Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2018
Rich malt, bone marrow, and a complex spectrum of dark berries make up the aromatic core. These slowly fuse with notes of blackberry, blueberry, and boysenberry complemented by sugared pastry, cinnamon apple, and piquant punches of mild horseradish cream and Dijon mustard.
A blue-berried wash and glistening film cover the palate with a viscous, supple texture and succulent acidity. Flavors of graphite and hazelnut provide an exotic intrigue, with a whisper of sweetness that grows over time with air.
AVA Blend: 87% Oakville Diamond Mountain District, 13% South Australia
Variety Blend: 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Shiraz
Critical Acclaim
98 James Suckling
What sticks with you about this global blend of Napa and Southern Australian wine is the intense and transparent purple and blue fruit. Lots of blackberry and blueberry aromas with some stones and flowers, such as violets. It’s a very layered and intense wine with very refined, creamy and chewy tannins. Full and very impressive. Very Penfolds. Mouth-filling texture. It’s made mostly from Napa grapes and predominantly from Oakville and Diamond Mountain. About one-fifth is from South Australia. Aged in 80% new American oak and 20% new French. Try after 2026.
97 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The first release of this new iconoclastic label, the 2018 Quantum Bin 98 is labeled as a "Wine of the World," although the AVA is the United States and technically 87% is American wine (Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley), while 13% is Australian ("Grade A1" Shiraz from South Australia). The wine spent 16 months in oak, 100% new, 80% American oak and 20% French. In fact, the wine is made very much like Grange, in that it completes fermentation in new, mainly American oak barrels.
95 Wine Enthusiast
The inaugural release of this red combines 87% Cabernet Sauvignon with 13% Shiraz, using grapes from both Napa Valley and South Australia. Dark and brooding, it delivers a smooth, textured palate of bright red fruit and supple, integrated tannins, with meaty undertones along a continuum of black pepper, graphite and leather.
