Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2018

Dense deep red color. Complex and true to House Style... that of the 53 year-old stylistic template of Bin 389. No formula! Brimming with mocha/coffee ground aromatics, heightened by tar/bitumen "black" notes. Appealing char and creamy, vanillin oak detected ever-so-subtly in the background. Naturally, a flurry of fruits, spice and varietal markers abound. The palate, in a couple of words, voluminous and powerful. A sensory stratification of layers of taste – separated via time-of-detection and unravelling of flavors. At first, Christmas pudding with roasted nuts, then rare lamb and black olives, then sarsaparilla spice. Tannins awashed, oak absorbed, fruit awakened. Critical Acclaim JH96 Australian Wine Companion A 51/49% blend of cabernet sauvignon and shiraz from McLaren Vale and the Barossa Valley; it spent 12 months in 30% new and 70% in one-year-old American hogsheads. When all is done, I can't imagine a better SA red wine from this vintage. It ripples with cassis, moc