Penfolds Bin 389 Shiraz Cabernet 2021

Penfolds is one of Australia's most established wineries, and Bin 389 is a benchmark of its house style, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz sourced across South Australia. The pairing is deliberate, with Cabernet providing structure, blackcurrant fruit and firm tannin while Shiraz adds richness, plum and spice, a combination drawn from the same thinking behind the estate's most famous wine. Multi-region blending lets the winemakers balance cooler and warmer sites for both ripeness and freshness. The wine is matured for around eighteen months in French and American oak, partly in the seasoned barrels that previously held Grange. Slow oxygen exchange through the staves softens the tannins and integrates the fruit, while the mix of oak origins layers French spice over the sweeter vanilla and coconut tones of American wood. The colour is deep, near-opaque purple. The nose shows blackberry, dark plum, redcurrant, dark chocolate, black pepper and toasty oak. The palate is full and structured, with concentrated dark fruit, firm but polished tannins, savoury spice and a long, persistent finish at 14.5 percent. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees and decant when young. It is built for substantial red-meat dishes.