2020 Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz

Other Reviews....
A blend of cabernet sauvignon and shiraz (51/49%) sourced from vineyards in McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley and Padthway. Matured for 12 months in American hogsheads (33% new). Coming back to this Australian battler after Penfold's Napa and Bordeaux trials was something of a rude shock in the first instance. This is big, bold, beautiful and quintessentially Australian. It makes no apologies for its wealth of black fruits, almost succulent tannins, and vanillin oak. Drink by 2040.
95 Points
James Halliday's Australian Wine Companion (August 2022)

Very rich, ripe and intense, this has plenty of depth and is one of the strongest statements of Penfolds’ house style. Rich vanillin and sweetly spicy American oak on the nose, with chocolate, blueberry, violet, blackberry and iodine notes. The palate delivers quite approachable and supple texture, smoothly fleshy and inviting. Flavors of blackberry, blackcurrant and mulberry abound. Deep and ripe finish with nutty tannins to close. A blend of McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley and Padthaway. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
96 Points
JamesSuckling.com (August 2022)

The superb quality of fruit allocated in this luscious blend – dubbed by many as 'baby Grange' – represents probably the best value to be found in the Penfolds portfolio, and is the shining star of the reds in the 2022 Collection. Its rich and plush mixture of plum, black cherry and mulberry flavours are slapped into line by a stern tannin drill sergeant, so that it finishes cleanly and absolutely correctly. Generous, approachable and complete, it tells a very satisfying wine story. Drink 2022 - 2045.
97 Points
David Sly - Decanter (June 2022)

Looking in on the 389 can be "'can be," she says, parenthetically) a good insight into what we can expect from the upcoming Grange. Now, they are very different wines, no question, however, stylistically they have much in common and the illumination into the season that birthed the wines in each instance. Here, the 2020 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz has consummate polish and sleek tannins, imbued as they are with graphite, black tea, licorice and resin. The fruit is pure and black and chewy... gorgeous wine. And it lives for decades. This has always been a collector's dream and continues so through this vintage. Highly recommended. Drink 2022 - 2047.
96 Points
Erin Larkin - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (July 2022)

Grapes sourced from Padthaway, McLaren Vale and the Barossa Valley. 51% cabernet sauvignon, 49% shiraz. 12 months in American oak, 33% new.
Such a solid, svelte release, as seamless and accessible as I’ve seen a new-release Bin 389 though with the tannin and overall stuffing to go long term. There’s as much plum as blackcurrant here, as much finesse as grunt, though perhaps its most distinguishing trait is the exceptional length though the finish. The palate is plush, the finish is drenched in both flavour and tannin, and yet everything here feels meticulous. Drink 2025 - 2038+
96 Points
Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front (July 2022)

51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 49% Shiraz. A wine that’s apparently ‘very strictly allocated, as Bin 150 is. We can’t keep up with demand’, according to Gago. Fruit from McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, Padthaway. 12 months in American oak hogsheads (33% new). TA 6.5 g/l, pH 3.61.
Intense, ‘purple fruit’ nose. Sweet start, very winning, more flattering than some of the earlier-poured wines in this tasting. But all this fruit is cocooned inside a firm structure. Drink 2025 – 2045.
17.5 / 20 Points
JancisRobinson.com (June 2022)