Community Tasting Note
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sirpat00 Likes this wine: 99 points
November 28, 2020 - Tasted blind. Red currant, blueberries, cassis fruit – surprisingly red in character although clearly with darker nuances as well. Aging notes of wet earth, leather, a bit of barnyard and mushroom. Beyond that, savoury and herbal with spearmint and dried tobacco leaves. An incredibly wide variety of flavours. Even more so when taking into account the evolution in the glass which expanded the aroma profile with full-blown eucalyptus, pepper and a melee of spices and herbs. A soft palate yet with tension, very fresh and fruity. Despite a 5h decant this was getting better and better in the glass, also here spreading out spicy notes along the lines of salad herbs and soup spices with increasing intensity, developing more push and a crystallizing bright fruit core. I am lost for words how to best capture the soul of this monumental landmark. This combines the spicy sexiness and sweet and fresh fruit of an Aussie Shiraz with all the majestic posture of an aged first growth Bordeaux - and I'm a sucker for both! The only thing missing was tears in my eyes – probably a glandular malfunction on the day, should get that checked…
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4 Comments
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Goldstone commented:
12/1/20, 6:51 AM - As a Grange collector, that's a super note on a vintage I love. Chapeau!
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sirpat00 commented:
12/3/20, 12:45 PM - My grandmother always used to say: Any Grange collector is a good collector. ;)
Out of curiosity, what are your favorite vintages and which ones are drinking best today? Thansk! -
Goldstone commented:
12/3/20, 7:00 PM - Hi Sirpat, my absolute favourite Grange for current drinking is the 1971 which is still a baby (rather like the 1959 Ch. Latour, which another all-time favourite wine of mine). On the Grange '71 I wrote on one note "Everyone should experience this wine before they die"....or something like that.
Other Grange vintages that are drinking really well now are 1980 ('81 is much too young), 1983, 1989 (atypically,needs drinking up),1991, 1993 (really fabulous and just entered its open drinking window) and maybe 1997 (with a 6-8 hour decant but will only get better in the next decade).
If you haven't tried it, Henschke Hill of Grace from the '80s is in the same league...or some would say, higher. i sit on the fence on that one.
Lastly - in a similar vein and you probably know it already, I am a huge fan of Ch. Musar and have almost every vintage going back to 1959. Anything from 1999 backwards is gorgeous if you give it a 6-hour decant (even the 1980s wines need it). It's also a lot more affordable than Grange or HoG. -
sirpat00 commented:
12/3/20, 7:58 PM - Absolutely amazing, a million thanks for this! I have already binned (pun intended) my December wine budget and bought some 83s (my wife‘s vintage so always a good excuse there) and 93s. 71 not available currently over here but will keep an eye out at auctions...