98 Point Rated Andrew Caillard MW 

"2022 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz lives up to its reputation as the second wine to Grange. The Wine is superbly refined, generous and chocolaty and will cellar for years to come. In my respects it is the quintessential Penfolds wine offering drinkers the best of craftmanship, multi-regional sorucing and style"

97 Point Rated David Sly Decanter 

"The happy marriage of Cabernet Sauvignon (51%) with Shiraz (49%) rarely looks as cosy or integrated than in this stellar example. A generous mid-palate shows off fine long fruit flavours from the slow-ripening 2022 vintage, with ruddy Shiraz ripeness in step with the more tannic bite of Cabernet Sauvignon’s blackberry and mulberry adding a moreish savoury note. With 36% new American oak hogsheads used for 12 months’ maturation, there’s just enough oak-influenced."

95 Point Rated Tyson Stelzer 

"The greatest 2022 season has delivered a Bin 389 of impact and presence. THe depth and breadth of supple black and red fruits of shiraz is melded seamlessly and the blackcurrant and firm, fine tannin profile of Cabernet Sauvignon and not insubstantial presence of sweet, dark chocolate American oak. A strong framework of firm tannins sets classic Bin 389 endurance. Another one for the ages. 

95 Point Rated Campbell, Wine Front 

"Grapes sourced from McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, Barossa Valley, Padthaway and Wrattonbully. 51% cabernet sauvignon, 49% shiraz. 12 months in American oak, 37% new. This is a commanding Bin 389. It’s svelte and smooth but the penetration of the finish, meshed with tannin as it is, is right up there. Bay, blackcurrant, vanilla, licorice and sweet, plump plums create a deep, rich impression, though it all comes with sinew and it all comes with bone. It’s a familiar flavour profile but this 2022 release is really well formed, and executed. There’s flavour, there’s flex, there’s class." 

95 Point Rated Ken Gargett 

"Always one of the stars of the release, and a wine which is serious value in comparison to some of its compatriots, this is yet another stunning 389. From its very first vintage, the 1960, 389 has long been a fan favourite. This vintage is a blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon and 49% Shiraz, from vineyards located in McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, Barossa Valley, Padthaway and Wrattonbully. The oak used here was American hogsheads, 36% new. The colour is a maroon/magenta hue, while the nose exhibits characters of black olives, soy, blackberries, cassis, chocolate, tobacco leaves, cloves and coffee beans. Showing good complexity, fine silky tannins and a lingering finish, the wine also has a fine line of acidity. This 389 will drink beautifully for at least the next eight to fifteen years, very probably considerably longer."

95 Point Rated, Jeni Port Halliday Wine Companion 

"We have seen Bin 389 shine brightly in fab years, but it is in years like 2022 when the weather Gods run amok and are unpredictable, that BIn 389 is tested. It comes through, as ever, comfortably, assuredly, warmly, like settling back into an old comfy leather chair. Evocatuve aromas of earth, old leather woodsy spices galore, black fruits and signature American oak pencil shavigs, cigar box, the oak being a little more eident that usual. Mellow, full flavoured, Bin 389 22 retuns to that kind of down-homeor unretentious character that we love; it has nothing to prove, everything to gain as it impresses with the essence of South Australian Cabernet (51%) and Shiraz (49%) from five regions lead by McLaren Vale, Coonawarra and the Barossa Valley. Defined by a density of black fruits, liquorice, spice, underlied by fine, confident oak tannins and supported by bright acidity. A kiss of coffee gorunds, cocoa brings a lifted spark with an added hint of crushed herbs. Another strong Bin 389, classic in definition and execution. 

95 Point Rated, Dave Brookes Halliday Wine Companion 

Penfolds "Baby Grange" is in fine form for the 2022 release and, for me, sits at the confluence of both traditional and contemporary winemaking. Its cellaring track record is outstanding and I think this release will age beautifully thanks to its classic structure and impressive fruit depth. It's all dark plum and berry with a sheen of mahogany, sweet oak spice, cigar lounge, milk chocolate, dried cranberry and pressed violets. Layered and filigreed with compact fine-grained tannins and a sense of grace and poise as it slowly sails off. It's a ripper.

95 Point Rated Ray Jordan Ray Jordan Wines 

"Another famous multi-regional blend from McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, the Barossa Valley, Padthaway and Wrattonbully. The colour is so deep and dark. Loads of dark plum and chocolate nuanced in the complex aromas with traces of cigar box tobacco leaf and spice. The palate is rich and densely concentrated but delivered with poise and restraint. Lifted black fruits on the palate with a little cement dust and saline edginess. A most complete and precisely balanced wine. Make sure you decant this one. Cellar 25 years."

95 Point Rated Nick Ryan The Weekend Australia 

"The “Baby Grange” epithet pinned to this wine never made sense to me. It may be an inheritor of barrels from its illustrious stablemate but its track record, and its varietal composition, have always moved it out of that shadow in my mind. This is a great 389 – seamless, assured and composed."

94 Point Rated Huon Hooke The Real Review 

"Saturated purple colour, with smoky toasty oaky and barbecued meat aromas, lightly spiced, the shiraz component clearly visible here. It's full-bodied and robust, solidly structured and firm-tannined, gripping at the finish. A solid Bin 389."

93 Point Rated James Suckling 

"A crunchy and delicious blend with currant, blackberry and cedar aromas and flavors. Hints of bitter lemon, graphite and tar at the end. Drink or hold. Screw cap."

93 Point Rated Erin Larkin Wine Advocate 

"The 2022 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz is a dense beast of a wine, and the many lovers of the style will will experience paroxysms of pleasure, in that this delivers the muscle, density and concentration of yore. It is powerfully tannic, abundantly fruitful and long through the finish. What more can be said of a wine like this other than that it is a firm style, made consistently year in and year out. Aniseed, nutmeg, cinnamon and malt populate the register of spices from the charry oak. This is a big, big wine". 

Gold Medal 

Dave Brookmes Halliday Wine Companion 2024