Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
⏳ Drinking Window
2026 - 2038
🍷 Vintage Profile
The 2021 growing season across South Australia proved exceptional, characterized by good winter rainfall followed by cool, temperate spring and summer conditions that extended the ripening window without extreme heat spikes. This prolonged hang time allowed both Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz to achieve full phenolic maturity while preserving bright, natural acidity and distinct varietal definition across primary sourcing regions like McLaren Vale, Barossa, and Padthaway. Praised universally as a benchmark South Australian vintage, the resulting wine exhibits profound depth, fine-grained structural tannins, and remarkable aromatic precision. Reaching an early phase of its peak drinking window in 2026, it possesses the structural equilibrium to cellar comfortably through 2045.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted leg of lamb, grilled ribeye steak, slow-cooked beef cheeks
✨ Technical Specifications
Affectionately known as 'Baby Grange', Bin 389 is a legendary Australian classic first created in 1960 by Max Schubert. It earned its famous moniker because components of the blend are matured in the very same American oak casks that housed the previous vintage of Grange. The 2021 vintage is widely celebrated as a benchmark year in South Australia, characterized by a cool, slow-ripening season that yielded exceptional fruit purity, structural complexity, and vibrant acidity. Sourced from premium vineyards across Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, Wrattonbully, and Padthaway, this wine represents the pinnacle of the traditional Australian Cabernet-Shiraz blend. It was matured for 12 months in American oak hogsheads (37% new), resulting in a powerful, age-worthy red where the structured, leafy cassis of Cabernet Sauvignon seamlessly marries with the opulent, fleshy black plum and spice of Shiraz.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1844 by Dr. Christopher and Mary Penfold at Magill Estate in the Mount Lofty foothills, Penfolds represents one of the foundational cornerstones of Australian fine wine. Over nearly two centuries, the house evolved from crafting fortified tonics to pioneering modern multi-regional and multi-vineyard blending across South Australia's premier terroirs, including the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, and Coonawarra. Soils span from rich terra rossa over limestone to weathered ironstone and alluvial clays under warm Mediterranean climates tempered by maritime breezes. Under the long-term stewardship of Chief Winemaker Peter Gago, the house adheres to Sustainable Winegrowing Australia standards while preserving an unmistakable house style defined by meticulous fruit classification, submerged-cap fermentation, and structured maturation in American and French oak hogsheads. Benchmark bottlings such as Grange (Bin 95), Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon, Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz, and Yattarna Chardonnay define the apex of collectible New World viticulture.
🍇 Grapes
Cabernet Sauvignon (approx 53%), Shiraz (approx 47%)
🍷 ABV
14.5%