Bin 389 is the quintessential expression of the Penfolds red wine style. Typically it is fresh, generous and buoyant with ripe dark chocolate, dark berry fruit, beautifully extracted flavours, fine-grained tannins and underlying new oak characters. First produced in 1960, Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz is nicknamed “Poor Man’s Grange” or “Baby Grange” and is one of Australia’s great cellaring red wines. Bin 389 is matured in a combination of new and one and two year old American "ex Grange and Bin 707" hogsheads for 18 months. The best vintages can develop and improve for decades.
A 51/49% blend of cabernet sauvignon and shiraz sourced from seven regions in SA, matured for 14 months in American oak hogsheads (40% new). Shares the exceptional depth of purple-crimson colour with the other superstars of this vintage. It is full-bodied, with layer-upon-layer of flavour, yet has a plush, welcoming character. The perfectly ripe blackcurrant and blackberry fruit has a coat of Belgian chocolate, the oak already submerged under the fruit.
96 points, Wine Companion (February 2013)
There’s so much granular tannin here it almost feels as though you can taste the sediment in it, as a young wine. Schubert would likely have approved. This is a determined style of wine. In terms of flavour, as is often the case with 389, cabernet is the main player. Blackcurrant, dust, chocolate, black olives, cloves and menthol. There’s a lot of typical Penfolds vanillin oak here, and indeed when you swallow, it provides the final impression. The mid palate, interestingly, also carries a hint of fresh leather – an attractive flavour that can make some drinkers nervous. I know I always rabbit on about tannin, but the spread here is remarkable. There’s a berry farm near where I live and they serve a concoction named Death by Berries. This wine reminded me of it. Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and a syrupy mix of the three. This wine is very 389, very Penfolds, and if you tend to react against either, then you won’t like this. But this tastes like a pinnacle release 389 to me. And when the aroma has evolved and the finish tidied itself up, perhaps even a great one.
95+ points, The Wine Front (March 2013)
Dense red/purple colour, deep and dark. A big spiced plum and smoky oak shiraz driven bouquet (it's only 51% cabernet this year). There are some crushed leaf and tomato bush notes. A very big, strong, powerful wine that is gutsy and full-blooded. Very rich and dense. Full-bodied, plush-textured and long. This is more ready than Bin 407, although it's also got a huge career ahead of it.
95 points, The Real Review (April 2013)
US oak hogsheads. 51% Cabernet. Lovely big, rich wine with a solid core of dense, berry-ish Shiraz that really gets a breath of life from its Cabernet component. It really highlights the best features of both varieties. Long, complex and thoroughly satisfying red ina fairly traditional style - nice to see 100% US oak
95 points, The Real Review (February 2013)
South Australia is the driest state on the world’s driest continent. Covering almost 1 million (984 377km) square kilomteres, it represents 12.8% of the Australian land mass. Sweeping plains are intersected by a spine of relatively low lying ranges, the Mount Lofty/Flinders Ranges which extend through the heart of the State. Over 50% of the state is elevated at under 150 metres. The Great Artesian basin covers almost one-third of the State. The major river is the River Murray which lethargically makes its way into the Southern Ocean. This water mass has a moderating effect on climate, particularly in the southern regions of South Australia where most vines are planted.
Summers are generally hot and dry with relatively mild nights. Winters are cool. Rainfall occurs mostly during late autumn/winter (May, June, July, August). Drought and salinity are major concerns.
The principle wine regions in South Australia are; the Adelaide Hills, Barossa (comprising the Barossa and Eden Valleys), Clare Valley, Langhorne Creek, McLaren Vale, Padthaway, Coonawarra and the Riverland. Vineyard expansion has also extended to Wrattonbully, Mount Benson, Bordertown, Robe, Southern Fleurieu and the Flinders Ranges.
It is a tradition for many wine companies to make multi-district blends from South Australian fruit – the idea of house style taking precedence over regional definition. Penfolds pioneered this concept. The vagaries of vintage variation can be evened out by fruit selection, ensuring quality at a high level. However there is debate that this concept comes at the expense of the ‘soul’ of the wine. Penfolds Grange is probably the most famous multi-district blend and is an excellent counter-argument.
Andrew Caillard MW, Langton'sPenfolds
Penfolds is probably the most extraordinary of the world’s wine brands with an enviable reputation for quality at every price level. The original Penfold was an English doctor who, in 1844, planted grapes at Magill, now a suburb of Adelaide. However, it was not until the late 1940s that Penfolds began to forge a reputation for red wine.
The Penfolds house style emerged from a fortified wine producing culture and evolved as a winemaking philosophy which has had a profound effect on the entire Australian wine industry. Many of the techniques initially adopted to make Penfolds Grange would become part of the wider Penfolds winemaking culture. The number of techniques employed in the research and development of Penfolds wines is astonishing. Max Schubert and his team pioneered: major advances in yeast technology and paper chromatography; the understanding and use of pH in controlling bacterial spoilage; the use of headed down/submerged cap fermentation and the technique of rack and return; cold fermentation practices; the use of American oak as a maturation vessel and perhaps most critically, partial barrel fermentation. Nowadays, the use of American oak and barrel fermentation for instance is considered traditional Barossa winemaking practice!
Today, Penfolds house style embraces the concept of multi-regional blending, optimum fruit quality, the use of fine-grained American or French oak, barrel fermentation and maturation. Overall, the Penfolds style is about highly-defined fruit aromas, fruit sweetness, ripe tannins, richness, power and concentration. The number of iconic wines that have emerged from the Penfolds stable over the years is remarkable. Bin 389 a Cabernet Shiraz blend released in 1960 is now considered the quintessential Australian wine blend. Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz and Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz released in 1962 pre-empted the contemporary enthusiasm for regional definition by about 25 years. Improved vineyard management, site selection and winemaking brought about subsequent releases of Bin 707 and Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon. The Penfolds Wine Making Philosophy is the accumulation of more than half-a-century of knowledge and winemaking practice initiated by Max Schubert and subsequently refined by Don Ditter, John Duval and Peter Gago. Their collective commitment to multi-regional and vineyard blending contributed to a consistency of style and quality that has cemented Penfolds reputation as the foremost producer of premium age-worthy red wines in Australia.
