2002 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
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Tasting notes
So much pure, clear, deep, dark berry on the nose that it smells like a three-year-old wine. Dorian Gray? Where is the attic? Sappy, pumping with energy, spiced with cloves and nutmeg, a breath of truffle. The tannins cling to the fruit, like chamois leather to long legs. But it’s also serious. Real gravitas here. Just-foraged mushrooms, the disturbed decay of ancient logs sighing into the earth. A real sense of underworld in the most beautiful, thrumming-with-life kind of way. (TC)
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Richard Hemming MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
Cool vintage. 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 48% Shiraz. Succulent black fruit plus slight green pepper character. Rounded tannic texture, with very fine grain. Excellent delicacy, yet it’s a typically Australian style – and indeed, very Penfolds, with rich, mouth-filling fruit. (RH)
A good value from Penfolds is the 2002 Bin 389, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz aged in large American hogsheads prior to bottling. It offers peppery, earthy, black cherry, and cassis fruit, notions of herbs and spice box, and a medium-bodied, soft finish. Drink it over the next 5-6 years. Importer: PWG Vintners, Napa, CA; tel. (707) 996-4504
Bright, violet-tinged ruby. Deep aromas of black cherry, bitter chocolate, espresso and vanillin oak. A medium-bodied blend with strong cabernet notes of redcurrant, green and black pepper and toasty oak. Finishes with youthful firm, even rather ungiving, tannins.
About the producer
Penfolds is Australia’s most famous wine producer, known best for their iconic top wine, Grange. First produced commercially in 1952, Grange has since gone on to become one of the world’s most famous fine wines. In 2001, the wine was listed as an Australian heritage icon.