Source: jamessuckling.com. Issue Date: Wednesday, August 4, 2021 (JS-94)

Shows a very strident, oak-driven nose with cedar and spice that’s overlaid on ripe blackcurrant, red plum and cherry. Pepper and cocoa powder, too. The palate has a sinewy feel with intense summer berries and plums, as well as strong blackcurrant character. Curated to a brazen style with strong tannins. A blend of 53% cabernet sauvignon and 47% shiraz, matured in American-oak hogsheads (300 litres – 25% new). A blend of Padthaway, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, Wrattonbully and Barossa Valley. Drink over the next decade. Screw cap.

Source: July 2021 Week 3, The Wine Advocate; Issue Date: 22nd Jul 2021 (RP-92 )

A blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon and 47% Shiraz, the 2019 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz was sourced from Padthaway, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, Wrattonbully and Barossa Valley and aged a year in American oak hogsheads (25% new). Some cool, mentholated notes lead the way, closely followed by cassis and blackberries, then hints of vanilla and cedar on the finish. It’s medium to full-bodied, and generally pretty silky in feel, with a gentle dusting of drying tannins.

Drink Date 2024 – 2035

Source: Winemaker,

TASTE DESCRIPTION

Color

Bright, crimson red

Nose

Lifted, fragrant. Immediately Penfolds. Aficionados may quickly identify and proclaim 389.

Opulently: Trifle: layers of custard and port-wine dark jelly with flaked coconut and juniper/cassis.

Cake: old-fashioned hummingbird cake, with coconut flakes and nutty flavours.

Overheard: Petrichor aromas gradating to silkworm-eaten mulberry leaf?. Honestly!?!

Familial youthful Bin 389 oak subtle matchstick and a hint of vanilla powder.

As they say what is there not to like?!

PALATE

Balance of the sweet (cabernet) and the savoury (shiraz).

Possesses what has now often been referred to as a black forest cake 2018 vintage flavour profile.

Darker fruits – closer to that of a black cherry liqueur than a cr?me de cassis component of Kir.

Flavours of roasted beetroot – a venison sauce beetroot reduction ? similar texturally to a congealed sweet fat (a custardy emulsion/film – not a grainy paste).

Oak and tannins absorbed. Both are certainly present, yet not at all demanding their own space on this Bin 389 stage. Substantial, intense.