Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2016 (6 x750mL), SA.

Expert Reviews

96 Points - Campbell Mattinson - Wine Front

Bin 389 cracks the ton, in asking price terms. The rich (wo)man’s, poor (wo)man’s drink. Grapes sourced from Barossa Valley, Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, Padthaway and Wrattonbully. You don’t hear so much of Padthaway, that salty old dog, nowadays but it’s still important to the Penfolds red wine stable. 51% cabernet sauvignon, 49% shiraz. All American oak.

Ah now you’ve done it. Stop it, just stop it. You look at the Bin 407 release from this vintage and think: that’s how it’s done. And then you add shiraz, and call it Bin 389, and the palate is boosted, the length is still there, the tobacco notes still light up, and with vanilla and cherry-plum notes tickling the cassis into a riot it suddenly feels irrepressible, like the premiership’s a cakewalk. It’s not a John Holmes wine; it’s not overdone. It’ a wine to slip through your defences, is what it is. It’s a cracker. This is why you blend cabernet with shiraz.

Rating 96 - James Halliday Published 01 October 2018

A 51/49% blend from the Barossa Valley, Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, Padthaway and Wrattonbully, matured for 12 months in American hogsheads (37% new). Good colour, although not as striking as some of the other wines in the range; Likewise retains some elegance despite the clarion call of the cascade of fruit flavours. The fruit, oak, tannin and acid balance is impeccable, as is the length and drive of the palate. The savoury subtext is equally good.