Wine Penfolds Cabernet

Penfolds
1998 “Bin 389”
Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz

With the first sip, the 389 is in your face with a blast of intensity.

Bin 389 is one of the Bin numbers to remember. There are lots of Bin numbers used by Australian wineries and Penfolds uses about eight of them on a line of wine encompassing 30 different bottlings. But the infamous Bin 389 is one to remember. It is Penfolds terrific Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz blend (58% Cab–42% Shiraz).


The Bin 389 has a deep, dense, dark purple color that lightens to blood red on the edges. The full-throttle aromas of leathery, dark fruit are awesome and oh-so potent. With the first sip, the 389 is in your face with a blast of intensity right off the bat. It doesn’t need any time for this to open up, it gives you everything from the start.

The powerful and intense fruit flavors intertwine with the earthiness and oak structure to make this one bad ass *%*#@!. The potent Shiraz spice and saturated chewy body of this wine are spectacular. The tannins are polished and the flavors are palate bombing, with black berry fruit oozing out all over. The oak and fleshy finish has a nice length to it and this should be nice to lay down for 5-7 years. Over all it is bold and balanced with an emphasis on brilliant up front flavors. It is aged for 14 months in American oak casks. Many of those casks have previously held the Penfolds super-premium and world famous, Grange.

Back to Wine Penfolds Cabernet