The Auswine Forum

Hi guys, I have recently been given a case of Penfolds BIN 389 Shiraz Cab 1998 for my birthday. Now, I admit, I do not know much about wine, but I was told that this is a older wine that would be great to keep in our cellar and let mature, increasing its value.

Can anyone give me some advice regarding this wine?
Is it a good wine worth cellaring? and will its value increase?
Do I turn the wine every now and then while storing?

I have also heard that there is some sort of 'limit' to how long you should store certain wines. Would there be a 'best year' to bring this wine out of storage? and would you have any idea on value.

Sorry I do not know much about wine, but thanks for your help
any help will be appreciated
Peter

Hi Peter and welcome - nice present.

It is a good wine from a good vintage and yes, it is worth cellaring. Yes, it's value will probably increase but not significantly from where it is now. It would have been purchased for around $30 a bottle and it is currently selling for around $60 - $70 at auction. The 96 vintage, which is arguably a better vintage is selling around $60 - $75 a bottle. The 86 which must be near the end of it's drinking window now, it selling around $80 - $100 a bottle so there is room for improvement in the price potentially.

The 98 is just entering it's drinking window now but will hold for some time, in my opinion. I haven't bothered opening any of my bottles as yet and proably wont' for at least 5 years.

DO NOT TURN THE WINE. This is only done for Champagne and only prior to release. Very romantic but not necesary for table wine and in fact, if anything, bad for it. What wine needs is a nice, cool, dark place with minimal movement or vibration and most importantly, a STABLE temperature.

Best if that temperature can be around 15 degrees but the most importnat thing is that there is little daily variation. So do not store it in the kitchen or living room where the temperatures can vary wildly over a day. Better in a closed cupboard, under a bed (unless you heat the bedroom in winter) or best of all in a proper cellar or professional storage.

Wine can 'go over the hill' however this one is nowhere near it, unless it has been badly stored. The drinking window for this one is from about now (maybe just a little early) for at least ten years. It has the potential to go longer but what most of us do is try a bottle every couple of years to see how its tracking.

Personally, mine have been well stored and I'll probably open my first bottle in 2010 and then open one every year until they are all gone or until I notice they are going downhill and then I'll start scoffing them. If it is still quite big when I open the first ne, I'll delay the second one for two or three years.

If you wanted to sell them, there are manyauction houses around but they mostly charge 15% comission and should want to know what the storage conditions have been like.

Hope this all helps. By the way, this should be a very nice wine. You're best off keeping them and enjoying them at special occasions and probably best of all, sharing a bottle or two with the person who was so kind to buy you such a nice gift.

bacchaebabe wrote:Best if that temperature can be around 15 degrees but the most importnat thing is that there is little daily variation. So do not store it in the kitchen or living room where the temperatures can vary wildly over a day. Better in a closed cupboard, under a bed (unless you heat the bedroom in winter) or best of all in a proper cellar or professional storage.
.

Also I will add to this by saying if you wont have a proper cellar or Pro storage, then a thick sealed wooden box is helpfull with temp variations, if you can find one...

1998 Bin 389.... Not a good wine and not a good vintage. I will happily take the case off your hands for you if you like

Shall we say $50 for the case

In all seriousness - let it sleep quietly for a few years and then enjoy!

Hi Peter,
I was a great fan of Bin 389 until the lauded 1998 vintage - too much bottle variation in the samples I tried. I made the decision not to buy.

But hey, the good bottles were excellent. What a neat birthday present!

Cheers,
Sue

Thanks for the help guys

The wine is stored in my grandparents wine cellar under the house, so conditions should be fine. Although, i wouldnt have a clue when the wine is going 'over the hill' as I havent tried many wines to be honest, and wouldnt know what to look for in the changing tastes

Il do as you guys say tho, and let them sleep for a few years before enjoying them
Will also give me a few years to brush up on my wine taste so I can appreciate them more as well

Thanks again!
Peter

Hi Peter,

Totally agree with the above posts regarding the correct cellaring conditions being hugely important if you are going to keep the wine longer. However, given that you have 12 bottles, i'd strongly suggest that you drink at least one now/soon and not leave them all until they have matured according to other people's tastes/according to what wine critics think.

As you've stated, you are newish to wine, so the best way to understand more is to actually drink it! Stand a bottle upright for a day or two to allow the sediment to fall to the bottom of the bottle which will make it easier to decant out the clear wine (leaving the sediment behind). Then ideally enjoy the wine over a period of time to see if/how it changes. Although the wine will keep for longer, it may be more enjoyable to your tastes now. Also you will then have a reference point for how the wine tasted in 2007 when you drink other bottles in the future. A common mistake made by those starting out with wine when they have multiple bottles and aren't familiar with the wine - well, i definitely made this error - is leaving all of the wines to "mature" and not taste the wines over a number of years. You're lucky enough to have 12 bottles given to you as a gift, so please enjoy at least one now (and more if it is to your taste!).

cheers
Tos

one of the better 389s lately, id suggest as above it would be starting to enter its drinking window, so crack one and see if you like it

as for value, a romantic idea but you are better off drinking em all up i reckon unless you decide you dont like them!!

I opened the first of my 18 bottles of the '98 a couple of weeks back. Not as good as the couple of '96's I've had recently but (not surprisingly) much better than the '97. Nothing to suggest it's too early to open -- well integrated, still some primary fruit -- but also nothing to suggest it won't go for a number of years yet.

Cheers
Peter

Peter123 wrote: Although, i wouldnt have a clue when the wine is going 'over the hill' as I havent tried many wines to be honest, and wouldnt know what to look for in the changing tastes

Which makes this the perfect opportunity to judge for yourself. Our tastes vary wrt to age and I can enjoy very old, fading wines on occasion, whilst others very much prefer the strength and purity of the fruit in youthful wines. The best bet would be to sample a bottle a year and see if you can pick the changes. Initially they may be quite subtle and variations between bottles can have an effect. However by the time you get to the 5th year, you should be able to see some change. Learning whether this change is positive or not is a great discovery to make. If you find you prefer the taste of older wines, then you'll find yourself developing your own cellar pretty quickly!

regards

Ian

G'Day Peter,

Cracking present. 389 is my chocolate ever since my Uni days.

Be serious though, are you going to Cellar it for resale - after all it was a present. Or, more likely you can wip it out for special occasions.

I assume its a 6 pack?

Enjoy it at special occasions (with Kangaroo Fillet with Pepper Crusting)

Forget the Cellar - Drink it!!!