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Wine Description
The Story
Bin 389 is often referred to as ‘Poor Man’s Grange’ or ‘Baby Grange’, in part because components of the wine are matured in the same barrels that held the previous vintage of Grange. First made in 1960, by the legendary Max Schubert, this was the wine that helped to build Penfolds solid reputation with red wine drinkers.
Combining the structure of Cabernet with the richness of Shiraz, Bin 389 also exemplifies Penfolds skill in judiciously balancing fruit and oak.
Bin 389 is one of Australia’s great cellaring red wines. First produced in 1960, its history is connected with the development of Grange and Max Schubert’s ambition of creating a ‘dynasty of wines which all bear an unmistakable resemblance to each other’.
Named after its original binning compartment at Magill cellars, Bin 389 is the most popular wine in the Australian secondary wine market because of its heritage, consistency and reputation.
Wine Information
Autumn and early winter rainfall were above the long-term average. Rain stopped abruptly in early August with only light showers observed throughout spring. The dry and cool spring period affected canopy growth early in the season. Warm and dry conditions during flowering and fruit-set resulted in rapid grapevine growth and early flowering.
A high rainfall event occurred in Coonawarra in January, mostly falling outside of veraison, and February delivered weekend heat spikes. Wrattonbully had a warm and generally dry ripening end to the season which allowed for the development on strong varietal flavours.
