dark red with brick hue. intense in nose: ripe dark fruits, mixed spices, vanilla and cedar. many tertiary flavours, leather, smoke and earth, with a concentrated fruity core. all integrated, well polished, fine grained tannins, generally supple but still a little firm. dark herbal and espresso in finish, lingering long. and just started stepping down from its peak.
Ap 5/5, Ar 14/15, Palate 17/20, Overall 5+4/10 Total 95/100
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Balanced. I've seen many reviews that highlight the warm vintage, and this is definitely evident but the wine is not 'cooked'. The fruit profile is very good, and the balance is excellent. The quality of the fruit and the winemaking is so evident. I'm not convinced it is worth the price premium - and wouldn't buy more Grange now, but it is a very good wine. There is no sign of ageing - so another 20 years? I am not a Grange expert so don't listen to me. I have 1 more bottle - perhaps in 10 years?
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Like some of the other reviews I found this to be a very bad representation of penfolds grange. I own 82,91,98,05,12,13,14 and 16. I’m a huge fan of this wine. This 05 was prunie, oxidized and boring. Not worthy of this label. Note the bottle was in perfect shape with a perfect cork and level. Unfortunately I still have 3 bottles to have to work through to hope is bottle variation.
Beautiful dark red color. Great nose with lots of intense dark berries, some plum, black coffee and tobacco. On the palate very intense dark fruit aromas too. Some licorice, black pepper, and nice eucalyptus in the background. It’s full bodied with a medium acidity but it’s not jammy or overdone in any way. Firm but velvety tannins. Absolutely amazing depth and complexity. It’s not elegant but not too pushy either. Beautiful long finish. With a little air (1-2 hours) this is already in a great drinking spot but there is no need to hurry, it will stay beautiful over at least the next 10-15 years, probably longer. (IG)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Opened for 15 min, then decanted for 2 hours and back into the bottle for consumption at dinner 2 hours later.
We tasted it before going in the decanter, it was horrible, tannic and tart. When we arrived at the restaurant I poured all 6 glasses to give it more air exposure, despite the wine didn’t changed much throughout the night it was very intriguing, complex and lively. My friends described it as port, prune, licorice on the nose, leather, moca, berries and firm tannins in the palate. Some said Napa Cabernet, and Napa Cab/Cab Franc blend. Years 2010-2012...
As you can tell they were tasting it blind, all wrong but accurate in the description!
For me this wine should be held at least 5 more years, or give it about 2 hours decant and consume 12-24 hours later. Obviously not worth $500.
95+ in my book.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Penfolds Grange vertical with Peter Gago (Singapore): Penfolds dinner. From a vintage that had a heatwave during the harvest time and it shows. Oxidative nose with overripe, cooked, pruney fruit. No pleasure to drink, feels like an Amarone or an over-extracted Merlot. The Penfolds representative thought this was a phase but I have rarely see oxidative wines recover. A question mark. 88-92?
Glad I opened this bottle in 2020, still in great shape but starting to develop some nutty aromas. Mostly, you get a broad-shoulder wine with eucalyptus, raspberries and tar aromas. Personally, I much preferred the Chateau L'Evangile 98 we had against it. Lacking some acidity to make it easy to drink. Decant for 3-4 hours.
This wine was opened 20 years too early. It was that massive. I bought at a retail shop in Santa Fe and was not sure how it was stored. Needless to say I killed a baby here. I drank over 3 days, it was that big. The wine was black, dark as I have ever seen a wine. Day 1 tasted of heavy mocha and toasted oak. The tannin was in line, a very round wine, just powerful. Day 2 more hints of blueberry and earth. Day 3, best drinking window had nice mocha flavoring, with leather and bakers spice. A very sexy wine, well rounded but way to early. If you have a well stored bottle I would not open for 10-15 years. and then it will still be young. But in 25 years this would be a 95+ pt wine
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dark red with brick rim. Rich and bold in mouth, vigorous and vibrant, can’t believe it’s 14 years old. full body, jammy dark fruits, liquorice, vanilla, with tobacco and leather, velvety tannins, heavy but smooth. Long finish with sweet herbals and creamy notes. All smooth and integrated, confident to keep in cellar for more 5-10 years.
An iconic Australia red wine, lush and dignified.
RP 97, WS 97, HH 95, JO 95
Ap 5/5, Ar 13/15, Palate 19/20, Overall 5+5/10 Total 97/100
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dark inky garnet colored, rich concentrated, full bodied, Wine Spectator describes the nose as "a bit animal with some smoked game, mincemeat and bacon notes'. The fruit is ripe blackberry and black currant with a hint of blueberry with notes of tar, coffee, earth, black truffles, anise and hints of pepper and spice on the long finish of fine grain nicelly integrated tannins and crisp acidity.
We had a 2005 night with contributions from: - Kanonkop, South Africa - Claret blend - Hazell, California - Pinot Noir - Grange, Australia - Syrah (Bin 95, Bottle 48964) Kanonkop - gave nothing away on the nose. Plenty of fruit on the foretaste. Drink up now. Hazell - much stronger perfumed bouquet. Longer in the mid range and continued. This is a v good wine. Grange - lives up to the hype. Complex. Oak and vanilla. Medicinal. Fruit. Very long aftertaste. Could easily go another 5 years. All were ready to drink. All had deep dark edges considering they are 11 years old. Main course was a Beef Wellington, then cheeses
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Penfolds Tasting with 5 vintages of Grange and a bunch more (Downtown Cleveland): If Grange was affordable, this would be an example of why to drink some young. Yes, it is immense and intense, but there is lot of pleasure here too. Black raspberries, cassis, spice, black pepper, grilled meats and licorice on the nose. Huge to drink but a lovely texture makes it go down very well. Lots of tannins of course. Long finish. Plenty of room to improve here, this needs a decade or more. A real treat to try tonight though. Thanks Berto.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
LCBO paid tasting: A solid core of fruit. This will live forever but is lush and lovely at the moment. Can't say I'd pay $500 a bottle but an excellent wine nonetheless.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Sampled at the LCBO tasting bar. This sample came across to me as slightly candied, but this dissapated and seemingly evolved into something nicer: syrup coated cherries, candy floss, caramel, red plum, blueberry, baked strawberries. Palate reveals rich mentholated red and dark fruit. Low perceived sweet tannin. And a long red fruited and menthol finish. Has the stuffing to and should improve.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Nose - some complexity Palate - definite interest and complexity. Full bodied, but not chewy Overall, very nice. Very interesting. But lacks finesse, which will come with age. 94 tasted @ LCBO tasting counter
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Bottle 38,590 - shared with 18 aspiring sommeliers. Very dark cherry in colour and opaque. Serious complexity on the nose - blackberries, stewed strawberries and plums, white pepper, chocolate, fine leather, cinnamon and clove, cigar box and a little booze. Blackberry, dark cherries, chocolate, cedar and a bit hot on the palate. Substantial body, yet smooth with a long blackberry and spice finish. A very fine glass of wine.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Black fruits and fig with ripe plum and clove (even a bit of oxidized/madeira-like sweetness) showing on the nose. Tremendous structure provided from the oak adding vegetal notes (celery, dill), spices, and a touch a vanilla. Beautifully layered flavors with medium-plus body, medium acidity, and a lengthy finish. Surprised how ready this wine was to drink, but it will benefit from age and develop into a real gem in years to come.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Deep, rich, textured and incredibly complex, this offers an elegant - though admittedly immature - feel to its black fruit, wood smoke, dill and cream aromas. Medium bodied on the palate, incredibly concentrated, with ripe blackberry, raspberry jelly, cream and spice flavors that play against some of the finest tannins I have ever tasted.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
2010 Penfolds Tasting (Liner and Elsen, Portland OR): The nose reminds me of molasses poured over a bag of pretzels and then mixed in with blackberries and chocolate. It's soft on entry with a rich wash of blackberry jam, chocolate, and caramel rolling in quickly. The oak works so well it's downright decadent! The dark fruit is fantastic and some lovely orange flavors brighten things up. Some dusty chocolate shows up later and does some great work with the acidity on the lingering finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Penfolds Tasting Seminar (Liner & Elsen Wine Merchants, Portland, OR): Wine #10. 96% Shiraz, 4% Cab. Another huge wine! Lots of plum fruit, seemingly from a hotter vintage? 100% new American oak for 18 months. Black pepper, big plum fruit and A LOT of tannins! Vanilla on the finish, but fairly hidden by the chalky tannins. At this stage, I much prefer the 2002.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tasted at the winery on release date. Obviously needs more aging. Big tannins and very oaky at this stage; disjointed components. Full bodied and concentrated wine. Flavors of dark berries, chocolate, cloves, anise. Long fruity finish. (Doris 93)
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
4/16/2024 - evanqian wrote: 95 Points
dark red with brick hue. intense in nose: ripe dark fruits, mixed spices, vanilla and cedar. many tertiary flavours, leather, smoke and earth, with a concentrated fruity core. all integrated, well polished, fine grained tannins, generally supple but still a little firm. dark herbal and espresso in finish, lingering long. and just started stepping down from its peak.
Ap 5/5, Ar 14/15, Palate 17/20, Overall 5+4/10
Total 95/100
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/22/2024 - Andrew67 wrote:
Balanced. I've seen many reviews that highlight the warm vintage, and this is definitely evident but the wine is not 'cooked'. The fruit profile is very good, and the balance is excellent. The quality of the fruit and the winemaking is so evident. I'm not convinced it is worth the price premium - and wouldn't buy more Grange now, but it is a very good wine. There is no sign of ageing - so another 20 years? I am not a Grange expert so don't listen to me. I have 1 more bottle - perhaps in 10 years?
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/24/2023 - Kathrynjaneevans wrote:
Happy 18th Ruby. Plum berries with a hint of chocolate
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/27/2022 - JR_Boston Likes this wine: 92 Points
Johna thought this bottle was cooked, but Roache and I thought it had great notes of chocolate, vanilla and baking spices
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/5/2022 - Kbaig wrote:
DP retuned and got 499
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/10/2021 - dada99 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Delicious. A lovely wine. Much better than anticipated after the reviews I had read and drinking really well now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/26/2021 - DBenke wrote: 93 Points
Big wine. Great fruit. Fresh. Very good. Hint of menthol. But just a baby. Needs ten more years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/3/2021 - TonyCanova wrote: 90 Points
Like some of the other reviews I found this to be a very bad representation of penfolds grange. I own 82,91,98,05,12,13,14 and 16. I’m a huge fan of this wine. This 05 was prunie, oxidized and boring. Not worthy of this label. Note the bottle was in perfect shape with a perfect cork and level. Unfortunately I still have 3 bottles to have to work through to hope is bottle variation.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comments (1)
4/19/2021 - DrZett wrote: 95 Points
Beautiful dark red color. Great nose with lots of intense dark berries, some plum, black coffee and tobacco. On the palate very intense dark fruit aromas too. Some licorice, black pepper, and nice eucalyptus in the background. It’s full bodied with a medium acidity but it’s not jammy or overdone in any way. Firm but velvety tannins. Absolutely amazing depth and complexity. It’s not elegant but not too pushy either. Beautiful long finish.
With a little air (1-2 hours) this is already in a great drinking spot but there is no need to hurry, it will stay beautiful over at least the next 10-15 years, probably longer. (IG)
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/6/2021 - gteran76 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Opened for 15 min, then decanted for 2 hours and back into the bottle for consumption at dinner 2 hours later.
We tasted it before going in the decanter, it was horrible, tannic and tart. When we arrived at the restaurant I poured all 6 glasses to give it more air exposure, despite the wine didn’t changed much throughout the night it was very intriguing, complex and lively. My friends described it as port, prune, licorice on the nose, leather, moca, berries and firm tannins in the palate. Some said Napa Cabernet, and Napa Cab/Cab Franc blend. Years 2010-2012...
As you can tell they were tasting it blind, all wrong but accurate in the description!
For me this wine should be held at least 5 more years, or give it about 2 hours decant and consume 12-24 hours later. Obviously not worth $500.
95+ in my book.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/2/2021 - Collector1855 wrote: 90 Points
Penfolds Grange vertical with Peter Gago (Singapore): Penfolds dinner. From a vintage that had a heatwave during the harvest time and it shows. Oxidative nose with overripe, cooked, pruney fruit. No pleasure to drink, feels like an Amarone or an over-extracted Merlot. The Penfolds representative thought this was a phase but I have rarely see oxidative wines recover. A question mark. 88-92?
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (2)
7/22/2020 - Francois Le Mouel Likes this wine: 94 Points
Glad I opened this bottle in 2020, still in great shape but starting to develop some nutty aromas. Mostly, you get a broad-shoulder wine with eucalyptus, raspberries and tar aromas. Personally, I much preferred the Chateau L'Evangile 98 we had against it. Lacking some acidity to make it easy to drink. Decant for 3-4 hours.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (8)
6/9/2020 - zimmy07 Likes this wine: 93 Points
This wine was opened 20 years too early. It was that massive. I bought at a retail shop in Santa Fe and was not sure how it was stored. Needless to say I killed a baby here. I drank over 3 days, it was that big. The wine was black, dark as I have ever seen a wine. Day 1 tasted of heavy mocha and toasted oak. The tannin was in line, a very round wine, just powerful. Day 2 more hints of blueberry and earth. Day 3, best drinking window had nice mocha flavoring, with leather and bakers spice. A very sexy wine, well rounded but way to early. If you have a well stored bottle I would not open for 10-15 years. and then it will still be young. But in 25 years this would be a 95+ pt wine
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/1/2019 - evanqian wrote: 97 Points
Dark red with brick rim. Rich and bold in mouth, vigorous and vibrant, can’t believe it’s 14 years old. full body, jammy dark fruits, liquorice, vanilla, with tobacco and leather, velvety tannins, heavy but smooth. Long finish with sweet herbals and creamy notes. All smooth and integrated, confident to keep in cellar for more 5-10 years.
An iconic Australia red wine, lush and dignified.
RP 97, WS 97, HH 95, JO 95
Ap 5/5, Ar 13/15, Palate 19/20, Overall 5+5/10
Total 97/100
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/14/2019 - Dr. Bee wrote: flawed
Corked & dead. Opened a 2006 instead.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/29/2019 - BartonSt wrote:
Entry mistake
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/20/2019 - rmcnees Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dark inky garnet colored, rich concentrated, full bodied, Wine Spectator describes the nose as "a bit animal with some smoked game, mincemeat and bacon notes'. The fruit is ripe blackberry and black currant with a hint of blueberry with notes of tar, coffee, earth, black truffles, anise and hints of pepper and spice on the long finish of fine grain nicelly integrated tannins and crisp acidity.
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/04/spectacular-wine-flight-highlights-etta.html
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/19/2018 - ShadowIII Likes this wine: 93 Points
dark berry fruits, spice, elegant, balanced, long finish
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/11/2018 - TomOfCT Likes this wine: 93 Points
My first time with Grange. It was intriguing, but without the full complexity I expected. Felt like it was close to the peak.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/28/2018 - pdemaio wrote: 95 Points
Big, but complex wine. Great balance and backbone.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/17/2017 - pdemaio wrote: 95 Points
Lovely, full bodied and nuanced. Great top notes.
PDQ95+
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/19/2016 - SPierson Likes this wine: 95 Points
At GDKs dinner. Wine of the night easily.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/14/2016 - shallIshantI Likes this wine: 93 Points
We had a 2005 night with contributions from:
- Kanonkop, South Africa - Claret blend
- Hazell, California - Pinot Noir
- Grange, Australia - Syrah (Bin 95, Bottle 48964)
Kanonkop - gave nothing away on the nose. Plenty of fruit on the foretaste. Drink up now.
Hazell - much stronger perfumed bouquet. Longer in the mid range and continued. This is a v good wine.
Grange - lives up to the hype. Complex. Oak and vanilla. Medicinal. Fruit. Very long aftertaste. Could easily go another 5 years.
All were ready to drink. All had deep dark edges considering they are 11 years old.
Main course was a Beef Wellington, then cheeses
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
11/22/2014 - Uglypinga Likes this wine:
Oak, vanilla and beef on the nose. The palate is full but the fruit is tight and the tannins strong. This has lots of promise but needs years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/21/2014 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 95 Points
Penfolds Tasting with 5 vintages of Grange and a bunch more (Downtown Cleveland): If Grange was affordable, this would be an example of why to drink some young. Yes, it is immense and intense, but there is lot of pleasure here too. Black raspberries, cassis, spice, black pepper, grilled meats and licorice on the nose. Huge to drink but a lovely texture makes it go down very well. Lots of tannins of course. Long finish. Plenty of room to improve here, this needs a decade or more. A real treat to try tonight though. Thanks Berto.
3 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/21/2013 - lumpyelbow wrote:
LCBO paid tasting: A solid core of fruit. This will live forever but is lush and lovely at the moment. Can't say I'd pay $500 a bottle but an excellent wine nonetheless.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/20/2013 - Wine Canuck wrote: 92 Points
Sampled at the LCBO tasting bar. This sample came across to me as slightly candied, but this dissapated and seemingly evolved into something nicer: syrup coated cherries, candy floss, caramel, red plum, blueberry, baked strawberries. Palate reveals rich mentholated red and dark fruit. Low perceived sweet tannin. And a long red fruited and menthol finish. Has the stuffing to and should improve.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/8/2013 - Jhcwine Likes this wine: 94 Points
Nose - some complexity
Palate - definite interest and complexity. Full bodied, but not chewy
Overall, very nice. Very interesting. But lacks finesse, which will come with age.
94
tasted @ LCBO tasting counter
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/9/2013 - KVM wrote: 92 Points
Grange tasting at Divino, Calgary; 10/8/2013-10/9/2013 (Divino Bistro, Calgary): Inky, opaque. Tight nose is cherry and black fruit. Moist soil in the Rhonish nose. Red fruit, eucalyptus, cough syrup nose. Med body. Tannin is showing in this youngster.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/15/2012 - drunken sommelier Likes this wine: 95 Points
Bottle 38,590 - shared with 18 aspiring sommeliers. Very dark cherry in colour and opaque. Serious complexity on the nose - blackberries, stewed strawberries and plums, white pepper, chocolate, fine leather, cinnamon and clove, cigar box and a little booze. Blackberry, dark cherries, chocolate, cedar and a bit hot on the palate. Substantial body, yet smooth with a long blackberry and spice finish. A very fine glass of wine.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/21/2011 - oenophilip wrote: 96 Points
Black fruits and fig with ripe plum and clove (even a bit of oxidized/madeira-like sweetness) showing on the nose. Tremendous structure provided from the oak adding vegetal notes (celery, dill), spices, and a touch a vanilla. Beautifully layered flavors with medium-plus body, medium acidity, and a lengthy finish. Surprised how ready this wine was to drink, but it will benefit from age and develop into a real gem in years to come.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/17/2011 - wino_tim wrote: 97 Points
Deep, rich, textured and incredibly complex, this offers an elegant - though admittedly immature - feel to its black fruit, wood smoke, dill and cream aromas. Medium bodied on the palate, incredibly concentrated, with ripe blackberry, raspberry jelly, cream and spice flavors that play against some of the finest tannins I have ever tasted.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
10/4/2010 - subtlet Likes this wine: 94 Points
2010 Penfolds Tasting (Liner and Elsen, Portland OR): The nose reminds me of molasses poured over a bag of pretzels and then mixed in with blackberries and chocolate. It's soft on entry with a rich wash of blackberry jam, chocolate, and caramel rolling in quickly. The oak works so well it's downright decadent! The dark fruit is fantastic and some lovely orange flavors brighten things up. Some dusty chocolate shows up later and does some great work with the acidity on the lingering finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/4/2010 - MBannon wrote: 94 Points
Huge coffee aroma. Massive flavors of coffee, fruit, chocolate, and prunes. A little hot, but very elegant. Obviously a baby.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/4/2010 - RPerro wrote: 93 Points
Penfolds Tasting Seminar (Liner & Elsen Wine Merchants, Portland, OR): Wine #10. 96% Shiraz, 4% Cab. Another huge wine! Lots of plum fruit, seemingly from a hotter vintage? 100% new American oak for 18 months. Black pepper, big plum fruit and A LOT of tannins! Vanilla on the finish, but fairly hidden by the chalky tannins. At this stage, I much prefer the 2002.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/1/2010 - cliffkol wrote: 94 Points
Tasted at the winery on release date. Obviously needs more aging. Big tannins and very oaky at this stage; disjointed components. Full bodied and concentrated wine. Flavors of dark berries, chocolate, cloves, anise. Long fruity finish. (Doris 93)
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment