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Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2003 Representing an evolution in 389’s style, this deeply flavoured and artfully structured red blend has moved away from the overtly charming mocha/chocolate oak of the 1990s towards a finer and more perfumed oak extract, as well as revealing some herbal, bay leaf aromas largely unfamiliar to the label. Its rich, dark and meaty aromas of dark plums, cassis and cedar/vanilla oak reveal delightfully assertive and complex suggestions of dark chocolate, spice, game and leather. Smooth and polished, its palate backs its ripe and slightly currant-like expression of cassis/blackberry fruit with a drying and rather chalky backbone of firm tannin, finishing with warm, lingering nuances of polished oak and minerals. It’s very good, but below gold medal standard. (South Australia, $41 retail, approx., 94 points, drink 2015-2023+) Jeremy Oliver, OnWine Deep set plu/dark berry fruit with savoury tannins and mocha/smoky oak. Finished long and sweet…fruit density and balance. Will develop further. Medium-term cellaring potential. Now- 2012. Andrew Calliard MW Regional Source: McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, Padthaway, Langhorne Creek and Bordertown. Vintage Conditions: The 2003 growing season in South Australia was generally regarded as warm, starting with a dry winter and a warm, clear spring. This was followed by some episodes of heat through the summer, whilst cooler weather towards the end of the season relieved the vines in the run up to harvest. Grape Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz (Syrah) Maturation: This wine was matured for 12 months in new (27%) and older American oak hogsheads. Quite a deal of forceful, blocky fruit and tannin flavour matched to a whack of vanillin oak. Right in the Penfolds mould. Quite profound fruit intensity. Black fruit, salt, meaty tannin and a musky, creamy aftertaste. It’s very tight and salty, and the more you drink it the more the tannins jump out, as they do in so many 2003s. There’s a lovely, charred plumminess here, but the question will long remain: will the tannins ever mould into the fruit? Drink: 2008-2014. 89 points. In good form. Drink: 2005-2009. 87 points. Campbell Mattinson, Winefront Monthly The nose shows an enticing amalgam of both warm-climate Shiraz and cooler-climate Cabernet fruits. Spices (nutmeg) and savoury/demi-glace notes synergise with smoky, barrel ferment aromatics to offer a complex and inviting Bin 389 nose. Complete, rich and mouthfilling, easily handling the prominent tannins and new oak. A sweet and concentrated mid-palate yields to reveal a lingering finish, adorned with anise, leather, spice and mocha. This is a solid Bin 389 offering from the 2003 vintage, with medium term cellaring recommended. Peter Gago