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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 94.3 pts. and median of 94 pts. in 125 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by RayOB on 12/12/2023 & rated 94 points: Drank at 67
Incredible depth and showing a beautiful maturity (1187 views) | | | Tasted by Philip67 on 12/12/2023 & rated 93 points: Deep rich, fruit forward with an undertow of tertiary earth and leather. Still mainly primary. This is in a relatively closed phase. Would have been better to wait another 5 or 10 years. The weight and intensity are impressive, though this is not massive, there is elegance here. The fruit is damsons and blackberry.
Long and complex. Drinking now but believe me it would be a waste. Have patience. (1062 views) | | | Tasted by dream on 12/2/2023 & rated 94 points: A lovely, medium-bodied Grange with just about fully-resolved tannins. Silky and fine with delicious wild berry fruit along with a beautiful
eucalyptus note and a great red-spice intensity on the complex finish. Yum! (1179 views) | | | Tasted by acyso on 9/28/2023 & rated 93 points: Four decades of Penfolds Grange (Chicago, IL): The first of the vintages where you actually really feel the mature tannins and silkiness of the wine. One of our companions remarked that it was very similar to Latour in the way you had these large-scaled wines with hefty tannins that matured into silky wines without losing that weight. This definitely feels like a different regime than the wines a decade later -- there's more of a rusticity here. This reminds me a bit of mature Clape with both the relative lack of fruit and rustic yet silky tannins. (2004 views) | | | Tasted by gb1406 on 9/24/2023 & rated 96 points: Apart from a very crumbling cork, this wine was pristine. Soft and velvety, subtle chocolate and leathery flavours, no heat or dominant fruit. Decanted for 3 hours. Shared between 4 of us which wasn’t anywhere near enough but sharing something so good is what wine is about. (1298 views) | | | Tasted by Burgundy Al on 3/1/2023 & rated 92 points: Pre-Paulee Warm-up Dinner (House of Nanda - Chicago IL): Alongside 1989. Splash decanted 5 hours in advance. Ripe and brawny, lots here, but the powerful fruit still really dominates. Needs more time/ air to unfold its full greatness. (2291 views) | | | Tasted by Nanda on 3/1/2023 & rated 93 points: Pre La Paulée Dinner with friends (Home): 89/91 side-by-side. My only complaint about these wines is that they are so youthful for forever and remarkably consistent. Really hard to tease apart any big differences between the two wines -- caveat that these were the final two reds in a long night. (2225 views) | | | Tasted by LiteItOnFire on 8/30/2022 & rated 93 points: No notes and only fleeting impressions as it was an epic night with both old friends and new before the Chateau Angelus dinner at Anhelo in downtown Phoenix tonight (8/31). All wines were split between 6.25 of us and unless noted, minimal decant (max 30 minutes).
Have waited a long time to try this wine. First Grange and it was a beautiful wine that drank much younger than it’s age. While Inwont run out and buy more, I will treasure the remaining bottles of other vintages as it lives up to the hype. So glad I was able to taste this wine and share with friends. (3619 views) | | | Tasted by I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine on 8/30/2022 & rated 97 points: An Amazing Arizona Tasting: Double decanted one hour, then slow-O at the table for another hour. OK....so I tasted Grange once at the winery, but it was a 13 and three years ago....quite good, but quite young too....this was my first tasting of a Grange with some age, and I was looking forward to it! I will say, even my sky high expectations, this wine did not disappoint!
Nose was perfumed with lavender, cherry blossom and dark fruit, with hints of cedar, tar and tobacco. Palate was kaleidoscope of fruit, including black, red and blue fruit. Acidity kept the fruit fresh and lively, and like the Vega Sicilia that preceded it, the fruit took center stage. However, this showed off secondary flavors much better, with sweet tobacco, cigar box, eucalyptus, leather and earth all joining in chorus to make the sweetest music! This wine was drinking superbly, and in a perfect place for my palate! I just hope my Grange's show as well when I open them....although I will need to wait quite a few more years for them to get the proper age on them! A real treat, and a 97+...my #2 wine of the night! (3068 views) | | | Tasted by svdheijden on 8/7/2022 & rated 96 points: Drank alongside Cornas 1991 from Clape. Clear difference in style. This Grange is remarkably fresh and vibrant, with lots of fruit, mint and eucalyptus and far less developed that some previous notes suggest. This bottle just entered its drinking window and will remain here for at least a decade. (2552 views) | | | Tasted by KenK on 4/20/2022 & rated 93 points: Nice mature Grange, classic minty dark ripe roasted cherry fruit with nicely balanced acid/tannin structure. Slightly faded, but still quite yummy. (2713 views) | | | Tasted by levicn on 11/29/2021 & rated 89 points: 醒酒一个小时，闻香有一些甜香料味，老酒的酱味，奶油气息，黑李子一类的果香，入口酸度中等，单宁几乎感觉不到，黑色水果，奶油味，坚果气息，余味有点微苦，后段香气有些不受控制的散开，我感觉到这酒有些老了，结构稍微有点塌，但口感丝滑柔顺，余味也很漂亮，红苹果，巧克力和桶香。一支过了巅峰期的酒，在老去的路上保留着一些优雅。 (3169 views) | | | Tasted by hprphf on 10/27/2021 & rated 90 points: Sharp, herbal, too hot. Somewhat extreme and one-sided. 90 (2557 views) | | | Tasted by Msheets38 on 6/9/2021 & rated 98 points: Medium garnet in color with high intensity. Black plum, cocoa, merachino cherry, clove, red peppercorn, star anise, black raspberry preserve, homemade rhubarb compote, cedar, blueberry, and pencil shavings. High acid, medium plus tannin, full bodied, moderate plus alcohol, extremely well balanced and very smooth. 30 years in and hitting its strides! Could last longer or drink now. 98/100 (3599 views) | | | Tasted by graemeg on 5/5/2021: NobleRottersSydney - reds at 10 20 30 (Fix, St James, Sydney): {cork, 13.5%} [Gordon] Barossa and McLaren Vale this vintage, with 5% cabernet. Double-decanted two hours earlier. Still an opaque ruby colour. Deep blueberry fruit, chocolate coated. Liquorice, tar; warm and seductive. But still very youthful for thirty. Seems younger still on the consistent-with-the-aromas palate, with black essences too, medium/full weight, medium dusty tannins; powerful and rich texture but always polished. A class act that will happily age further; it’s far from fully mature. Super-even palate, long finish. A triumph in every respect. (3561 views) | | | Tasted by nwebstar on 4/2/2021 & rated 95 points: Very together and complete. No bricking but just a little transparency at the very edges. Balanced and harmonious. Not overpowering instead beautifully aged and presented as a lovely dry red. Some red berries and mocha upfront and drying herbs finish. Really excellent My good run with Grange continues. (3399 views) | | | Tasted by Xavier Auerbach on 3/29/2021 & rated 95 points: Pristine bottle, level into neck, cork disintegrated. Opened three hours in advance, during which it evolved quickly. Deep and rich nose, warm spices and beef stock, cedar and eucalyptus; full-bodied palate, powerful flavours, fresh and well balanced, rich fruit, mostly resolved tannins; the big and rich finish is slightly sweet. On the basis of this bottle, this is ready to go. (3562 views) | | | Tasted by jlgnml on 9/30/2020 & rated 98 points: Degustateurs Penfolds Grange (My home with social distancing): Near perfection, big bold, dark color, earthy. (3583 views) | | | Tasted by Goldstone on 9/16/2020 & rated 95 points: 'Best of Australia' Dinner (Wooloomooloo Prime, 100 Nathan Road Level 21 The ONE, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong): Decanted fairly briefly as I recall, but sufficiently. Still a deep, dense purple/black. Nose is reticent, coal, loads of dark Asian black spices... liquorice root, dried star anise, tamarind etc.. Palate is massively black/red confit fruits and a massive avalanche of endless resonance and reverberance . Is still so young but it has a complexity which means I can still get into reveries over this. Not necessarily a sublime vintage of Grange but that is damning it with faint praise.....it is always such an event to experience Grange as it begins to mature. 95 for now but will only go higher in coming years - I have updated the CT recommended window to 2030 accordingly. Thanks, Jeremy! (2912 views) | | | Tasted by Turnem on 5/31/2020: Great. (3328 views) | | | Tasted by jhngo on 4/5/2020 & rated 96 points: Less fruit forward more restrained. Very good wine. (3412 views) | | | Tasted by Philip67 on 2/17/2020 & rated 95 points: Youthful puppy fat gone, revealing a wonderful elegant red and black fruit wine with perfect balance. Acidity medium+, plenty of ripe fine tannins. Reminds me of a Monte Bello ’95. So perfumed. Mid-palate reveals earthy forest floor, supporting the fruit. Long and complex. 13.5% ABC (3842 views) | | | Tasted by MC2 Wines on 11/21/2019: A friend turns 50: In as much as Grange can be a bummer this bottle was just a hint of a bummer. Had dropped it off at the restaurant a few days before with the plan that they could do a multi-hour decant before dinner. As it was they opened it fairly quickly before pouring and even though it was decanted and rebottled the reality is the wine needed a lot more time. Not that it wasn't good (it was), but next to a bunch of '89 LaLa's it wasn't totally amazing and these days I expect my Grange to be amazing. Think of all of the standard flavors, but with this thin veil over it so the wine wasn't quite as commanding as it can be. Will hold the rest of ours. This was a young vintage to be fair as far as Granges go. (3371 views) | | | Tasted by KoalaHK on 8/22/2019: Tasted at Penfolds Magill Estate, Adelaide. 40 Vintages of Grange: Less power than the '90 but nevertheless extremely attractive. It possess an elegance that the '90 doesn't have right now. Plenty of acid and structure still evident that will allow the '91 to keep pace with the '90 for many years to come. (3537 views) | | | Tasted by peter.mancell@mfg.com.au on 6/13/2019 & rated 96 points: Superb shiraz. Amazing for 28 years old ...and I suspect a few more years in it yet.
Think I preferred the 1990 but a very enjoyable special occasion wine.
Oodels of dark fruit, tannins well and truly integrated, nice texture and long flavoured finish. (3415 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Jeb Dunnuck
JebDunnuck.com, Up From The Cellar #2 and Misc New Releases (2/15/2018)
(Penfolds Grange) Login and sign up and see review text. | By James Suckling
JamesSuckling.com (11/6/2017)
(Penfolds South Australia Grange, Australia) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (9/21/2015)
(Penfolds, Grange South Australia Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (12/16/2011)
(Penfolds, Grange South Australia Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Julia Harding, MW
JancisRobinson.com (6/26/2009)
(Penfolds, Grange South Eastern Australia Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (10/17/2008)
(Penfolds, Grange South Australia Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Campbell Mattinson
The WINEFRONT (1/1/2005)
(Penfolds Grange Shiraz) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (5/16/2004)
(Penfolds, Bin 95 Grange Shiraz South Australia Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By James Halliday
Halliday Wine Companion (7/1/1996)
(Penfolds Grange) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of JebDunnuck.com and JamesSuckling.com and JancisRobinson.com and The WINEFRONT and Halliday Wine Companion. (manage subscription channels) |
| Penfolds Producer website
Producer Cellar Door - Barossa (Google Maps)
About Us
Australia's winemaking history of less than two hundred years is brief by European measures though, like Europe, punctuated by periods of extreme success and difficult times. From the earliest winemaking days Penfolds has figured prominently and few would argue the importance of Penfolds’ influence on Australia’s winemaking psyche.
Without the influence of Penfolds the modern Australian wine industry would look very different indeed. Sitting comfortably outside of fad and fashion, Penfolds has taken Australian wine to the world on a grand stage and forged a reputation for quality that is without peer.
Penfolds’ reputation for making wines of provenance and cellaring potential might suggest a mantle of tradition and formality is the preferred attire of a company with so much history to defend. But to label Penfolds as simply an established and conventional winemaker, would be to confuse tradition with consideration and to overlook the innovative spirit that has driven Penfolds since its foundation, and continues to find expression in modern times.
If there is anything traditional about Penfolds, it is the practice of constantly reviewing the wines it already does well, and continuously evolving and refining styles as vineyards mature and access to ever older and more varied vineyard sites improves.
Making The Best Possible Wine
At Penfolds, the role of the winemaker is to make the best possible wine within the constraints of each vintage. Penfolds’ house style emerged from a fortified-wine producing culture and evolved as a winemaking philosophy – a way of making wine – which has had a profound effect on the entire Australian wine industry.
The concept of multi-regional and vineyard blending, a feature of the Penfolds house style, is an amplification of the ‘all-round wine’. Without the constraints of a single vineyard, winemakers could choose the best possible fruit with the outstanding characteristics of each vineyard.
While American oak has played a central role in the development of Penfolds red wines, French oak has been increasingly used in the evolution of new wines – particularly RWT and Yattarna. Maturation in oak, which follows fermentation, is also key to the Penfolds house style.
The Penfolds approach to winemaking has percolated through the entire Australian wine industry over the last 50 years. The techniques employed in research and development of Penfolds wines are remarkable and many of the discoveries and innovations have had a lasting impact on winemaking thinking.
Winemakers
In Max Schubert, Don Ditter, John Duval and Peter Gago, Penfolds has nurtured four of Australia's great winemakers. They have passed the Chief Winemaker’s baton of responsibility for crafting some of Australia's most iconic wines, down through the past six decades.
Joining Peter Gago in the Penfolds winemaking team are Senior Red Winemaker Steve Lienert, Senior White Winemaker Kym Schroeter, and Red Winemakers Andrew Baldwin, Adam Clay, Stephanie Dutton and Matt Woo - also the Penfolds Fortified Winemaker. All members of the Penfolds winemaking team ensure that Penfolds’ reputation for outstanding quality is upheld.
Vineyards
Barossa Valley
Penfolds draws fruit from a combined vineyard area of 618 hectares in the Barossa region of South Australia. The Barossa is about 70 kilometres north of Adelaide and in 1911 Penfolds established a winery at Nuriootpa, completed in time for the 1913 vintage. The Barossa region is known for its relatively low rainfall with many vineyards dry grown on single wire trellising.
Magill Estate
The historic and heritage-protected Magill Estate Vineyard was established in 1844 by Dr Christopher Rawson and Mary Penfold—just eight years after the foundation of Adelaide. It was originally known as the Grange Vineyard, named after their new homestead ‘The Grange’, a cottage which still stands intact amongst the vines.
Eden Valley
Joseph Gilbert planted the first vines in the Eden Valley in 1842 and since that time the region has become synonymous with producing elegant riesling and complex shiraz. While its name suggests a concave nature, Eden Valley is actually a wide ridge, situated east of the Barossa Valley with an altitude ranging from 440 – 550 metres.
McLaren Vale
McLaren Vale is located approximately 40km to the south of Adelaide, with the vineyards in the region located between 6 and 15 kilometres from the Gulf of St Vincent. The elevation ranges from 50 to 350 metres above sea level. Penfolds has company owned vineyards throughout the region, using the fruit as blending components for premium red wines such as Grange and Bin 389.
Coonawarra
Penfolds has had a long history with the Coonawarra region, dating back to their first vineyard purchase in 1960. It is one of the most famous red wine regions in Australia with weathered limestone terra rossa soils, relatively cool climate and overall water availability. Coonawarra has played a significant role in many of Penfolds' multi-regional wines as well as the single region wines such as Bin 128.
James Halliday Australian Wine Companion Winery Of The Year 2014: Penfolds
Penfolds is Australia’s foremost winemaker, with an unbroken line dating back to its establishment in 1844 when medical practitioner Dr Christopher Rawson Penfold and wife Mary purchased ‘the delightfully situated and truly valuable of Mackgill … Comprising 500 acres (202 hectares) of the choicest land’. Here they built the house that still stands today, and within a few years had begun the winery and cellar on the site of today’s buildings at Magill Estate.
Mary took charge of winemaking, initially producing grenache prescribed by her husband as a tonic for anaemic patients. By 1870 she, son-in-law Thomas Hyland and cellar manager/winemaker Joseph Gillard had formed Penfolds & Co. With markets in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales, their wine production was over one-third of South Australia’s total.
Growth continued unabated, and in 1945 Penfolds acquired the jewel of the Magill Vineyard, at that time the largest vineyard in South Australia. It now has 2100 hectares of vineyards, the largest share of Australia’s total. Two men came together in the 1950s to lay the foundation of Penfolds today: winemaker Max Schubert, and research chemist Ray Beckwith (who died shortly after his 100th birthday in 2012); indeed, their contribution transcended Penfolds to the entire Australian wine industry.
The architecture for the Penfolds wine portfolio of the twenty-first century was established in the 1960s, half a century ago. There has been growth, both in the range of labels and their price points, but it has been cleverly – indeed sensitively – managed; demand-driven growth has been achieved without any quality compromise whatsoever.
There is no possibility that the pre-eminence of Penfolds will ever be challenged by any other Australian wine business. Equally certain is that the Penfolds brand value will continue to gain ground on the world stage of all consumable products. If proof be needed, the overall quality of the wines in this Wine Companion is the best Penfolds has ever presented to the markets of the globe.
Author: James Halliday Jul 20131991 Penfolds GrangeBin 95 GrangePenfolds GrangeLangton's The Definitive Grange Guide (includes 2006 vintage)
http://www.langtons.com.au/images/pdfs/grange_guide.pdf
The Rewards of Patience (7th Edition)
Vintage Label Shiraz Cabernet
2010 Bin 95 Grange 96% 4%
2009 Bin 95 Grange 98% 2%
2008 Bin 95 Grange 98% 2%
2007 Bin 95 Grange 98% 2%
2006 Bin 95 Grange 98% 2%
2005 Bin 95 Grange 96% 4%
2004 Bin 95 Grange 96% 4%
2003 Bin 95 Grange 97% 3%
2002 Bin 95 Grange 98.5% 1.5%
2001 Bin 95 Grange 99% 1%
2000 Bin 95 Grange 100%
1999 Bin 95 Grange 100%
1998 Bin 95 Grange 97% 3%
1997 Bin 95 Grange 96% 4%
1996 Bin 95 Grange 94% 6%
1995 Bin 95 Grange 94% 6%
1994 Bin 95 Grange 89% 11%
1993 Bin 95 Grange 86% 14%
1992 Bin 95 Grange 90% 10%
1991 Bin 95 Grange 95% 5%
1990 Bin 95 Grange 95% 5%
1989 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 91% 9%
1988 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 94% 6%
1987 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 90% 10%
1986 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 87% 13%
1985 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 99% 1%
1984 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 95% 5%
1983 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 94% 6%
1982 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 94% 6%
1981 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 89% 11%
1980 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 96% 4%
1979 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 87% 13%
1978 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 90% 10%
1977 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 91% 9%
1976 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 89% 11%
1975 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 90% 10%
1974 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 93% 7%
1973 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 98% 2%
1972 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 90% 10%
1971 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 87% 13%
1970 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 90% 10%
1969 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 95% 5%
1969 Bin 826 Grange Hermitage
1968 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 94% 6%
1968 Bin 826 Grange Hermitage
1967 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 94% 6%
1967 Bin 74 Grange Hermitage
1966 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 88% 12%
1966 Bin 72 Grange Hermitage
1966 Bin 71 Grange Hermitage
1965 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 95% 5%
1965 Bin 71 Grange Hermitage
1965 Bin 70 Grange Hermitage
1965 Bin 69 Grange Hermitage
1964 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 90% 10%
1964 Bin 68 Grange Hermitage
1964 Bin 67 Grange Hermitage
1964 Bin 66 Grange Hermitage
1964 Bin 395 Grange Hermitage
1963 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 100%
1963 Bin 65 Grange Hermitage
1962 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 87% 13%
1962 Bin 456 Grange Hermitage
1962 Bin 59A Grange Hermitage
1962 Bin 59 Grange Hermitage
1961 Bin 395 Grange Hermitage 88% 12%
1961 Bin 395 Grange Hermitage
1960 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 92% 8%
1960 Bin 45 Grange Hermitage
1959 Bin 46 Grange Hermitage 90% 10%
1959 Bin 49 Grange Hermitage
1959 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage
1958 Bin 46 Grange Hermitage 94% 6%
1957 Bin 50 Grange Hermitage 88% 12%
1956 Bin 14 Grange Hermitage 96% 4%
1955 Bin 95 Grange Hermitage 90% 10%
1955 Bin 148A Grange Hermitage
1955 Bin 54 Grange Hermitage
1955 Bin 53 Grange Hermitage
1955 Bin 14 Grange Hermitage
1955 Bin 13 Grange Hermitage
1954 Bin 12 Grange Hermitage 98% 2%
1954 Bin 11 Grange Hermitage
1953 Bin 2 Grange Hermitage 87% 13%
1953 Bin 145 Grange Hermitage
1953 Bin 86C Grange Hermitage
1953 Bin 10 Grange Hermitage
1953 Bin 9 Grange Cabernet Sauvignon (Block 42) 100%
1952 Bin 4 Grange Hermitage 100%
1952 Bin 4A Grange Hermitage
1951 Bin 1 Grange Hermitage 100%
Shiraz BlendViognierGrangePenfold's Rewards Of Patience
http://www.grange.biz/library/rewards/bin-95-grange.pdf
Australia Wine Australia (Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation) | Australian Wines (Wikipedia)South Australia South Australian Wine Industry Association | South Australian Wines (Wikipedia) |
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