What a lovely way to start the dinner. The last time I had the DP Rose I'll admit I wasn't totally convinced, but last night's wine was really lovely. Very bright and fresh and the red fruits came through nicely. Light on its feet. I enjoyed it quite a bit and enjoyed the youngness of it as well.

Yep - you read that right. I like this Chardonnay. I don't normally find myself liking chardonnay, but I figured worth a try and this was quite nice. Grapes mostly sourced from Tassie for this year. It's very well balanced. A bit of stone and mineral. Missing that chardonnay aftertaste that I typically react to. Does have some of those honey notes. Paired very nicely with a fluke crudo in kumquat sauce.

For as much as I like Grange I've had very little interaction with the top Cabernet from Penfolds so when we decided to do a dinner it seemed like a good excuse to suss one of these out. This was really very enjoyable. Lots of very dark red fruits. More herbal notes. Some rose hips. A pretty and tasty wine. Power, but there's finesse as well. And this certain 'yummy' factor which was a descriptor I heard around the table. A nice way to ease into the reds.

Really fun to get to try this wine as it's not one that I was familiar with and it's not so easy to find on this side of the world. We tried it both next to the '96 Bin 707 and also the '80 Grange. This is a Shiraz-Cab blend. Predominant flavor is the spices which seem to just jump out of the glass. Well structured and made wine. Still quite young despite the 39 years. Clearly capable of aging for many more years.

And so we begin the main event - the Grange vertical. This was the youngest of the group. Had been decanted for about an hour before coming to the restaurant and was decanted again. It's 26 years old and still pretty young. You can't tell there's been any age here really at all. Lots of eucalyptus and freshness and that feeling almost after you've had a mint and your whole mouth feels a bit cool. Ripe blackberries. Some floral. Some of the more meatier side hasn't developed yet, but perhaps with some more time. Fun to get to try. I think we'll need to sit on our bottles of these for many years.

Part of a Grange vertical and funny but you can hardly tell that this has 10 years on the '92. It's one of the best 82's I've ever had (just a great bottle). So very open and expressive and fresh and young. Eucalyptus which is perhaps the most dominating feature of this wine comes through pretty quickly. Had been decanted for maybe an hour when poured. Still super young though so we'll want to wait on our bottle.

Yum yum yum (although as it is a Grange vertical I can say that for basically all of the wines). This one is again very young and fresh. Had been opened and decanted for maybe an hour when we tried it. Again lots of eucalyptus and here some more black fruits and tons of spices. It's an intense wine that grips you and yet very balanced. We've got a few more of these and I imagine we'll want to wait on them. Wine is amazingly enough still really quite young.

This wine is always a favorite for me and this night was no different. I am coming to believe it's still really on the young side and we'll want to wait with our bottles. In addition to the eucalyptus that they all have and the fruits and the spices this is starting to add a bit more cigar and tobacco flavors as well. A bit more secondary but still so very fresh. Opened and decanted for prob close to 2.5 or 3 hours by the time we tried it. Just kept getting better throughout the night.

It is easy to tell why this is one of the best years of Grange. It's is a different animal than some of it's brothers. Fruit is much more intense here and comes across more as a sweet jam (not a jammy wine though). More dark and brooding. A bit more heft in the palate. Very balanced. Very tightly wound. Will be hold our bottles for decades if I had to guess. This is a wine that needs lots more time. But wonderful.

Takeaway here is that there are no bad years of Grange. I think this was meant to be a less positive year and coming on the heels of the '76 I can tell it's a different type of wine. And yet it's still 100% absolutely delicious. Here again the fruits are becoming a bit sweeter (similar to the 76). Not the same heft as that wine. The eucalyptus comes across a bit more like menthol or mint flavors. It's very well balanced and constantly evolving. And again still young which is just crazy. Beautiful wine.

The takeaway for me with this wine is Grange is pretty happy around 55+ years old. This was probably the only wine we had this evening that was really in prime drinking window. It had been opened and decanted for a few hours before pouring. Almost a hint of fizz on first pour but that resolved quickly. One of the few wines where the pan drippings that Penfolds winemakers talk about are really there. With the fruit and the eucalyptus and the spices and the petals. It's just singing. A truly lovely wine and such a treat to get to try.

Still on the lighter golden side. Surprising to me given the age. Very nice and sweet and light. At this point in the evening note taking had fallen to the wayside, but I remember thinking it was young for the age and a nice sauternes.

D'Yquem is in a league of its own basically always. And funny how easy it is to pick out. It just jumps out of the glass at you. Light and airy and viscous all at the same time. It's a plethora of all of those stone fruits and white flowers and lovely crispness and softness at the same time. Great way to end the evening.