1983 Penfolds Grange
Community Tasting Note
Cailles wrote:
Sunday, December 31, 2023 - 20 Top Wines of the 1983 Vintage: Great bottles of the 1983 Grange can drink close to perfection these days. This bottle never fully got there. Upon opening it was closed and muted and even showed signs of age, with 6+ hours in the decanter it got better and better but never reached the absolute heights of the best bottle I’ve had a year ago (rated 99pts), which had a touch higher purity, weightlessness, and more pronounced pure, Chambolle-like red fruit. Still, this was an excellent bottle.
TN: This Grange exhibits a vibrant array of aromas - intense and multi-layered from the nose, across the palate, to a prolonged, expansive finish. It offers a striking contrast to the 1983 Dominus/Opus, also tasted. The profile includes bright red berries, darker fruits, and an abundance of spices and herbs. It's the most mature 1983 Grange I've encountered, with aging notes seamlessly melded into the profusion of other scents. The structure is finely tannic, complemented by excellent freshness. Its texture is more velvet-like than satin, with substantial yet not overwhelming density and weight. The balance and harmony are impressive.
Decanting: Extensive aeration is key - a minimum of 6-7 hours in a decanter brings out its full potential.
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