2001 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
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Tasting notes
Blackcurrant juice bleeding into sawdust. Surely a 23-year-old wine should not be this audaciously fruity? It’s almost unseemly! Coffee notes. Caramel. Blackcurrant. Something irreverently fun and in-your-face about this bold vintage. One Rewards of Patience taster found this wine 'too ripe, too much', but I loved its reckless sluice of juice. I loved its burlesque vaudeville of flavour and texture. It will go on forever, surely. Just don't ask it to act its age. (TC)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Tamlyn Currin, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
Bright ruby-red. Aromas of currant, plum, eucalyptus, licorice, coffee and chocolatey American oak. Juicy, spicy and oaky, but with good cut. The flavors of currant, black cherry, licorice, tobacco and espresso are rather rich and suave. Finishes with sweet, toothdusting tannins and good length.
60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Shiraz. Attention-grabbing bright crimson. This is obviously a very youthful wine – seems more so than the wine above. Fresh, clean, quite lifted nose and a big, bold front palate with an extremely chewy finish. I liked this wine's raciness. Perhaps it's the Cabernet element that gives it refreshment value, but it's not as ready as the Bin 28. The American oak is nicely in the background rather than foreground. Not ready, but not heavy. (JR)
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.