Penfolds Bin 389 2018

Recommended Retail Price:       $100.00

Varietal:                                    Cabernet Shiraz

Region:                                     South Australia

Cellaring to:                              2050

Langtons Classification:             Outstanding

Overview

Bin 389 is often referred to as ‘Poor Man’s Grange’ or ‘Baby Grange’, in part because components of the wine are matured in the same barrels that held the previous vintage of Grange. First made in 1960, by the legendary Max Schubert, this was the wine that helped to forge Penfolds solid reputation with red wine drinkers. Combining the structure of Cabernet Sauvignon with the richness of Shiraz, Bin 389 also exemplifies the judicious balance of fruit and oak.

This release in 2020 commemorates the 60th anniversary since Bin 389 was first made.

Winery Link:                https://www.penfolds.com/en-au/wines/the-penfolds-collection/bin-389-cabernet-shiraz/2018

Expert Reviews

Andrew Callard         MW

Deep crimson. Intense pure blackcurrant, blackberry aromas with dark chocolate notes. Generously proportioned wine with dense inky cassis, blackberry mulberry fruits, plentiful chocolaty tannins, mocha expresso oak complexity, attractive mid-palate viscosity and superb mineral length. Finishes grainy firm. A classic powerful Bin 389 year with superb fruit complexity density and attack. Should last the distance

Score:  98/100

 

Huon Hooke               The Real Review

Very deep, dark red colour with a good tint of purple. The bouquet is sweetly suer-ripe with loads of blackberry jam and fruit sweetness, the palate likewise sumptuously deep in fruit with oak keeping very much in the background. The flavour fills the mouth supurbelly and continues long into the aftertaste, harmonised by lashing of soft, rip tannins. There are definite notes of cassis and herb from the cabernet component and the oak contributes a subtle trace of charred timber that complements the fruit. Sumptuous fruit sweetness. A ripping wine that seems to be less oak marked than this wine traditionally is.

Score:  96/100

 

James Suckling         Jamessuckling.com

A blend of 57% cabernet sauvignon and 43% shiraz, this has a very impressively complete feel, a hallmark of the 2018 vintage wines, and there’s a myriad of characters with cabernet’s cedary and gently herbal notes sitting atop a core of rich red-plum and dark-berry shiraz fruit aromas. So integrated. The palate has a very silky texture, so plush and polished with a wealth of rich and intense dark-plum, dark-berry and blackcurrant flavors. The oak is completely soaked with ripe, fresh fruit. This is a great Bin 389..

Score:  97/100