Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2021

Aromas to lose yourself in. The excellent 2021 vintage accentuates the moment to an almost overflowing of tobacco leaf, black fruits, and Australian bush scents with leaf, earth, briar, bramble and earth. And what spice: menthol, pepper, anise. The blend is Cabernet Sauvignon (53%) and Shiraz (47%). The result is a harmonious work in progress. Strike that, as with most Bin 389 you could – should you wish – immediately open and indulge. All the groundwork has been done. What a lovely generous mouthful of flavour, a mix of the sweet fruited and the savoury, the fine tannin-ed and the firm in structure. The wine’s remarkable run of consistency continues. Drink: 2023-2045. Score – 96. (Jeni Port, winepilot.com, July 20, 2023)