TV: Couple of Bin 389s and a couple of Old Blocks (Longish)

[Martin Phillipson]

Hi All

In winter a man's thoughts turn to red wine and so these 4 wines were knocked off over a couple of nights:

Penfolds Bin 389 1996 & 1998

Both really great examples of Bin 389 (which in my opinion has shown some real variability in the last little while). These 2 are certainly up there with the best. The 1996 is clearly the superior wine, wonderfully integrated and developing some lovely meaty secondary characteristics. However, what I liked was that it still tasted fresh and vibrant. It's not getting old as such and really showed no signs of deterioration at all. It has it all: fruit, tannin, acid and they all come together to make it such a well balanced wine with a long, delicious finish. Not going to rush to drink my remaining 6 as I think it will develop a bit further but it's hard to resist right now. Best of the marque I've ever tasted.

The 1998 was certainly more youthful and in your face, the tannins in particular became a bit trying towards the end of the bottle, but a few more years should soften them up. However, I don't think a couple of years in the cellar will help it match the 1996. There's lots of nice fruit there to be sure and it is big beautiful wine but it just doesn't have the je ne sais quoi of the 1996. I have 11 left and am delighted at the prospect of drinking them over the next 5-10 years but I wish I had 11 more of the 1996 instead.

St Hallett Old Block 1999 & 2002

A couple of absolute rippers and great winter warmers (it was -47C with the windchill the night I opened the 1999!!)and a comparatively balmy (!!!) -21C tonight when I opened the 2002).

Is Old Block one of the best value super-premium Barossa shiraz? On this evidence, I'd say a resounding yes! Given the recent rise in the Canadian dollar I picked the 2002 up for only $38 a bottle (the 1999 cost me $45 about 2 years ago) and I think this makes it simply outstanding value.

The 1999 was the better wine simply because it has had more time to integrate. An absolutely delicious mouthful of chocolate and blueberries but again the key was balance. It's a powerful wine but I found no signs of palate fatigue emerging as we demolished the bottle. Smooth tannins, luscious ripe fruit but with enough acidity to avoid that nasty cloying effect that I find with some of its peers. Could have easily drunk a second bottle.
I have 5 of these left and will leave a couple to develop further. The other 3 will be drunk when the mood takes me simply beacuse I haven't enjoyed a red as much as this in a while. A great wine at the height of its powers. More proof that ther 1999 vintage for Barossa shiraz is seriously under-rated and in many respects is vastly superior to the much vaunted 1998. Yummo!

The 2002 was a different proposition. Took a sniff and it almost blew my head off..massive nose of fruit, alcohol and mint. First mouthful had a similar effect, heaps of ripe fruit but serious dose of mouth-puckering tannins. This really is a monster. Decided to decant again and leave it for a few hours in a dark place to allow it to calm down a bit. Which it did. This is going to be a classic. The overwhelming flavour I got was milk chocolate, really fine milk chocolate, but with hints of pepper and mint. Even after several hours it was a massive wine. Much harder work than the 1999 but promises ever so much. Glad I tried this as my local outlet still has boxes of this left and I think another 6 pack will find it's way into my cellar. Great wine but needs a lot of time. I won't be touching another for 4 or 5 years at least methinks.

It's drinking wines like the 4 described above that remind me why I love Australian wine. Despite my flirtations with allegedly more refined and definitely more expensive Eurostuff I find these wines so much more fun to drink and invariably more pleasurable. Also, every time I finish a bottle and it's minus a million celsius outside I try to remember exactly why it was I left Australia!!

Cheers

Martin

[Red Bigot]

Hi All

In winter a man's thoughts turn to red wine and so these 4 wines were knocked off over a couple of nights:

Penfolds Bin 389 1996 & 1998

Both really great examples of Bin 389 (which in my opinion has shown some real variability in the last little while). These 2 are certainly up there with the best. The 1996 is clearly the superior wine, wonderfully integrated and developing some lovely meaty secondary characteristics. However, what I liked was that it still tasted fresh and vibrant. It's not getting old as such and really showed no signs of deterioration at all. It has it all: fruit, tannin, acid and they all come together to make it such a well balanced wine with a long, delicious finish. Not going to rush to drink my remaining 6 as I think it will develop a bit further but it's hard to resist right now. Best of the marque I've ever tasted.

The 1998 was certainly more youthful and in your face, the tannins in particular became a bit trying towards the end of the bottle, but a few more years should soften them up. However, I don't think a couple of years in the cellar will help it match the 1996. There's lots of nice fruit there to be sure and it is big beautiful wine but it just doesn't have the je ne sais quoi of the 1996. I have 11 left and am delighted at the prospect of drinking them over the next 5-10 years but I wish I had 11 more of the 1996 instead.

Exactly! Why can't they make them like this any more? Even the 98 makes the 2003 389 look like a rank imposter to this once-proud line.

[Craig(NZ)]

96 389 is a great wine. $21 on release here on special. Why dont I have a garage full of it?

[Gianna]

Great notes Martin,

I've tried all bar the 02 St Hallett and agree with you on all aspects of your descriptions.

The 96 389 is sure to be remembered as the last of the "poor man's grange". A genuinely excellent wine, especially for the price and I am so glad that I still have 5 left.
But I wouldn't rate the 98 too far below, give it a few more years and I think it will also go down as a classic. Bought both for less than $30.

The 99 St Hallett is developing superbly.

[Martin Phillipson]

Gianna

Thanks for the kind words. I did a bit of digging and the 1996 Penfolds Bin 389 was purchased in Canberra at the case price of $19.95 per bottle! What an absolute bargain.

Mind you, the airfreight to ship it to Canada when I moved (along with 84 other bottles) probably raised the per bottle price a bit!!

The 1998 was purchased here in Canada for $29.95 a bottle which is still a good deal. I also agree with you that I was probably a bit tough on the 1998 which I am sure will be very good drinking but the 1996 really is a special wine.

I bought a 6 pack of the 2002 on spec (silly me) so we'll see how that turns out. Unless something drastic happens I can't see Bin389 entering my cellar ever again, which is a real pity as it was a "default" annual purchase in the days of old.

Cheers

Martin

[MartinE]

I bought a 6 pack of the 2002 on spec (silly me) so we'll see how that turns out. Unless something drastic happens I can't see Bin389 entering my cellar ever again, which is a real pity as it was a "default" annual purchase in the days of old.

Hi Martin,

I wouldn't be too concerned about the 2002..see below.
I passed on 99 and 01 and probably will on 03 but I'm happy to have 96, 98 and 02 in the cellar.

Cheers,
M.

DarrenD 2/05
02 Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz $34.99,
This vintage of ‘The poor mans Grange’ has certainly got some heads turning, and tails wagging! With a 15 year life ahead of it, this is a very multidimensional wine, offering loads more than its price tag suggests. Made from 53% Cabernet, Bin 389 only ever sees American oak, in the form of new, one year old and older hogsheads. The nose oozes mocha, plums and smoky bacon. The palate is well balanced in all aspects, tannin, acid, fruit & oak, and finishes strong and long. This is right up there with 96 and 98. Well done Penfolds. 94/100 Darren Davis

Winestar 2/05 Bert
Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz sourced from McLaren Vale, Padthaway, Bordertown, Barossa Valley, Langhorne Creek and matured for twelve months in 22% new, one year old, and older American oak hogsheads. Dense, deep red. Vibrant, lively aromas are immediately apparent without any need to swirl the glass. Aromas of mocha meshed with concentrated Satsuma plum, liquorice and cold meats. Subtle smoky oak and background florals complete the aromatic offering. Full flavoured and persistent across the palate and displaying great balance between fruit, oak, acid and tannin. Blackberry and blackcurrant fruit flavours, courted by mouth puckering cabernet tannins, effortlessly convey chocolatey, mocha flavours and cedary oak. A classic Bin 389, right up there with the best, with long term cellaring potential of over twelve years.
Drink: Now - 2016

GW/JP
Aromatic with blackberry, blackcurrant, mint, chocolate licorice bullets and spicy vanilla/cedar oak. The palate has great poise and immaculate balance. The interplay between ripe powdery tannins, fresh berry fruit, bright acidity and subtle oak is outstanding. Long leathery finish. A pleasure to drink. The second night this was really something special - after the old 389's enjoyed of late - bring it on ! 2005-2018.
Quality: 95/100 (Exceptional) GW, 95/100 (Exceptional) JP Value: Very Good – GW, JP

RicE 2/05
Penfold 2002 Bin 389 is a welcome return to form and probably the best under this label since 1996. This wine is an almost 50-50 blend and because the vintage was so prolifically good, contains a fair percentage of declassified Grange and Bin 707 material. The bouquet was very shy but showed fantastic intricacy with layer upon layer of aromas, the sort of wine you just want to sit and sniff all day. Muscular in weight, with a firm consistency, a solid and tight structure, the complexity is both sophisticated and diverse. A classy wine, it just needs time to show its best. Meaty, chocolate, spice and multiple berry flavours together with spearmint, finish with long drying tannins. Rated as Highly Recommended with **** for value (based on the discounted street price of the time of release) buying this is a no-brainer, and it is now in my cellar to be drunk between 2010 and 2018.

CamM 3/05
Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2002:
Cabernet-dominant nose and a cabernet-dominant palate, giving the whole show a steady sense of balanced, leggy restraint. Brambly-and-liqueurous blackcurrant, long drying tannins (seriously impressive tannin structure), dry subtle chocolate/cedar and a gentle wash of menthol -- very much like the 1994 Bin 389 in its flavour profile, with better tannins, better oak integration (or less of it) and greater elegance. Clean, reliable, and well made, with warm, glycerol alcohol on the finish, and a lingering impression of backwardness; this is a wine still getting its act together. Should rate higher in time. Got a nice motor in it. Drink: 2009-2018. 93 points.

KMP 3/05
Bin 389 2002 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Shiraz
Dense cherry red with red edge. The aromatics on this wine are excellent. Initially its very open with sweet ripe fruit and vanilla oak (perhaps a hint of ethyl acetate, VA). It then closes down. In the mouth its full bodied, but lacks intensity across the midpalate. The finish is firmly tannic. Over the next few hours the wintergreen mint and cedar of the Cabernet comes up as does the acidity. At 24 hours its fuller and more complete across the palate. 2, 2, 4.4, 9.8 = 18.2/20, 14.5% alcohol. Tasted February 21-22, 2005.
KMP 4/05
Dense cherry red with red edge. There is no doubt that the aromatics on this wine are seductive. Ripe fruit mixed with sweet oak notes and the Cabernet coming off in a nice mint character. Medium to full bodied. Initially the palate has pronounced astringency backed up by clean acidity at the finish. Excellent retronasal. But there is not a lot of depth to the wine. At 24 hours aromatics still excellent but there is an annoying lack of integration midpalate. Its not a doughnut, its more structurally intact than that, its just not a seamless caress from start to finish. 2, 2, 4.2, 9.7 = 17.9/20 (89), 14,5% alcohol. Tasted April 7-8, 2005.

GrantD 3/05
The good news , not just for Penfolds/Southcorp/Rosemount/Beringer Blass, but for the wine drinker, is that the 2002 version of this wine is back on song in a big way. “ Baby Grange” is in terrific form; soft,supple, full fruited and beautifully structured. Rich, deep plum fruit, meaty/spicy nuances and elegant, fine tannins are the signatures of this well made wine. It is fully priced though, and no longer the great bargain it once was, but you can buy this vintage secure in the knowledge that you have a wine that will drink well now, and for the next ten years.
Price $38 Points 94 Drink Now-2015

Powerful but silky smooth; elegance and fruit freshness beyond the normal; black fruits running through the length of the palate; ripe tannins, restrained oak. Another testament to 2002. Cork. Rating: 94 out of 100. Drink to: 2022. James Halliday Wine Companion 2006

A stylish and relatively closed Bin 389 scented with dark plums and blackberries and dark chocolate-like aromas of sweet vanilla oak. Full to medium weight, itÂ’s long and smooth, with a rather shy palate of densely packed, pristine and lightly minty blackberry, dark plum and blackcurrant-like fruit tightly integrated with powdery and fine-grained tannins and smooth, lightly smoky oak. An atypical Penfolds, holding its cards close to its chest, but likely to age well. (Various, $36 retail, approx., 18.2/93, drink 2014-2022) Jeremy Oliver, OnWine

...a smoky, toasty choc-mint style showing a rich palate of chocolate, mocha coffee, blackberries and desiccated coconut mingling with the spicy notes. The tannins are fine and the overall impression is of a new world wine that delivers power and balance. Douglas Neal; Divine

...Sourced from warm South Australian regions and beautifully integrated as a young wine, the 2002 Bin 389 is one of the best in a long line of outstanding vintages that have spanned more then 40 years. It opens with some very youthful unevolved briary fruit aromas, very primary with dark berries, plums and red fruits. There's light fragrance and some dark chocolate also. The palate is powerful and dense with high extract, giving a thick and luscious impression backed by an even, dense structure. It's a very tightly packed wine at this stage with deep chalky tannins and very ripe savoury blackcurrant/cassis fruit flavours wound tightly into each other. It's simply an excellent Bin 389, one of the greats, with tremendous ageing potential. Snap it up and put it away for a few years before tucking in, as this will build layers of complexity and reward those with patience. Nick Stock; The Adelaide Review