Penfolds BIN 389 Cabernet Shiraz. Bin 389 was often referred to as ‘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 is 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.

Wine type: red wine. BIN 389 Cabernet Shiraz.

Vintage and alcohol content: 2014 - 14,5°

Region: Barossa Valley, Wrattonbully, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra.

Grape/blend: 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Shiraz.

Type soil: alluvial sands, red and yellow clays, quartz and ironstone.

Colour: bright crimson, deepening/darkening towards core.

Aroma: much to intrigue here – a flash of baker’s sourdough rises above; beneath, crackling/crispy duck skin and Old-Garden fruits, rhubarb/quince/fig to the fore. New-Kitchen savouries, sesame oil/pinenut follow. Pencil shavings oak, stylishly legitimised by a classic graphite/ironstone-metal blackness. Smokey, gunflint, shale descriptors abound, a reminder that there’s more to Bin 389 than just crushed grapes.

Tasting notes: a tasting-slurry of red-currant/eggplant/black olive induce a darker/savoury flavour pool. A generous mid-palate embalmed by integrated plush and ripe tannins. The ferrics lurk, an iron-laden meatiness intriguingly verging towards a knife-sharpening stone primed with olive oil.

Serving suggestions: ideal with grilled meats. Serving 18°.

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