Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2023

96 POINTS

Tina Gellie - Decanter

Referred to as ‘Baby Grange’ as components of the wine are always matured in the same American oak hogsheads that held the previous vintage of Grange, Bin 389 (first made in 1960) is always a Cabernet-dominant Cab-Shiraz – the great Australian blend. This year it just makes it, with 51%, the fruit for both varieties coming from McLaren Vale (45%), Padthaway and Barossa Valley. The 12 months in oak (33% new) adds a creamy coconut sheen to the generous mouthful of summer pudding berries, fleshy blue plums and more savoury tones of fennel salami, mocha and cigar box spice. Fine tannins, bright acidity and a firm structure deliver power and polish, already approachable but with a long life, and more complexity, ahead. A standout this vintage. Released at £70.

96 POINTS

Ken Gargett - Winepilot

Always a star of the Collection, year after year. The blend, as it almost always is, falls marginally in favour of Cabernet – 51% Cab to 49% Shiraz this time. The fruit hails from McLaren Vale, Padthaway and the Barossa Valley. Maturation is in American oak hogsheads for one year, one third of which are new. A triumph for the vintage. Opaque purple, this is lifted, generous and really rather exciting. Glorious aromatics, there are notes of plums, aniseed, tobacco leaves, dark chocolate, espresso, blackberries, coffee beans, with a touch of blueberries peeking through. Black pudding and chocolate mud cake may not sound like the most enticing combination, but here it works wonderfully well. Seamless in structure with bright energy and immaculate balance, this is very long. There is fine acidity here, and even finer tannins with a sleekness to them. Early complexity is very much evident, and we can expect that to really develop further in the coming years. Power, yes, but this is also effortlessly elegant. Delicious now, this will surely drink beautifully for the next fifteen years, considerably longer if you really do have the patience. Love it.

96 POINTS

Dave Brookes - Halliday Wine Companion

A strong release for the Bin 389. This year is a blend of 51/49% cabernet sauvignon/shiraz. Deep fruit characters of blackberry, black cherry and blueberry of considerable purity and depth, supported by hints of mixed spice, violets, creamy oak, cold black tea, panforte and earth. Strong powdered gravel tannins provide grip and support, and there is a considerable depth to the persistent finish as the wine sails slowly away. Built for the cellar.

96 POINTS

Andrew Caillard MW

"Deep crimson. Perfumed violet, praline, blackcurrant/ blackberry aromas with inky/ chinotto notes. Voluminous and sinuous with beautiful pure cassis, chinotto flavours, plentiful fine chalky al-dente tannins and well-balanced roasted chestnut/ marzipan/ vanilla notes. Builds up brambly firm at the finish. Lovely density, vinosity and flow. Drink now - 2045. 14.5% alc. 96 Points."

95 POINTS

Jeni Port - Winepilot

A seamless pairing of Cabernet Sauvignon (51%) and Shiraz (49%) sourced from McLaren Vale, Padthaway and the Barossa Valley. A busy amalgam of aromas bustling and bright in black cherry, blackcurrant, bergamot aromatics, fine spices, allspice. Friendly as always, this Bin 389 is not so much about pushing boundaries (as some have done in the past with oak) as portraying classic Penfolds style fashioned around an even integration of fruit, tannin and oak. The palate is elegant, generously bodied in blue fruits, red berries, red currant, fine herbs, thyme, oregano, gentlest of spices and vanillin influences.  Texturally fine, it moves with style.

95 POINTS

Erin Larkin - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2023 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz is inky, complete, powerful and structured, with black berries, sweet licorice, star anise and fennel. There are also notes of roasted meat juices and cedar wood. The expression of this wine is very attractive—the prism of the cooler season works well in this wine. The fruit is sourced from McLaren Vale, Padthaway and Barossa Valley, matured for 12 months in American oak hogsheads, 33% new.

95 POINTS

Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front

Grapes sourced from McLaren Vale, Padthaway and the Barossa Valley. 51% cabernet sauvignon, 49% shiraz. 12 months in American oak, 33% new. Price is unchanged at $120 RRP. There’s a thickness to this release, and a freshness, and a formation of tannin, and an infusion of vanilla cream. The result is an impeccable release of Bin 389. It doesn’t jump out of the glass and announce that it’s really super high echelon but it does stake its quality claims in empathic terms. Red licorice and blackcurrant, mint, cream, olives and a brush of herbs. The key here is the cabernet component, which is clearly high class. This will cellar long term.

94 POINTS

Peter Moser - Falstaff

Dark ruby garnet colour, purple reflections, delicate ochre rim. Delicate forest floor, nougat, cassis and liquorice, fine precious wood savouriness, some leather, a hint of rosemary. Complex, powerful, red forest berries, supporting tannins that are still vivid, mineral and well adhering, spicy finish, red berry confit of cranberry on the finish, still needs time.