NobleRottersSydney - Stephen's Penfolds Bin 389 1988-97

This dinner was a virtual repeat (same vintages) of a dinner at which Stephen supplied the wines back in 2003 when we still ate at Lucio’s. For some idiot reason, I didn’t take notes on that occasion; it would have been great to compare the same two verticals ten years apart. Lesson learned though; these notes will have to do as the basis for the 2022 dinner… As a mere stripling Stephen asked Max Schubert at a dinner for his recommendation for a good-quality, cellar-worthy, affordable wine. Max’s tip was Bin 389, which Stephen’s been buying ever since (and to which only the first two of those qualifiers still apply!). Most of the 80s wines are gone now, but we can start from the last couple of years from the decade. All wines were decanted for 20-ish minutes at 6.30pm, then poured back into their original (washed) bottles and re-corked for transport before drinking from 7.45 til about 10pm. As I recall, the consensus back in 2003 was that nearly all the 90s wines were still too young to approach properly; the passing of another near-decade has given us a chance to reassess…

• 1998 Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne Brut Cuvée Palmes d'Or

  France, Champagne

  [12%, cork] {Greg} A beautiful and strikingly youthful nose of strawberries and brioche characters. There’s a touch of smoky butter to the palate; some mentioned a mead-character emerging from the glass. It remains always fresh and pure. It’s medium-bodied, with a wonderfully even palate and the finest creamy bubbles the highlight of the texture. Only in a slightly attenuated finish does it fail to justify a very high local price tag (~A$270). Disgorgment date unknown; this seems like it will last forever.

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Starting with the oldest wines in the lineup; these were far from disgraced:

• 1988 Penfolds Bin 389

  Australia, South Australia

  [13.3%, cork] {Stephen} Dark garnet still, although with some bricking around the rim. Perfect aged Penfolds nose of meat, tar and dark red fruits. Quite intense too; there’s nothing feeble about this. The palate offer dusty aging fruit, smoky flavours with a metallic touch. Oak has mellowed nicely, and the alcohol is just right for a medium-bodied wine. Which it is, and with soft powdery tannins, medium acid, and a cool, medium-length, even finish the structure has held up really well. At nearly 25 years it’s a triumph; probably would have been better 5-8 years ago, but it’s still drinking nicely.

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• 1989 Penfolds Bin 389

  Australia, South Australia

  [13.5%, cork] {Stephen} I had much less hope for the 89 than the 88, but this was something of a surprise. The bouquet bears a very distinct resemblance to the 89 Grange; it has sweet blueberry & liquorice aromas, with an exotic turkish delight twist. The palate is a bit more skeletal though; the texture is kind of boney; tannins have softened right out to a chalky memory, although the acid is under control. Nearly medium-bodied; there is just a lingering sense of the sweet jammy flavours the palate once possessed. A short-medium finish winds things up; on it’s own its still very drinkable; tonight it’s with the 93 at the bottom of the pack, but isn’t disgraced by any means. Not worth holding longer, but certainly still worth drinking.

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There were no true surprises tonight; 90 & 91 are confirmed as the oustanding wines over the period tasted (and probably 10 years either side too, had we done the test). Comparing the 90 & 91 isn’t really fair to either wine, as they are both so astoundingly good. But we did it anyway…

• 1990 Penfolds Bin 389

  Australia, South Australia

  [13.7%, cork] {Stephen} Developing bouquet, gorgeously ripe. Plums, chocolate, violets, meat, a touch of tar. No raisins, no prunes, no harshness. A superb palate too, most noticeable for its attention to all parts of the tongue. Medium powdery tannins frame spicy red fruits, acid is unobtrusive; it’s fine and polished on the palate; medium-bodied, with a long, lingering dry finish. Developing fruit at the perfection of ripeness really shows of the best of both grape varieties, wound together into a seamless whole. Superb, and with at least another ten years outstanding drinking ahead of it. For the $10 it cost on release, an outstanding effort.

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• 1991 Penfolds Bin 389

  Australia, South Australia

  [13.5%, cork] {Stephen} A fantastic counterpoint to the 1990, this had a marginally more impressive nose and a marginally less impressive palate. If you’re being picky... Meaty nose of dark chocolate, vanilla oak, blackberries; it’s a bit darker and maltier than it’s older sibling. The palate shows just a touch of mint, along with the coffee/vanilla/blackberry flavours. The dusty tannins are a little stronger than the 1990 wine, and although it’s still medium-bodied, it’s just as even on the palate, although just a little shorter on the finish. Overall it’s a ‘darker’ wine, not shining quite so brightly, but not worse for that, just a little different. Seems like another decade won’t hurt it much either. What a remarkable pair of wines.

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A couple of less-heralded vintages didn’t really offer any surprises:

• 1992 Penfolds Bin 389

  Australia, South Australia

  [13.5%, cork] {Stephen} Sweet meaty aromas with aging raspberry fruits dominate a surprisingly lively nose. The palate manages an initial burst of ripe, sweet red fruit flavours before fading a bit quickly. Medium tannins are a bit grainy; it’s a medium-bodied wine all round, with a slightly simply palate, finishing a bit short. A decent enough showing from a weaker vintage, but nothing to be gained from holding further.

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• 1993 Penfolds Bin 389

  Australia, South Australia

  [13.5%, cork] {Stephen} Rather aged nose of malt and soy, with a medicinal note. Very much on the downward slope; the palate is blocky, with some drying astringency and fading fruit. Maybe medium-bodied, but the finish is only short-medium, and there’s not much presence on the tongue, even by the mid-palate. By itself, OK to drink, but – the faulty 95 apart – the least of the wines tonight. Drink up.

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The 94 confirmed its connoisseur’s reputation as a sleeper vintage, and we had our only cork victim:

• 1994 Penfolds Bin 389

  Australia, South Australia

  [13.5%, cork] {Stephen} A big, black bruiser of a wine. Seems almost youthful – absolutely so in context tonight – but even objectively has a long way to go to resolve fully. Dark chocolate, malt, tar and blackberries. Big, intense nose. Medium-full bodied. Spicy cassis & blackberry flavours; seems cabernet-dominant for flavour. Medium but finely powdery tannins, medium acid; the balance here is terrific, and it all adds up to greater than the sum of its parts on the palate, which has tremendous presence. Big but not clumsy, the finish is long; ought to age attractively for another decade at least. More proof that Penfolds had the recipe right long ago. Less sweetly slutty than the 96, you’d only place this a fraction behind the 90/91 pair tonight for potential.

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• 1995 Penfolds Bin 389 Flawed

  Australia, South Australia

  [13%, cork] {Stephen} Evidently this seemed alright upon opening/decanting; by the time we got to it during dinner it had developed a distinctly musty pong. There’s a fair bit of ripe fruit still powering through the wet cardboard filter, but the stripped palate confirms a light cork/TCA taint that renders serious analysis of the palate pointless. Pity. Seemed like it was going to transcend the vintage reputation.

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The 96 staked its claim as the ‘Vintage of the Decade’, while the 97 confirmed the weaker run that the odd-numbered years suffered during the middle-of the decade.

• 1996 Penfolds Bin 389

  Australia, South Australia

  [13.5%, cork] {Stephen} A vast nose that impresses with its scale, rather than overwhelming you oppressively. Sweetly developing spicy/raspberry fruits. Rich and ripe; the shiraz seems to have centre stage at the moment. There’s vanilla/coconut to add as flavours on the palate; but they’tre not overdone and remain nicely to scale. Medium-full bodied, with drying chalky tannins filling out the mouth; every part of the tongue is tantalised with the velvety rich texture, and the finish is long and even. It’s very youth perhaps kept it from favouritism tonight, with the 90/91 so complete, but have no doubt that the potential is here too; just give it another 15 years or so. Triumphant.

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• 1997 Penfolds Bin 389

  Australia, South Australia

  [13.5%, cork] {Stephen} A somewhat subdued nose (even trying to allow for the preceding 96) of blackcurrant and cabernet aromas. Ripe but discreet. The palate does manage a decent wall of flavour up front, in a medium-bodied way, but then it fades away rather quickly. Tannins are quite soft; blackberry and spice flavours are ripe enough, but a slightly short finish keeps a lid on any excitement. There’s some presence on the mid-palate, but it’s really a ‘wine for drinking’ not for cellaring longer. Get into it.

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• 2007 Di Lusso Picolit

  Australia, New South Wales, Central Ranges, Mudgee

  [375ml, 10%, screwcap]{Greg} Apparently this troublesome grape is only offered by two wineries in Australia. This wine is still quite youthful, with aromas of flowers, grass and a sorbet note. The palate is fresh and grapey, rather like a Moscato without the spritz. There is some crisp acidity here; enough to keep it palate-cleansing without ever being cutting. Light-medium body, with medium sweetness and length; this is botrytis-free and relying on unfermented sugar for its sweetness. The finish doesn’t cloy, which really helps. Seems like it could hold on a few more years easily enough.

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A terrific night, thanks to Stephen’s generosity, and the sheer quality of that most reliable and achetypal of Penfolds ‘everyman’ reds, the mighty Bin 389. On this occasion we had the timing right. I think I can fairly sum up the consensus by calling the 90, 91, 94, 96 indisputably great, with slight preferences falling this way or that. 88, 89, 97, 92 were very good in varying degrees, 93 was acceptable but not special, and 95 fell victim to cork. For wines aged 15-24 years old, it’s hard to expect more than that, especially for wines that cost from $8.50 to about $22 each over the course of their initial retail lives.