2012 Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz, 1500ml Barossa Valley

Deep red with a good purple tint; the aroma is well integrated with nothing standing out: nicely balanced spice and berry, smoke and toasty-barrel touches, earth and dark-plum and traces of black pepper. The palate is intense and full-bodied, with a good degree of elegance but also plenty of trad Penfolds bite and grip. A superbly rich, balanced and rounded wine; a complete item, and an outstanding Bin 389. The finish rolls on and on.23 SEP 2014

95 points Huon Hooke The Real Review

Deep, dense crimson-purple; the profound bouquet offers every kind of black fruits imaginable, large and small, yet somehow leaves a space and air in the mix for more complex secondary characters to emerge given time - lots of it. The palate takes all this, and adds to it with barrel ferment characters introducing licorice and touches of wild herb. This wine fully lives up to the great expectations held of it (and the vintage). Arguably the bargain of the release.

97 points James Halliday Wine Companion