement. Time will tell. So here, the wine leads with black cherry and star anise, raspberry, mulberry and black peppercorns. There are notes of warm baking spices, cinnamon cassia and fresh grated nutmeg as well. Here, the Cabernet is from Shangri-La, and the Marselan is from the Ningxia region. In the mouth, the wine is concentrated and a little syrupy, yet it achieves a sense of place and tastes very much like a Chinese wine, despite the influence of Australian winemaking philosophy. It has 14.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.57 and 6.4 grams per liter of total acidity. It matured for 12 months in a combination of French (66% new) and American oak (17%) hogsheads."

91 points.  – Robert Parker's Wine Advocate