Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz Lunar New Year Horse Edition (750 ml)

Bin 389 carries a nickname earned through winemaking logic, not marketing: 'Baby Grange' — because the Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz blend is matured in the same American oak hogsheads that previously held Grange, absorbing residual extract and spice from Australia's most celebrated wine. This is not a romantic flourish; it is a deliberate resource decision that structurally links the two wines across every vintage.

The fruit draws primarily from Kalimna in the Barossa Valley, Penfolds' 290-hectare estate planted on ancient, deep alluvial and sandy loam soils that have remained phylloxera-free — conditions that allow old-vine root systems to reach extraordinary depth, concentrating flavour without irrigation stress. The warm Barossa floor climate builds phenolic ripeness, while the multi-regional blending philosophy allows winemakers to calibrate structure vintage by vintage.

Fermentation employs acclimatised pure yeast cultures in temperature-controlled stainless steel, a technique pioneered at Penfolds by Ray Beckwith using pH meters — a scientific intervention that predates most of the wine world's adoption of fermentation control. Post-fermentation, the wine enters second-fill American oak hogsheads (larger than Bordeaux barriques), where Grange's previous occupancy has softened the wood's grip while preserving its vanilla and cedar character.

What no peer replicates: the cascading-barrel system that ties Bin 389's identity directly to Grange's production calendar, making it structurally unique within Australian wine. The 2023 vintage is the first release in the Lunar New Year Horse Edition packaging, though the wine inside follows the unbroken house recipe.