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 creme 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.