Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2010

Created by the legendary Max Schubert - creator of Grange - Bin 389 is often referred to as 'Poor Man's Grange' or '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, this was the wine that helped to build a solid reputation with red wine drinkers. Combining the structure of cabernet with the richness of shiraz, Bin 389 also exemplifies Penfolds skill in balancing fruit and oak. A classic Australian style with a clear Penfolds identity.

"Depth and definition of fruit elevate 2010 among the great 389s of all time, displaying immaculate tension between concentration, vibrant lift and structural assuredness that make it both enticing right away and charge it with the stamina to live very long. Built around a core of Coonawarra cabernet and Barossa shiraz, with support from Wrattonbully, Robe, McLaren Vale, Padthaway and the Adelaide Hills, this is a 389 of such depth of colour that it barely shows a rim at all, and what there is of it is a luminescent purple. There is a core of immaculately ripe, sumptuous, even succulent fruit to the palate, yet eminently structured and impeccably poised, with beautifully fine and structurally honed tannins that promise to propel it very long into the future. A magnificent core of impeccably polished black cherries, glossy blackberries and liquorice straps retains a bright liveliness and monumental line and length. To quote Gago, "This is the Bin 389 we've been waiting for!""
Wine Taste Weekly, Feb 2013 Tyson Stelzer 97 points