NOSE
Lifted, fragrant. Immediately Penfolds. Aficionados may quickly identify and proclaim 389.

Opulently: Trifle: layers of custard and port-wine dark jelly with flaked coconut and juniper/cassis. Cake: old-fashioned hummingbird cake, with coconut flakes and nutty flavours.

Overheard: “Petrichor aromas gradating to silkworm-eaten mulberry leaf”. Honestly!?! Familial youthful Bin 389 oak – subtle matchstick and a hint of vanilla powder. As they say – what is there not to like?!

FLAVOURS AND PALATE
Balance of the sweet (cabernet) and the savoury (shiraz).

Possesses what has now often been referred to as a black forest cake 2018 vintage flavour profile.

Darker fruits – closer to that of a black cherry liqueur than a crème de cassis component of Kir.

Flavours of roasted beetroot – a venison sauce beetroot reduction … similar texturally to a congealed sweet fat (a custardy emulsion/film – not a grainy paste).

Oak and tannins absorbed. Both are certainly present, yet not at all demanding their own space on this Bin 389 stage. Substantial, intense.