Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2020

If your budget won’t quite stretch to a case of Penfolds’ world famous Grange, try Bin 389. While we’d never suggest it’s in the same league, it’s still one of Australia’s most serious, ageworthy wines. First made in 1960, the 2020 has won a hat trick of 97 point scores and a 96 too. It was a year of winter drought, then a summer heatwave, resulting in small yields of deeply concentrated fruit, sourced this year from prime sites in the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Padthaway. One of Bin 389’s key features is its judicious balance of fruit and toasty spice, gained from 12 months’ ageing in US oak hogshead, a third of those new. From a vintage of lower quantity, but exceptional quality, this is a standout release. Ideal with a rare steak.