March 22, 2024 - Good colour for it's age with just a touch of brick to edge.
Lovely inviting lush mellow nose, great complexity of developed black cherry & currant along with spice, violet & pencil shavings. Palate is full & round with great balance, fine grained tannins giving that awesome texture, long finish. An excellent bottle!
Next day, still in fine shape,such an enjoyable wine. So rewarding, this is what cellaring is all about!
September 24, 2023 - Amazing that this continues to improve. (See my notes of 7.9.2011 and 11.28.2008) A really lovely, balanced wine, with power. Decanted 2 hours (broken, crumbly cork so filtered as well) but just as good the following day.
June 17, 2023 - Suboptimal cellar conditions. Typical blackcurrants, cigar box, earth. But flat, lacking intensity.
December 25, 2022 - Similar comments to others. Cherry and black currants with a little stewed fruit too. Good acidity and integrated tannins and medium length palate. Drinking well now and over the next couple of years. Again shows how well good Australian wines can age. Went well with Christmas beef and chicken.
August 20, 2022 - Dark purple.
Big nose of Bassett's All Sorts liquorice and anise in combo with a few whiffs of CS fruit. Young.
In the mouth, this is smooth, extensive with good acids, slightly less tannins than it needs and a very strange perfume that makes the wine quite difficult to drink without food. (The wife simply put the glass away and instead talked dreamily about Mollydooker.)
There may have been something wrong with our bottle, because we can't rave about this one...
December 26, 2021 - Last two bottles with Boxing Day beef. Perfectly mature with deep spice and liquorice fully balanced with the remaining blackcurrant fruit and some fresh acidity. This has been an amazing case.
September 11, 2021 - Penfold's 389 2006
Color of deep purple with aged orange rim
Nose leathery, oaky, sweet fruits, riped black current, black & red berries, blueberry, Chives, woody. Smooth entry, elegance, tasty with rich oak, savoury and rich, at her peak, declining...drink now. Finish is medium length. Though an Aussie wine, rather Bordeaux style. 91 pts
September 10, 2021 - A profound bouquet of stewed plums and cherries, mint, seasoned cedar, cumin and star anise with some barnyard nuance. Good balance, just some hints of volatile acid. The palate showed more leather and dried herbs, the fruits receded to the background. Rich and layered. Medium bodied, finish is dry and less extended than what the palate suggested. Just need sometime in the glass for the notes to open up. At its peak now and will continue to drink well for the next few years.
September 4, 2021 - Cork crumbled but underneath were beautiful rich black fruits, hints of vanilla oak, and plenty of structure despite the 20 years of age.
January 3, 2021 - Super impressive. Will hold for a while. Beautiful wine - totally balanced and still rocking