Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet/Shiraz 2015, South Australia, Australia 🇦🇺

🍇 Cabernet Sauvignon 53%

🍇 Shiraz 47%

🧐 Alcohol 14.5%

🍁 My Score 91 Points 

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Rich and intense nose with aromas of black fruit, burnt brown sugar, wood smoke, leather and cedar notes. On the mouthfeel, full bodied, generous and broad textured, firm tannins and balanced acidity. The finish is long, intense with black cherries and blackberry fruit, bitter chocolate and vanilla notes. 

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I was cleaning up my cork collection recently and I couldn’t believe how many Penfold corks I have. I realize that many of their wines don’t come with cork closure any more, but the wines I have purchased from them were mostly from the Bin Series; Bin 28, 128, on many occasions 389 and on one occasion 407. I have a previous  blog post that shows me spending $79 for a 2008 Magnum of Bin 389. Now, this regular size bottle was purchased for $100. Wines purchased at this price are rare for me and are definitely a treat. The reason I haven’t purchased these Penfolds wines lately is that the quality hasn’t kept up with the outrageous pace of their price increases. This is a nice wine which should keep improving over the next decade, but next time I want to splurge, I will look somewhere else. Cheers my wine friends 🍷

Penfold Bin 389 Cabernet/Shiraz 2008, South Australia, Australia

 

What am I to pair with a BBQ steak while having friends over and watching the big game (Super Bowl)? An equally big wine, a magnum of Penfold Bin 389, of course.

This wine is a blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon and 48% Shiraz from various regions of South Australia (Barossa Valley, Coonawarra, Langhorne Creek and McLaren Vale), maturation taking place in 34% new American oak hogsheads with the remaining in seasoned American oak for 13 months and alcohol comes in at 14.5%.

Dark purple in color, this blend opened up with aromas of black cherry, blackberry, black currants, tar, dark chocolate, wood smoke, minty, clove and peppery notes. On the mouthfeel, full bodied, robust with concentrated and rich flavours, balanced acidity and grainy tannins. Very good length and power on the finish with layers of dark fruit, spices, cedar notes and fine grained tannins lingering. A big wine in every sense of the word, robust yet approachable, even in its youth and should keep improving over the next decade or more. Enjoyed by all, score 93 points. Okay score was Baltimore 34, SF 31.

Purchased at the SAQ October 10, 2011 at $79.00 for a 1.5 litre

Penfolds Bin 128 Shiraz 2008, Coonawarra, Australia

I love the sophisticated nose here; with aromas of blackberry, dark plums, cassis, black olives tapenade, smoky and savoury notes. The palate reveals a Shiraz with fresh acidity, silky tannins with savoury, rich and concentrated flavours. Very good length on the finish, with savoury,  smoky notes, white pepper and a solid core of ripe dark fruit lingering. The 2008 Bin 128 Shiraz was aged 12 months in French oak hogsheads, with alcohol coming in at 14.5%. A lovely wine to smell with a robust structure yet very approachable right now. Strongly recommended.    

This wine was purchased August 20, 2011 LCBO New Release at $34.95.