"Gorgeous wine. And it lives for decades."
Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate
From the illustrious producer of Australia's iconic Grange, the powerful 97 pt. 2020 Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz is a luscious, velvety smooth blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz that will have Aussie fans reaching for another taste, beautifully balancing rich, ripe aromatic dark fruit hinting of vanilla and spice with mouth coating tannins and mirroring the quality of its legendary big brother at a fraction of the price.
Located in the foothills of Adelaide and considered the heart of the historic wine brand, visitors to Penfolds Magill Estate are guided past the natural rock walls of the original winery to the 1845 homestead of founders Christopher and Mary Penfold called the Grange Cottage, overlooking the estate's centuries old Shiraz vineyard with distant views of the shimmering blue waters of the Gulf of St. Vincent. Among the pioneering growers of the South Australia region, Penfolds is renowned for its remarkable consistency across the portfolio, fulfilling its original chief winemaker Max Schubert's goal of creating a "dynasty of wines which all bear an unmistakable resemblance to each other" as a harmonious expression of its diverse South Australia terroir. Named for the Batch Identification Number used to identify its storage area in Penfolds' cellars, Bin 389 was created in 1960 by Schubert as a multiregional blend from Penfold's top vineyards similar to Grange and matured in the same casks that held the flagship's previous vintage, producing a combination of intensity and longevity that earned it the nickname "Baby Grange." Blending 51% Cabernet Sauvignon and 49% Shiraz grown in McLaren Vale, Barossa and Padthway, Decanter Hall of Fame winemaker Peter Gago aged the dense and succulent 2020 Penfolds Bin 389 for 12 months in 33% new American oak hogsheads as well as the one-use Grange casks, yielding deeply concentrated, rich dark fruit and ripe silky tannins promising decades of enjoyment and summed up by James Halliday's Wine Companion as "big, bold, beautiful and quintessentially Australian."
Crafted in Penfold's signature opulent style, the fresh and savory 97 pt. 2020 Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz lives up to its reputation as a "collector's dream" according to the Wine Advocate's Erin Larkin, a top value for Grange aficionados and lovers of intense and age worthy Aussie reds to stock the cellar and enjoy over the next decade.
The superb quality of fruit allocated in this luscious blend – dubbed by many as 'baby Grange' – represents probably the best value to be found in the Penfolds portfolio, and is the shining star of the reds in the 2022 Collection. Its rich and plush mixture of plum, black cherry and mulberry flavours are slapped into line by a stern tannin drill sergeant, so that it finishes cleanly and absolutely correctly. Generous, approachable and complete, it tells a very satisfying wine story. Released at A$100/bottle.
97 points, David Sly, Decanter (Jun 2022)
Looking in on the 389 can be "'can be," she says, parenthetically) a good insight into what we can expect from the upcoming Grange. Now, they are very different wines, no question, however, stylistically they have much in common and the illumination into the season that birthed the wines in each instance. Here, the 2020 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz has consummate polish and sleek tannins, imbued as they are with graphite, black tea, licorice and resin. The fruit is pure and black and chewy... gorgeous wine. And it lives for decades. This has always been a collector's dream and continues so through this vintage. Highly recommended.
96 points, Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate (Jul 2022)
Very rich, ripe and intense, this has plenty of depth and is one of the strongest statements of Penfolds’ house style. Rich vanillin and sweetly spicy American oak on the nose, with chocolate, blueberry, violet, blackberry and iodine notes. The palate delivers quite approachable and supple texture, smoothly fleshy and inviting. Flavors of blackberry, blackcurrant and mulberry abound. Deep and ripe finish with nutty tannins to close. A blend of McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley and Padthaway. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
96 points, James Suckling (Oct 2022)
A blend of cabernet sauvignon and shiraz (51/49%) sourced from vineyards in McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley and Padthway. Matured for 12 months in American hogsheads (33% new). Coming back to this Australian battler after Penfold's Napa and Bordeaux trials was something of a rude shock in the first instance. This is big, bold, beautiful and quintessentially Australian. It makes no apologies for its wealth of black fruits, almost succulent tannins, and vanillin oak.
95 points, James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion (Aug 2022)
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