Wine of the Month November 2006
Penfold's Bin 389 Cabernet-Shiraz Blend
(South Australia); 1996 (and more recent vintages)
For those readers relatively unfamiliar with Penfold's wines, allow me to provide a brief introduction. Penfold's is without a doubt one of the world's leading wine producers. They produce wines at all price points, from under 10 dollars per bottle to over 300 dollars per bottle. From a good vintage, and with sufficient bottle ageing, top wines from Penfolds, such as Penfold's Grange can fetch over a thousand dollars at auctions. Much like American companies such as Joseph Phelps, Beringer, and Robert Mondavi, Penfold's makes just about something for everybody. The Bin 389 Cabernet-Shiraz blend represents one of the best wine values out there. It can usually be found for under $20 on release.
Dr. Christopher Rawson Penfold was a 34 year old physician from Sussex, England who moved from his home in England to the new frontier of Australia in 1844. Dr. Penfold believed that wine, and in particular red wine, had numerous beneficial medicinal qualities. Therefore, when moving to the relatively untamed world of Australia, he decided to bring grape vine cuttings with him so that he could cultivate grapes for wines that could serve medicinal purposes. He made the wise decision to bring cuttings from some of France's best wine producing regions, and he carefully nurtured these cuttings until he could get them planted in Austalia. In 1844 he arrived in Australia and purchased 500 acres of agricultural land in the Magill region of Adelaide in South Australia. The quality of wine that was produced from these vines was of sufficient quality that substantial demand was generated. Penfold's wines were popular for general consumption, and not just for medicinal purposes. Dr. Penfold gradually devoted more and more of his time to the wine business, and less and less to his medical practice. He passed away in 1870 at his home, the "Grange" located on the vineyard estate in Magill. At the time of his death, Penfold was producing roughly 15% of all wine produced in South Australia. Almost a century after Dr. Penfold's death, the Penfold company was to introduce what was soon to become one of the worlds most sought after red wines, "Penfold's Grange", named after the cottage where Dr. Penfold lived. Grange was the brainchild of winemaker Max Schubert, and debuted in the early 1950's. From that time forward, and continuing to today, Penfold's Grange has remained as Australia's most important wine. Many consider it to be perhaps the finest red wine in the world! Unfortuneately, Grange usually sells for about 200 U.S. dollars on release, and well aged bottles command significantly more. It is usually made from 100% Shiraz, although in some years, Cabernet Sauvignon is added to the blend.
For those of us who will never be able to experience Penfold's Grange, there is no need for despair. Penfold's has a wonderful portfolio of Shiraz and Cabernet based wines in the 10 to 30 dollar range. Penfold's Bin 389 has been produced for roughly four decades. It is a blend of Shiraz (same as Syrah) and Cabernet Sauvignon. Typically the blend is 50/50. It is produced every year. The wine has fetched it's share of 90+ point scores from the major American wine critics such as Robert Parker and the Wine Spectator Magazine. The Australian wine critics, such as Jeremy Oliver and James Halliday have frequently given it scores in the mid to upper 90's!. Fortuntately for us Americans, the Australian critics' reviews are usually not published in American media, so the hype that would otherwise be generated fails to materialize, and the wine can therefore be purchased at reasonable prices. On this VinoCritic.com website, we commented recently that the Mollydooker wine which was all the rave on the Wine Advocate was found to be only mediocre to our palates. Many of you have commented that you also did not find the Mollydooker wines to your liking. For all those who were disappointed with the Mollydooker wines, look no further than the Penfolds Bin 389 as completely different expression of Australian winemaking, albeit at a similar price point.
Bin 389 is designed to be approachable in it's youth, yet it clearly ages well, and in fact benefits significantly from 5-10 years of ageing. The wine that was the subject of this report is the 1996 vintage of Bin 389. The wine remains deeply colored at it's core, and ruby red on the edges. The nose has lost only a litle of it's punch, and is dominated by black fruits, a little black licorice, and a touch of menthol. The cabernet seems to dominate the nose. Plenty of black fruit carries onto the palate, lush but not jammy. A hint of pepper and spice lingers on the back, no doubt from the Shiraz. The tannins have all but melted away, and one does not notice them until 5-10 seconds into the finish.
This wine has hit full maturity, and there is nothing to be gained from further ageing. I believe it will hold up well for another 5+ years for those who are not yet ready to consume their bottles.
This wine can be found at many local retailers, as well as the major internet wine merchants. The 2002 and 2003 vintages are the ones featured at most shops, and both look to be excellent, as was the 2001. If you can find older vintages, practically every year from 1990 onwards was a success. New release vintages are list priced at about 25 dollars, but can usually be found in the 20 dollar range with a little searching. With a lot of searching, particularly on line, it is not difficult to find newer vintages selling in the 15-20 dollar range. San Diego Vintage Wines and the Wine Club in Santa Ana both sell it for $18.99. Other California shops with similar pricing include 20/20 wine cellars, Hi-Time Wine Celalrs, Liqourama, K and L, the Wine Stop, the Wine House, and the Jug Shop. Many Beverages and More (BevMo) outlets carry it as well
I give the 1996 Penfolds Bin 389 a solid 4 stars. If you would like to leave any comments about this wine, click here to go to the blog.
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