2020 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz

Saturated garnet. Pungent, spice- and smoke-accented scents of black and blue fruits, licorice, violet, coconut and smoky minerals. Juicy and impressively concentrated, offering intense blackberry, cherry-vanilla and bitter chocolate flavors that become sweeter and more lively with air. Finishes smooth and impressively long, with repeating blue fruit and spice character and harmonious tannins that add shape and gentle grip. All American oak, one-third of it new.

51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 49% Shiraz. 12 months in American oak (33% new). Furry tannic grip, dense black fruit. The Shiraz is less obvious here than the percentage suggests – perhaps it manifests in body and weight more than fruit, which is very much cassis-dominant. (RH)

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.