Bought on release after selling a case of Cloudy Bay SB in London, early 2000s. Decanted for 5 hours and this opened with a beautiful nose of chocolate and berries. Raspberries dominated the palate, and I was pleasantly pleased with how resolved the wine was and not overly fruit driven or syrupy as I had feared. In a good drinking window but if I had more of this, i would hold for another few years (if not more) as there is plenty of life in this.
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A few observations: A) The wines undoubtedly deserve their legendary status. Few wines manage to square the circle of being intense, rich in substance and structure, while at the same time being ethereal, delicate and airy. B) The wines are all complex and very precise. With age (and/or air) the wines show a Rayas-like pure red berry fruit to die for. Other defining aromas are the minty/eucalyptus notes and especially the sweet spice I find in many Aussie Shirazes. C) The wines age at a glacial pace. Even the 40+ year old wines are still quite young and all will need a lot of decanting. D) All the wines were on a high level (except for one subpar bottle of the 2000). The winner was the magical 1982 (98pts), the epitome of elegance and balance.
TN: Reductive notes, not much more on the nose. On the palate a bit more open with darker red berries, shy minty notes, spices. Quite clean but not overly complex. Light and airy texture and feel, good freshness but slightly coarse tannins. Probably not the strongest vintage but with a lot of air, this would have been better. 92pts
Decanting: All wines were quickly double decanted 3h before the tasting. In my experience Grange usually needs hours of proper decanting. I would decant this vintage for 5+ hours.
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The nose was fantastic. So much power and finesse, promised the world! But the taste could not deliver near the same experience. Lots of fruit and layers of tertiary components but a bit flat and clumsy after a while. Nose 97-98points, taste 91-92 points...
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Grange vertical (Wunderbrunnen, Opfikon): Part of a 7-vintage vertical (key takeaways in the tasting story). First a whiff of brett, but dissipating. Precise but narrow in terms of aromatics. Dark fruit profile, just accents of spice and herbs. The palate is fresh with electric acidity and a firm structure. Feels too young by probably a decade.
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Four decades of Penfolds Grange (Chicago, IL): This comes off as a bit of a red-fruited version of the magnificent 1998. It is similarly on the cusp of maturity, and shows the same firm, leathery tannins, but the fruit is a little more tart and bright. The acidity is also more prominent, making this feel overall more structured. A little more time will help this soften and probably yield a slightly different, but similarly splendid wine.
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This grange is a deep crimson red showing visibly no age or bricking at the rim yet (even at 26Y). On the nose it shows violet, eucalyptus, black cherry and although it only required a double decant, it encourages a bit of time in the glass. The palate is lively, exuberant and generous showing black cherry but also cacao nib with an underpinning of well-integrated but subtle oak and unfolding a whisper of tobacco. Finish is firm, but resolves in a layer of supple, smooth well integrated tannins and encourages another sip.
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Kleur: Diep donkerrood met een subtiel begin van een verkleuring naar bruinrood aan de rand. Aroma / bouquet: Een aangenaam en krachtig bouquet dat direct de fles uitstuift na opening, beluchting is volstrekt overbodig ;-). Wow, veel mooier gaat de neus van een belegen Syrah / Shiraz niet worden. Een restant gedroogd fruit, een aangename boersigheid / stallerigheid, cederhout. Aangename rokerigheid. Smaak / Afdronk: BP14 Inmiddels 26 jaar oud en in een perfecte balans. Een zachte zuurgraad. Briljant gerijpte, fluweelzachte tannines, een royale aromatische vulling en 14% alcohol. Een smaakbom met concenetratie en finesse. Boterzacht en verleidelijk met een lange afdronk. Algemeen / potentieel: Voor mij, in dit stadium, de ultieme perfectie. Niets op af te dingen. En daarom ook de score voor perfectie. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 15 + Smaak / Afdronk: 20 + Algemeen / potentieel: 10 = 100/100
Colour: Deep dark red with a subtle beginning of a discoloration to brown red at the edge. Aroma / bouquet: A pleasant and powerful bouquet that immediately exudes from the bottle after opening, aeration is completely unnecessary ;-). Wow, the nose of a matured Syrah / Shiraz doesn't get much nicer. A remnant of dried fruit, a pleasant rusticity / stalliness, cedar wood. Pleasant smokiness. Taste / Aftertaste: BP14 Now 26 years old and in perfect balance. A soft acidity. Brilliantly matured, velvety tannins, a generous aromatic filling and 14% alcohol. A flavor bomb with concentration and finesse. Buttery soft and seductive with a long finish. General / potential: For me, at this stage, the ultimate perfection. Nothing to haggle. And therefore also the score for perfection. 50 + Color: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 15 + Taste / Aftertaste: 20 + General / potential: 10 = 100/100
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A great showing from a perfect bottle. There are the classic wild berry and mint-tinged flavors of a mature Grange but this is still fresh with superb intensity and lively acids. The finish is very complex with wonderful notes of licorice and black slate minerals. This is not as over-the-top as I expected and is just gorgeous tonight with a 4-hour double-decant. 95+
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Tight and tannic with tar and menthol. It’s hot and spicy, but muddy, lacking clarity and focus. It finally develops some sweet fruit and a silky texture with a redeeming chocolate finish. In spite of its reputation, I can’t get over-excited and in the immortal words of the Peggy Lee song, “Is that all there is?” CHP 86pts
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2022 Excellent Burgundy Adventure; 10/31/2022-11/6/2022 (Burgundy): Crumbling cork. Expressive nose displaying very ripe black fruit, blackberry liqueur, blackberry jam, strong licorice, a hint of petrol, smoked meat, eucalyptus, garrigue, dark spices earth. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of intense black fruit, rich and unctuous, medium acidity and mineral, and a long very ripe concentrated black fruit driven finish with a hint of smoke at the end. As expected, very concentrated and ripe. If you like the ripe and concentrated Aussie wines, your rating may be a few points higher.
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Bottled opened 45 mins before tasting. Nose is sweet exuberant with all the Barossa Shiraz traits (red and dark berries, eucalyptus, spices). the palate is super velvety long with good freshness. but it is so sweet. too much for my taste. the following day, I pored the remaining half a glass that stayed in the fridge overnight. the nose was less exuberant but also more complex with nice peony notes and the sweetness was toned down a little probably due to a lower temperature of service than the day before.
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Herbal, forest floor, Bordeaux-like, earthy with purple fruit flavors; good acidity still, nicely balanced with some nice complexity. 3rd place overall, my 2nd place. Taylor's Steak House Dirty Dozen dinner.
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Dense nose, which balances between mushrooms, cocoa and menthol. Very heady and diverse.
Creamy to the palate that I have rarely seen on a red. A wine as rich as the 1997 Ornellaia drunk a day earlier with a slight sensation of sweetness in addition. The wine remains fresh and supple despite a great concentration. Sensation of strawberry covered in chocolate on the tongue, it is very pretty but it does not fall easily for all that. The texture is reminiscent of the elegance of Ornellaia and the very creamy, half minty, half roasted finish with a beautiful persistence is very beautiful. The 14 ° pass by themselves.
Excellent
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This is a very expressive bottle of the '97 with classic Grange flavors of ripe wild berries, eucalyptus and licorice. A voluminous, velvety texture with mouth-coating tannins on the long finish which is loaded with notes of tobacco, dark cherry spice and complex, crisp minerals. Decadent yet structured and absolutely delicious!
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This bottle is showing a lot of maturity with a voluminous, velvety texture and deep flavors of aged dark fruits, eucalyptus and a hint of prune. The tannins are fully resolved and ultra-smooth and the finish is layered with a fantastic dark red spice note.. A bit exotic but very fun to drink.
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Covid-19 Intro/Retro (Chez Hughes): Blind. Youthful nose that initially shows plenty of American Oak toast but then settles in with smoky black fruit, spice and toasted herbs. The palate really sings here. Terrific concentration of classic Shiraz black fruit with so much layering and nuance. Plenty of structure and fine tannin provide grip. Still has upside. My #1, Group #2. Really group?!
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Didn't have the "oomph" of the '98, but was quite enjoyable in its own right as a more restrained and subtle style. Ample fruit, soft tannin, would be very happy to drink this again.
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Having read many of the preceding notes, I triple decanted this about 3 hours ahead of drinking. It's worth saying now that the wine continued to evolve for over 2 hours on top of the decant (5 hours total), so I would certainly plan for an early decant if you're wanting to see the full evolution of this wine. Initially it was tapenade that dominated the nose for me, with the inky blue/black fruit element only becoming more dominant later. I'll confess to a degree of disappointment that the palate seemed to me to be typical of top notch Oz Shiraz but didn't deliver the kind of complex nuances that I associate with the best of Northern Rhone Syrah; some may argue that my expectation was wrong and perhaps so, maybe it just confirms where my palate sits. The issue here is that this wine retails for £350, so we're into the territory of top Hermitage and Cote Rotie. They may lack the intensity of the Grange but I think I find more interest in them. I'd be very interested to try one of these alongside a couple of other mid price oz Shiraz (St Hallet's Old Block perhaps), to see how it distinguishes itself. In fairness to the Grange it was incredibly smooth and the length was stunning. A very good wine but I think I'd have been disappointed if I'd paid £350 (I purchased on release for less than a third if that). No hurry to drink these, I'd guess they'll be good for at least another 10 years if stored well but keep an eye on teh cork condition.
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NobleRottersSydney - meant to be Grange (360 Bar & Dining, Sydney): [DavidH] {cork, 14%} A bit muted. Malt, earth and blueberries. Almost a touch anonymous – kind of silly that a 20-year-old could still be closed but there you go. This is nicely balanced on the palate, medium weight but still fairly blocky – it seems stuck in a kind of dumb phase somehow. Medium length finish. Hard to get hold of; seems like a long decant or more cellaring (or both) is in order. Although still I feel it’s not quite of a piece like the 90 is. Hold with some confidence I guess.
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Tasted at Penfolds Magill Estate, Adelaide. 40 Vintages of Grange: Is it a bit maderised on the nose or is it showing more age, bracketed as it is between the monumental '96 and '98? It shows some uncharacteristic bricking on the rim. The palate on the other hand is showing nothing of the sort, perhaps a little softer but otherwise typical Grange.
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Smokin Meat and Serious Syrah 2.0 (Westport, CT): Another contender for WOTN which shouldn't surprise anyone who reads my notes who knows I always love Grange. This was opened and decanted prob 7 hours in advance and it needed every minute of that. I've had this vintage in the past and it was always a bit more muted and not quite as expressive as some other vintages. Turns out a good decant fixes that. This is all dark spices and dark fruit and eucalyptus and floral and interesting and constantly evolving and just delicious. In some stiff company Grange always impresses.
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Decanted for one hour, re-bottled and brought to restaurant. Clear deep garnet-blood red color with moderate sediment removed by decanting. Outstanding bouquet of mixed red and black fruits and their liqueurs, green tobacco, cigar humidor, bacon fat, spices, mincemeat, and stony soil. Similar on the palate, full body, seamless, beautifully balanced, elegant, refined, satin mouthfeel.
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What a treat. This was presented with a 'think it might be past it' remark. What an error of judgement!
Perfectly in balance. Refined with smooth tannin. Alcohol invisible. Yet the fruit; more red than black with savoury, coffee and a nip of spice at the end. The finish is as good as you would expect. Sip and savour if you can get hold of it.
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Grange 1997 95 points Popped and poured, crust in the bottle Colour Pale Ruby translucent , some bricking present 15/15 Nose med intensity with some tertiary aromas, cigar box, leather, , very complex layering present 28/30 Palate med to full bodied, rich velvety soft, long finish, chocolate, coffee , mocha super balance and complexity 42/44 Overall Always a treat to have Grange . I was surprised by the development present for a 22 yo Grange , probably needs drinking up 10/10 Nothing left to retest then following day!
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My first Grange. Marvelous. It need a full hour after decanting. Spicy. Peppers. Currant. Tannins fully balanced. Propably peaking now but plenty of structure left. Great stuff.
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A private dinner (Restaurant De Lage Vuursche, Lage Vuursche, NL): Almost incredibly youthful, such concentration, deep and rich but perfectly pure and precise, intense Syrah typicity, all minerals and energy, beef stock and mint, great velvety tannic core, black pepper and black fruit, sweet American oak. Almost embryonal. An iron fist in a velvet glove. Half a century. Magnificent.
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Dark palate, very rich, with blue-black fruits like blackberries, boysenberries and candied plum, has that Shiraz sweetness but overall, this is balanced and pretty well defined. Still very youthful; this will last for many more years and I am curious what secondary qualities may emerge with another decade in the cellar. I appreciated and respected this wine even though it's not at all the style of wine that I usually enjoy. Quality Italian with Jim W. and Joe D'A.
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Disappointing for a Grange. Didn't get much Shiraz character. Rather closed but limited decant time. Opened up more with more time but was still beat by the other 2 bottles on the table. I would decant at least 4 hours next time.
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Thanks MC2 for sharing this bottle. Shiraz ain’t my thing, but this is no ordinary shiraz. Surprisingly elegant and ethereal. There is heft but there is no clumsiness or syrupy thickness. Wonderful core of red fruit and liquorice. It developed over a couple of hours to start showing more but I think in 10 years it will show more complexity...
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A night of awesome wine (67 Pall Mall): I was interested to see how this wine would come out. It's a bit young I think for a Grange and not necessarily one of the best years, but then again I've never seen a Grange not deliver and this was no exception. We opened and decanted as soon as we got to the restaurant and prob poured a few hours later. Even then, it started a bit alcoholic and perhaps more one-dimensional. With time in the glass though it really blossomed. All of the eucalyptus and mint and herbal and black fruits and spice. Very tasty.
First I must confess I love 20 yo Granges, the 71 and 76 both drunk at about 20y are among my top 5 wines ever. I really meant to drink the 98 tonight but was confused by the bottling date. This is a classic Grange and a very good wine indeed. Cork in excellent condition, light sediment. Complex nose of blueberry, anise, leather and cigar box. Fruit very well preserved. Clean with good acidity and wonderful long finish. I am not a fan of big, fruity South Australian Shiraz but a well aged Grange transcends and gives as much pleasure as a great Bordeaux. I stopped buying Grange after 98 and see it is now ridiculously expensive. What a pity for serious wine lovers!
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NobleRottersSydney - Penfolds at 10 20 30 years (360 Bar & Dining, Sydney): {cork, 14%} [Geoffrey] Decanted at the start of the dinner (2 hours). Bears a remarkable stylistic similarity to the 88; it’s not often you get to try decade-apart Granges side-by-side. This too has lots of liquorice and leather, but is tighter than the 88, with bitter dark chocolate flavours and dark grape fruit. It’s partly-developed, medium/full in weight, with medium-high powdery tannins, and a beautifully even palate, which really promises another decade’s aging. Will take another decade’s aging easily on this showing; but the prices for these nowadays outstrip their inherent vale I rather think. Who’s buying them these days?
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Blind tasted this wine against a much younger Scrarecrow cab- the Penfold had stronger tannins initially and tasted more like a cab than a shiraz with less fruit but beautiful balance. Lots of sediment and after an hour it's age was showing.
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This has been in my cellar for many years, a gift from the winemaker after a visit there and a visit to my winery. I had saved to share with my son ( a story why is private) who just concluded a difficult harvest profitably. It is not a disappointment the ullage was less than half inch, the cork only wet an eighth of an inch. The color is sound and dense, the nose roasted and spicy, distinctly Syrah. Smooth and developed, good acid balance, but I would never guess this as 20 plus years old. Lovely.
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From the land down under - Q4 Wine Club (The Apt): Wine #3: Definitely funky when I poured it originally. There was clearly some age on this. Lots of dried red fruits. Rosemary. More herbal in nature than the previous too. Decent tannin and a wine that seemed like it had a lot more life left. I did not pick it out as a Grange though. In retrospect wish I had decanted. When I revisited later in the night it was still finding it's sea legs, but had continued to improve. (3 pennies)
My first experience with Grange. Decanted for one hour. Nose has violets, smoked fruit, cedar wood, dark fruit and vanilla. Palate is big and powerful but it retains balance, class and finesse. The sweetness is precise. It is very smoothe and soft. This is drinking at its peak. The last sip shows that the fruit is drying up.
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Layers of mature blue fruit, nicely balanced and lingering. Great example of the ageability of the big Aussie styled Shiraz if perhaps more interesting to us because ot is outside our usual wheelhouse. I'm glad we ventured out...
No reason to wait if this bottle is representative.
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Served blind at Acker HK auction. "Is this some sort of cult Australian basket press Shiraz"? was my first reaction! Deep ruby/purple. Very sweet, blackcurrant fruit gum nose which was the dead giveaway for big Aussie Barrosa shiraz! Not the biggest example of Grange I have tasted but clearly well made with ultra-super ripe but healthy fruit. Just lacks acidic uplift and refreshment which at the end of the day is what a beverage is supposed to provide. As good as Australian shiraz is probably going to get and if this is your thing it is wonderful. I might even suggest Run Rig provides a bit more subtlety, balance and purity and that is saying something as Run Rig is not exactly a shy wine. Lovely to taste and sample but not a wine I would want more than a small pour of and certainly not a second glass and hence my score. A good wine is simply something you want to drink more of...
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Penfolds Grange Vertical (Sixteen, Chicago IL): Nose: The nose here was starting to show some evolution and adding a few extra wrinkles of complexity with chocolate, dark red cherries, dusty notes, raspberries, mint, and eucalyptus. There is excellent depth and richness from the fruit.
Taste: Full bodied with medium tannins and medium acidity. The tannins are starting to resolve with the feel showing plush and deep backed up with chocolate notes, dust, dark red cherries, raspberries, and eucalyptus tones.
Overall: This was showing extremely well. It's balanced and deep with a real sense of class even though it is larger scaled.
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Drinking superbly. Dark brick red in colour. After 5 hours breathing effortlessly silky yet potent, soft tannins with blackberry and plum fruit, some antsy palate, long clean finish. Softness and balance remarkable. December 2016
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Two bottles at Xmas dinner: classic ruby colour; there was a moderate sediment in the bottle; aromas like red currant, black currant , cherry, pomegranate and sandalwood in nose and mouth; light/medium body with round texture; accompanied by small but noticable acidity. The two bottles tasted very similar.
This wine reminded me of an old school bordeaux. At the same time two bottles of Masseto 2009 were served. People at table were equally divided in their opinion which wine they liked more. Since I'm more the aroma and old school guy my vote goes to the Grange. However, the Masseto was really good too.
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Terroir-istes International - Australia-Penfolds Mini Verticals (Klein Constantia): (Tasted Blind): A deep black-red wine showcasing a complex and layered nose. Fantastic secondary development with notes of toffee, caramel, black plum, blackcurrant, vanilla pod, sweet spice and cocoa powder. A sweet and ripe fruitiness on entry with plenty of flesh and layers of black fruits, accompanied by a sinewy texture and abundant richness. Full-bodied, this powerful wine exhibits power and concentration over finesse, a more bodybuilder-like style than a 100m sprinter. The tannins are blocky with a powdery dryness along with a saline quality. Incredible depth, layers of fruit, and overall complexity and that abundance of power all add up to a top wine that seems to be ageing nicely. Closes with a touch of mint or camphor that lifts its tail nicely. 96% Shiraz and 4% CS
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Dinner at Trelio (Clovis Ca.): Had this a couple months ago....not as good of a bottle, but still a fantastic drink! Smooth Bordeaux-like...creme de cassis, purple fruits, mouth coating and saturated, yet firm polished tannins...leather, camphor, graphite powder, pencil, licorice...becoming a BIG Grange fan now!
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Excellent, classic Grange, 14% alc. Decanted for 2 hours before tasting, and it softened a good deal in that time. Colour: dense blackberry, dark chocolate Bouquet: blackberry, spice, with touches of sulphur that takes a long time fading, old leather character, spice and cinnamon, camphor Palate: incredibly rich and concentrated, ripe fruit, full flavoured and bodied, blackberry and cassis, blueberry, aged leather, mocha coffee, pencil shavings, anise, cedar, earthy, big very soft tannins, balance, structure and length April 2016
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La Paulee S.F. 2016 (Dinner: The Campton Place San Francisco): My first Grange…a blend of 96% Shiraz and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon(guys I knew it wasn't 100% Shiraz! ;-))….this was from a perfect stored bottle….fabulous! Drank like a fine aged(big) Cabernet….very dark and saturated liqueured berries…blackberry,blueberry,cherry,currant….mouth coating smooth and plush….very youthful, yet showing wonderful aged leather, camphor, graphite powder, pencil….cinnamon spiced mocha, dried fruits…very suductive and drank well all night!
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This is one amazing Shiraz. Still drinking very young with plenty of plum, anise flavors with a bit of white pepper in the background. Finish is very long. My last and only Grange. Will miss you
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Needs to be decanted for at least one hour and preferably two. Initial tastes of wild vine blackberry, true to dry soil and its history. It' a wine of context and place with a beautiful body; full bodied but poised and never heavy. After 3 hours, notes of wet plum set against a finessed tannin are most evident.
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Bonhams Pre-Auction Tasting (Bonham's - San Francisco, CA): Tasting, brief note. I haven't had this in many years and recall not enjoying it when I first tried it, back in the day. Tonight it was rockstar, with huge fruit in balance with spice and structure. Clearly a more modern styled Grange vs some of my favorites from a few decades back (e.g., 1986), but this powerhouse will continue to improve for decades.
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Bonhams Pre-Auction Tasting (San Francisco): Medium red with lighter edge. Complex blend of smoke and mint. Elegant, poised, lovely, and long. What a beauty and ready to drink.
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Penfolds Grange Wine Dinner at Botrini's (Botrini's Restaurant Athens): Dark garnet colored with pronounced aromatics of VA, camphor, eukalyptus, leather, rubber, balsamic notes, chocolate. Full bodied, plush and sweet. Lingering finish, the mark of a very fine wine. Second wine of the night, it was tasted together with the 1996. Both are great wines, 97 being earthier in character.
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Penfolds Grange Wine Dinner at Botrini's (Botrini Restaurant, Athens, Greece): Served alongside the 1996 with which it was quite similar. In fact this was the only couple with obvious similarity. Eukalyptus, leather, camphor, some barnyard scents and blueberry on the nose. Medium to full-bodied, sweet fruit, silky tannins and balancing acidity. Long aftertaste. The most typical aussie shiraz of the line-up.
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Upon first opening, it was clear this was in need of serious aeration (or another 7-8 years in the cellar), so I'm glad I opened it 2 days before service, giving it a quick pour in decanter and returning to bottle after 30 minutes. Indeed, the secret chambers revealed themselves two nights later whereas upon opening, the wine seemed rather linear and vague. Medium-bodied, with some gently compelling structure and engaging perfumes. Fun to drink, but falls woefully short of its pricetag; this bottle, anyway.
Served non-blind.
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Excellent example of Grange. Coravined two glasses. The first one was consumed 1 hour in, and the other was consumed three hours after that. Without question, this is a wine that needs a considerable amount of air if you want to consume it now. Classic Aussie shiraz notes, but didn’t show until given time to breathe. Great wine, but hands off to let the wine fully integrate the beauty it will become in 5-10 years.
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My first Grange. Really enjoyed it. Powerful, but not lacking elegance. Dark berries, plum, some leather and tobacco. Touches of licorice/anis. Very long aftertaste. Not an over the top wine, but a real treat. Also went extremely well with game.
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Interesting as it appeared slightly older than expected. Oldish dusky ripe black fruit with leather and wood. There are also hints of woody herbs in the background. We were informed that whilst not old by Grange standards, this year might be better drunk young.
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Quite savoury on the nose. There are some black fruit aromas but also a nice liquorice character. The palate is layered with black fruits but there is a lovely savoury edge to it. Still very dense and dark with great concentration but the secondary flavours are just starting to develop. The tannins are still grippy and toasty, but they’re super-fine and have a ripe sweetness to them. A little bit of creamy vanilla on the finish. Still needs more time.
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Still has time on it's side but as this was a wedding present we had always intended to drink it on our 10th anniversary. It didn't let us down and was a pleasure to drink. Not as powerful as some of the better vintage Grange's but still excellent. The tannins were beautiful and still shows plenty of primary fruit along with chocolate, spice and tobacco. So well balanced and yes, it does deserve it's spot at the pinnacle of Australian Wine as it's so consistently good, but it doesn't warrant it's price tag for me.
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Gorgeous wine - drank great immediately upon opening - became less plush and started showing a more granular tannin structure with time but was exceptional nevertheless
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My first experience of this particular vintage....thanks Runny! Unfortunately, it only got 2 hours in the decanter before serving.......I would recommend 12 hours at this stage of its evolution even though I think it is probably a faster-maturing Grange than most from the '70s, '80s and '90s. Enough of that....and ignore my score because it will only go a lot higher in the future.
Blackened purple, bright and fresh-looking very surprising that it is a 1997 because in the world of Grange it looks 10-15 years older. Nose is...oh my gosh....deep, very complex, closed but alluring black and red berries. Palate is soft, supple velvet but with a very dry sun-baked brick-red finish....tannic and way too young. BUT.....the finale and the thunderous resonance are all there in a brooding and precocious way....... I wrote "too young" and "but precocious" several times in my notes. Summary: way too young but the quality is unquestionably there to match the very best older Grange vintages in the future. I'd love to check in on its progress in 2017. Runny, dude..... thank you.
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This wine was an adventure: Day 1, 2 hour decant of half the bottle (half the bottle returned to 55F) - incredible nose, almost overwhelming. Massive and powerful, sweet and jammy. For some reason, over the course of the evening the wine started tasting overly sweet, and turned into a disappointment. Day 2 - drank rest of the bottle without a decant. Still powerful and rich but now was balanced and smooth. Really enjoyed it. This was my first Grange - while it was a joy to drink on Day 2, I came away feeling a bit let down for the price these bottles are going for. Nevertheless this was by far the best Shiraz I have tasted.
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Drinking very well now, tannins fully resolved - great complex rich berried fruits with whiff of oak on the nose; palate very smooth, rich and velvety with well restrained power. A lovely treat.
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Decanted for an hour before serving at dinner with friends. Had concerns over the cork which was just holding on - certainly no ill effects on wine, though it wouldn't have gone another few years I don't think. The nose was spectacular - beautiful aromatics lifting from the glass just kept coming through - very grand cru burgundy in style. The wine itself was a complete surprise given its billing as a lesser vintage. 16 years old and felt fully integrated, sublime oak and fruit balance with no signs of fading - the colour is bricking a little. It just brought a huge smile to our faces as we tasted it. Really is one of the worlds great wines - yes the price tags are silly but that holds true for all of the top wines. Could keep for a few years yet but I don't think there is any upside to be had and a risk of decline. It is drinking at its absolute apex currently.
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NobleRottersSydney - Grange night (Verde, East Sydney): {cork, 14%} (DavidM) Tossed in to drink before the much-anticipated ‘great vintages’ this was so seemingly youthful that you’d never pick it as 16 years old. Barely developing nose of chocolate, charcoal and big black fruit. The palate is still subsumed by oak, liquorice-tinted fruits, and alcohol, at least in comparison to the more mature vintages here. There are fine medium chalky tannins, and a medium/full-bodied long, powerful finish. Wants another ten years at least. I don’t think there’s been a single subsequent vintage of Grange with alcohol lower than this wine, which is rather alarming when you consider the history of the label. Barossa, McLaren Vale, Bordertown fruit. 4% cabernet.
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I agree with most of the other comments. Lots of black/ dk. fruit. Hints of eucalyptus, floral/violet and anise. Tannins are subtle at this point. Long finish. Med - alcohol, which was hardly noticeable. One of the most well-integrated, balanced Shiraz that I've tasted, but it's tough to justify the price...
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Decanted for an hour and returned to bottle before a dinner out. Still plenty of life and was drinking beautifully-- deep purple, dark fruits, chocolate and hint of licorice. Not as impressive as the '85 or '95 / '96 Grange but still excellent. Drank alongside a '90 Clinet and a '92 Massetto and had the slight edge but the Massetto was fabulous as well.
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Opaque, purple. Nose ripe fruit, plums, blackberries. Oaky, pronounced. On the palate, the wine immediately feels still incredibly youthful. Oak still needs to integrate, ripe soft tannins, unctuous, black fruits, very long. A super wine that could wait another ten years being being tried again.
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Pretty amazing, but not quite living up to the hype. Extremely sleek, with completely integrated tannin. Loads of black and blue fruit dripping with eucalyptus. Very long finish. Enough flavor and concentration to distract from the heat. Certainly a great wine, and perhaps one of the best Shiraz I've tasted, but not what I'd consider a top-tier product compared with wines of France, Italy and USA at the same price point.
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Color was ver dark red almost opaque. Purple gone. Nose lots of cassis and cherries. On the palate cherries, raspberry, and a hint of blueberries. Good balance. Long finish. A really special Shiraz
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Full bodied, concentrated, powerful and young, the wine is stuffed to the gills with licorice, coffee bean, sweet, jammy berries and spice. Still primary, and a bit on the burly side, give this time before popping a bottle.
The Usual Suspects...a new tradition; 3/22/2013-3/24/2013 (Lucerne Inn): Color: Opaque ruby Smell: Wet stone, dried meat, dried red fruits, and herbs Taste: Dried dark fruits, monolithic Overall: Very Good - Excellent. This medium bodied wine with med acidity, med+ fruit, and med tannin had a short finish and was almost boring. Given the cost of this wine...it's just such a shame that people are paying so much for these wines. I think the statement I heard that night holds true, "Grange is the most over-priced and consistantly underwhelming wine."
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Shiraz Tasting (@home): Decanting Time: 4h Glass: Riedel Shiraz Nose: Right after opening and later after pouring into the glass a beautiful Shiraz nose: complex aromas, spices, dark fruit, vanilla, oak but not too sweet or even marmelade Palate: Elegant, good acidity, multi layers of fruit, spices, leather, good integration of the used oak Finish: Very long Could easyly last and even imporove 10+ years. Great wine!!!
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This bottle was paired with the amazing 1990 Grange for my 50th birthday bash. 1997 was considered an OK year for Grange and it was sandwiched between two amazing years, so its reputation has suffered a bit. Thankfully, I can report that this baby is tasting just wonderfully 16 years later. It was bold and flavorful, with less of the subtlety of the 1990, but still quite an enjoyable drink. A number of folks at the table actually preferred it to the 1990, it was that nice.
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An outstanding Grange, perfectly mature and ready to drink. Still dark and opaque. Excellent concentrated cassis, with typical raspberry overtones. We've been drinking Grange for over 30 years and this one's up there with the best. Wonderful complex tongue-coating flavors, no significant tannin, and a very long raspberry finish. I don't think it will get any better, so enjoy!
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Deeply colored, almost opaque. Very clean and opulent nose with ripe berry and plummy fruit, licorice, violets and sweet spice - nutmeg and vanilla. Full bodied but elegant with a smooth mouthfeel. Finish was quite bitter though. An excellent wine with emphasis on fruit and still very young.
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Very dark color, muted nose, and good amount of sediment in bottle. Decanted 30 minutes. This is a little less powerful than other vintages of Grange I have had, but still full-bodied black fruit on solid backbone of tannins. Black pepper, graphite, mushroom notes.
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Tapas and wine (Park Hyatt Sydney): Oak still dominates, classic coke hard candy nose, still very young and rough around the edges, but I really like it.
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I bought mine in AU in its realease year and have been holding since. Opened at Attlier Crenn in SF. The cork broke in half - and this by a pretty talented sommelier. The wine was a little course right at the decant, but softened over the next 1.5 hours as we waited to drink. There were fleeting moments of brilliance that exploded with flavor in one sip and the next would be nice, but nothing to shout about. Then another amazing sip. If I could have lined up all the great sips I might have only had a split of wine, but would have given it a 98! Possibly it needed even longer to decant - as we drank the wine over the next hour or so, I am not sure it would have improved further. I'm not sure the wine would have lasted til 2020, the cork certainly would not have.
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A wine near opaque clear garnet pours thick from the decanter. Far more shaded than anticipated, with a forceful core next to a few sediments that sways at the bottom of the glass.
Immediately the nose takes me into the winemakers wine that is Grange. Powerful and complex are my first thoughts as the multilayered aromas reveals further depth. An synergistic intricacy requires me to use the intact dictionary of descriptors here; chassis, menthol, cedar, coniferous, mushrooms, licorice and spice.
On the palate the wines opens up to even new magnitudes. Grange is tremendously soft and alluring. High bracing acidity, huge but agile and fine granular tannins along with a concentrated and packed body. The alcohol is in harmony with the wine and the high flavor intensity contributes to the mighty yet elegant structure. On the palate I get a bigger spectrum of primary fruits; perhaps mulberry, black berries and chassis. The aftertaste is extremely long and seductive.
Something that stands out in this wine, made with tweezers, is the refined use of oak, serious complexity, rigid balance and the everlasting aftertaste. Like a gymnast, flexible and elegant built on brute force. This bad boy drinks good now, but will presumably get better over a couple of years. Drink to 2018. Yum! http://quaffable.org/?p=121
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Very dark, opaque. First sip was all soy sauce, very intense. Opened over 90 minutes to show dark fruit, chocolate, but was still dominated by soy, acid, tannin. Very long finish. No complaints, as this was one of the most intense and complex things we've tasted! Hope to try another after more years' age or extended decanting.
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Amazing we decanted it several hours in advance and drank it with medium rare ribeye steaks. Fantastic taste chocolate overtones giving way to the underlying fruit. We allowed our 16 year old son to taste it and even he got the chocolate and did not screw up his face in disgust like he has done with every other wine he has tried. Had to tell him it was our only bottle :-(
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Opus One vs. Penfolds Grange (AWSEC, Hong Kong): Bit of a heatwave in this vintage. Bricked edge - much more evolved than the others. Vegetal nose with savoury, 'tomato soup' smell. Also tobacco. Good acidity on this - raises concerns as to where that came from in this vintage. Mild tannins with a savoury, smokey finish. This one was quite evolved - I'd even say 'drink up' but I'm sure this was an off bottle compared to the one we had on another occasion.
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A fantastically smooth and lush wine. let decant for 3.5 hours and it was heavenly. First thing that you get is a earthen wood flavor then that softens to expose a mouth coating layered wine with fruit, tobacco, and leather in perfect harmony. One of the best wines I have ever had
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e: Had nose of hay, menthol, and clay moulding( sort of play dough ) Coffee and raspberry. Had a distinctive Bordeaux nose, without the poop. Finish smooth. Long and classy. Superb wine. 2 hour decant, drank over 3 hours, evolved in the glass.
24 hours later under vacu vin, then this glass over 3 hours, the fruit is the dominant profile on the nose - massive cherry, raspberries. The depth of the nose and wine have doubled. As good as last night, but the advantage of evolution. Drank in 2012
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AWSEC French Connection (AWSEC, Hong Kong): This is the wine Stephen grabbed from his collection when the '95 Pichon Lalande proved off - happy days. Dense purple core with light rim. We opened and poured this straight from the bottle but I didn't even approach it for an hour, and after I had tasted everything else. A great nose - incredibly minty flavour on both the nose and palate. The oak is very well integrated. It's got medium acidity and tannin but it's the density and length of the fruit /chocolate / mint that is so compelling. This looks like a baby and I'm assured that we drank it far too young! I can believe that. I think I'd like a few of these resting in the lower shelves.
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This wine was nice and definetly got better after an hour or so being opened -- but with the hype around this wine I was expecting a lot more. It was very earthy with soft red and black fruit with a nice structure -- almost gave me the impression of a Bordeaux but you could tell it was Shiraz (if that makes sense). Nice wine and better with food than without but for the cost -- I do not see this in the mix going forward as there I wines that consistently do more for me for $100 - 150.
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Wine with Friends (Our House, Avondale, PA): Aromatics of ripe black fruits, licorice, menthol, eucyliptus. Smells so good. Great acidity. Dark fruits, menthol, dry. Beautiful and classy.
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A weekend with friends in Germany Mosel area: Part 3: Very juicy and concentrated wine. Beautiful black forest fruits. A mouth full. Beautiful acidity and tannin. Really luxurious and I did not make more notes. Young maturity now. 95+
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Dreamtasting #3 (Bernhard Eifel Restaurant, Trittenheim): (*, open label) Full-blooded Shiraz-bouquet, recognisable as a New World-wine, but certainly not jammy nor overextracted. In fact, i thought this was very restrained and extremely well proportioned. On the palate I got notes of blackberreis, blueberries, grilled meat, just a pinch of eucalyptus and mint, and then a forest in autumn, sous-bois and wonderful earthy dustiness. Still feels very youthful and lively, not sticky or sweet. This has lots of classical style and character. Truly a class-act. 18.5-19/20
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Deep, dark red. Cheery, floral, jammy, big but well structured. My first grange and my first impression was how much more complex in the 'middle' this wine is to most. Very fine tannins. Beautiful wine, but it didn't change my life.
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Decanted and let it sit for about an hour before pouring. About 3 tbs were left in the bottle with sediment. Dark ruby color, long, long - legs. The nose was very floral with all the same aspects of other great Barossa Shiraz. Mouthfeel was silky smooth and full, near perfection in this regard. Alcohol was masked well and the taste went on for some time. Very balanced in the mouth with fruits, coffee and perhaps chocolate melding well together. In the end I have to say it was probably not worth the time and money spent getting it to this point. Others from the region are performing as well or better for a quarter of the price. Strike this one to a youthful, somewhat ignorant purchase, but alas... no regrets.
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Dark garnet color. No flaws. No sediment. Some rim variation in the glass. Full of fruit. Low acid and tannin. Medium finish. Served with beef. Paired perfectly. Completely ready to drink.
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Very dark stain at end of cork. Dark purple rim. Decanted and served 3 hours later. Very primary. Lots of fruit. Good concentration. Reasonable length. Kept a little back for 24 hours. Fruit softened a little, very mellow, not especially complex. Nice wine, impressive in many ways, yet I suspect it might get better with age.
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Open and high-toned nose - quite floral with some sweet red fruit and minty elements. Sweet, thick and meaty and undeniably grange. Despite the sweet liquor elements it had reasonable balance with good underlying acidity. Quite round tannins. Primary but accessible. Will keep and improve.
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Brick red colour to the edge with only slight suggestion of purple. Nose revealing black currant, some greenery, with savoury characters and lovely suggestion of palate to come. Palate is beautifully balanced, with acid, fruit and tannins all there but integrated with a distinct savoury character. Drinking really well now.
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Drinking very nicely now. Opened 3 hours before serving. Deep red color. The cork was as black as they come. The creamy smooth texture was opulent. It was well balanced, but not bold, very subtle at this stage. Notes of dark berries and cherries. Not the pepper notes one might expect.
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Terroir-istes International - Australia-Penfolds (Rodwell House): 96% Shiraz/4% Cab, barossa/mclaren vale blend, 20 months in new amerrican oak, 14% alc, 7 Tal; 3.52 pH; [Tasted Blind] The initial bouquet has some volatility and barnyard pong. As it blows off, one senses this is a super complex wine with prune, chocolate, cinnamon spice, and marmite accompanied with blackberry, bilberry and blackcurrant preserve. It feels like some American oak is involved with coconut and vanilla pod - also some wood smoke. Overarching is a menthol or more mint-chocolate chip (after eight mints) that add further interest. The entry is full-bodied, the wine powerful yet sleek and distinguished with poise. With layers of complexity, the wine exudes class and is remarkably persistent on the finish. Wonderfully appealing! Some felt Va distracted, and there was a rusticity to the wine.
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Deep color, high extraction with a young ruby rim for a wine at this age. On the nose impressive with loads of richly spiced red and dark fruits, has some of that coffe/toffee kind of thing, ukalyptol in the way background. On the palate the wine has moderate to high acidity, a very lush and rich midpalate that isn't cloying in any way, a very smooth transition into a still reasonably tannic finish... the tannins are ripe and full... moderate alcohol. The wine is extremely well balanced with the hard and soft elements and fruit ripeness/depth and new barrique use all in synch, very good persistence, great intensity, very high complexity. Wine has finesse, a wonderful texture and is expressive of place. I haven't had this wine in a while and was very impressed... it does an incredibly good job in balancing a lot of elements that are intense and all in balance. Clearly exceptional wine that for me is drinking very close to its peak though I imagine there is so upside in cellaring this another 3-5 years or so.
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I am always stunned by this wine! It was decanted for about an hour. I caught a sweet nose of red and black berries and it grew as the glass emptied all too quickly! The taste was textured and to me gave blend of raspberry and black fruit working into soft, sweet tannins. I got a second level of taste of sweet coffee that I feel runs over the surface of the wine as it rushes around the palette. The thing about this wine, that endures for me, is that each glass seems to get better than the last and as the end approaches, I wonder what it would evolve into if we had more time, . . . . more of this great experience!
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Tar, leather and plums on the nose. Tremendous depth on the palate, with assorted black fruits. Great structure and power - everything in balance. Medium body and a slightly disappointing finish.
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Menthol, pepper, cassis, earth and minerals. Complex wine and lengthy finish. My first Grange and I look forward to sampling better vintages in my lifetime.
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Dark red with slightly garnet rim. Nose is supremely elegant: chocolate, red fruits, black pepper. In the mouth it is elegant and powerful at the same time, with tones of dark chocolate and a balsamic finish. What a wine! (2007-2020)
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Grange in the 90s @ Mike J's (Wilton, CT): When first opend, this displayed a lush, hedonistic, opulent profile. Drinking well, yet still holding a nice spine of tannins. With time, this appeared gain a bit of a "sweet" and slightly soft mouthfeel. Good, but not great.
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NobleRottersSydney - Langtons Classification (Alio's, Surry Hills): [cork 14%] All of 4% cabernet in this vintage. Immensely impressive in isolation, its really suffering tonight just by being too young, and therefore less expressive. Hasn’t yet developed the vocabulary of the Henschkes [91 Edelstone, 90 Hill of Grace]. Spiced ripe tarry fruits make up the youthful aromas, the palate still retains a monumentally youthful quality about it. Primary black fruits, fine dusty tannins, great intensity and length are all present; the oak has integrated nicely. Perhaps lacks the final touch of magic about it; yet remains eminently drinkable now despite the feeling that only some potential is being realised. Not clumsy or gauche in any way, just needs time – 10 more years? – to strut its stuff properly. Could be a ‘bargain’ in years to come, especially being sandwiched between the lusted-after 1996 and 1998 wines. Very, very good, could be great, if the fruit can keep up with the tannins...
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Very dark color. Nose is tight but with hints of eucalyptus and dark berries. Still young and yet to develop the secondary flavor profile of of liquid licorice that I love so much in this wine. Lighter-bodied than some of the blockbuster vintages but this will be elegant and complex with time. 92+
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Dark red/purple, still seems young. Very well structured, well-balanced. Blackberry, blueberry, cedar, and white pepper. Heavy but well-integrated tannins. A nice long finish. To me, the structure really sets this one apart from the more well-done cheaper wines with similar taste characteristics.
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Good ruby rim colour, The nose is blueberry and red fruit and very fresh leather and cedar, in the mouth the wine has good weight and it fills all the mouth with delicious red fruits the wine still has a nice tannic backbone there is no rush to drink this I love this wine like most Granges.
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Consistent tasting notes with 6/4/08 TN's. Again, I am drinking this too soon, I know, but the 1998's I have really need to wait so I am drinking 97 to keep my hands off the 98's.
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I was quite wrong about this wine. While we were drinking it, I thought it had some comparability to the 2003 Forefathers I had opened earlier in the evening. I was wrong. Much as I enjoyed the Forefathers earlier in the evening, it doesn't hold a candle to the Grange. Grange....rich, complex and long...all those descriptors being relative to the '03 Forefathers that I was in love with earlier in the evening. No detailed notes, but simply put, the best syrah/shiraz opened this evening....by quite a wide margin. The Cote du Rhone Nate suggested was a worthy #2. Nate....if you're reading this, I need a case of that stuff!!
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This was my first Grange and perhaps a bit of infanticide to drink it now 10 years from bottling. BOOM! This was incredible. Though I have read this is not the best vintage representation of Grange (WS gave it a 92 in 2002) I found it to be outstanding and much better than some others. Decanted for 2 hours before tasting. Pulling the cork was a beautiful experience as the wine end of the cork was so deep purple as to almost be black. Gorgeous! In the glass it was a clear, deep red nearing purple. Very nice color. The nose was huge black fruit (blackberry, blueberry), spice and a hint of oak. Oh so smooth on the palate. Blackberry, blueberry (name your black fruit and it seemed to be present) and plum fruits coalesce in a huge jammy mouthfeel but not overdone. This wine reveals more on the palate with some cassis, hints of oak, pepper and a touch of cocoa. Seriously complex, well integrated and balanced throughout; this wine just doesn't seem to want to quit with a very nice, elegant and long finish (I stopped timing the finish because it didn't seem to want to stop). This is a great wine right now but I am sure it is going to be better around 2012. I have 6 of the 1998's sitting here which I understand to be near perfect. Since the 97 was my first Grange and I found it to be this good I am concerned about my reaction the 1998's.
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Deep red with ruby edges, this wine shows plum, blackberry and spice on the nose. The palate is smooth and full with dark red fruit, white pepper and savoury capsicum characters. Long velvety finish. A really great wine.
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My first Grange, and a brilliant experience. Tasting notes very consistent with Will's below. Lots of oal and ripe fruit to be sure, but very complex and layered. Beautiful structure.
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Deep red with ruby edges, this wine shows plum, blackberry and spice on the nose. The palate is smooth and full with dark red fruit, white pepper and savoury capsicum characters. Long velvety finish. A really great wine.
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This bottle was drunk at a tasting of the Three Borders Wine Group in Hampshire, England, and shared amongst the 13 members present. For many, it was their first experience of Penfolds Grange. Opened 3 hours before tasting, the first impression was of a huge nose, the aroma filling the room. Very full bodied, with treacle and chocolate very prominent. Very big on the taste too, with more treacle and thick berry fruits, the wine seemed overly complex, whilst retaining a sound structure. The aftertaste was quite long, with a distinct spearmint gum lingering in the mouth. General opinions around the room varied from excellent to reasonably interesting, with some members clearly more impressed than others, bearing in mind we had all expected something really special for our £82 spent on the bottle. One thing upon which we were all agreed was that this wine is still reasonably young and will doubtless benefit from several more years in bottle.
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My first bottle tasted or drank. Very unremarkable shortly after opening. Within an hour however, oh boy! Recommend waiting at least one hour from opening.
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No question in my mind that Grange is the greatest Aussie Shiraz there is. Have had the 97 before, but it is drinking better than ever. Held up against some french giants
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Very approachable right out of the bottle, but even better after an hour in the decanter. An elegeant rendition of Aussie Shiraz. Well balanced, with noticeable hints of cedar on both nose and palate. A crowd favorite this evening at Cesare's. According to Brian, "one of the best wines I've ever tasted, and probably the best Shiraz".
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Mystery horizontal that ended up as Australia 1997s (Hughes House - Chicago IL): Double blind tasting. I feel stupid not liking this wine, which was the group's blind #2 WOTN. But I frankly felt it was too modern and seemingly manipulated with overripe fruit and too much oak-driven sweetness. All that said, I also felt it had lots of potential with its clearly great raw materials. I was very uncertain whether this needed lots of time to resolve and integrate (I wrote 65% likely) vs. needed to drink this young before it falls apart (35%). Admitting that makes me feel stupid again...go with Option A.
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WineFlock - 1997 Australian Horizontal (My House): Group #2, My #1 - Nearly opaque red/purple color. Forward rich spicy sweet black fruit nose - lifted. Big mouthful of serious rich blackcurrant/cassis fruit with spice and licorice notes. A great wine.
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Some fruit notes, mostly blueberry and prune, but generally quiet on the nose. Can get the blueberry aussie shiraz note as it opens, as well as glycerin, but this is total infanticide. Such a structured wine. Is nice to appreciate the structure more than the fruit... If you have it leave it for 3-5 years AT LEAST. Much higher score in the future...95+?
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For me no other Aussie wine compares to Grange, my friend tasted this blingd and thought it was Bordeaux. The 97 is drinking beautiful with perfect balance, make sure you decant this if only to avoid the sediment.
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Meaty with loads of concentration, blackberry and mineral. A very sexy, though nicely restrained mouthfeel and finishing with a very distinct blueberry note. Slightly sweet and sappy, balanced throughout and with a huge upside. A very special wine, and a far more impressive showing than the last several bottles of this I've been fortunate enough to have.
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Fabulous sweet nose, almost right out of the bottle. Decanted 45 min. On the palate complex, but sweet cherries, minimal spice, no oak, dark, dense, luscious. Not as tannic as I expected. Medium finish, not as long as expected. I made the 2 glasses last for 3 hours, and things improved over time.
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France Syrah vs Australia Shiraz (Toulouse): This time the nose screams Hermitage but also oak! oak! oak! So from what I've heard this must be the Grange. Mr Grange, please lay down on the sofa and let's see if I can analyze you... Nose with a lot of oak at first (I find myself saying "cool, 90% oak, 10% wine!") with hints of black berries/currant and palate overpowered by wood. Wait & aerate - lather, rinse, repeat. After a few minutes of this treatment, we start to catch a glimpse of something that just might not be wood - there's light at the end of the tunnel! Luckily enough we're stubborn as maybe only French people can be, so this wine avoids the dreaded "wood shards infusion" label: indeed there is something. And when it starts kicking, it's actually really nice. Berries on the nose start to be exuberant, the wine pulls itself together and we finally can understand why this wine is typically compared to an Hermitage. Something new comes with every sip. Best Australian wine of the night by far, and my 3rd overall (after Jamet and Chave), this is indeed the Penfolds Grange 97. Huge potential in this wine.
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Bearfoot Bistro with Amy & Justin. This has a stunning nose of eucalyptus, iodine, and toasty oak with a pleasing, medicinal aspect. The color is deep black, and the impressive cork (not the barest hint of seepage) was pure black on the end in contact with the wine. On the palate this was fairly stern with a wall of tannins and acidity. The power, concentration and complexity are exceptionally impressive, but throughout the finish was somewhat choppy and tight even with 90 minutes of air. After about 3 hours this really started to clamp down and get more black, yet this was certainly enjoyable and impressive. I would wait a minimum of 5 years to try again though.
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Red Carpet: Opaque coffee-mud color! Sweet leather, intense, huge mth. Tasted like a thick syrupy Cab, or a big N. Rhone Syrah. Not a lot of fruit like I would expect.
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Deep red to purple, intense colour. Huge nose, jammy dark fruit with chocolate and cassis, soft oak. Huge in the mouth as well, but softer than I was expecting. More silky and elegant than powerful and extracted. Plenty of tannins to give this a long haul in the cellar. Touch of coffee on the finish. Time is needed for tannin/oak/fruit to blend better. Slightly disappointed after all the hype, but still worth 90 points.
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11/23/2023 - Ianjaig Likes this wine: 92 Points
Bought on release after selling a case of Cloudy Bay SB in London, early 2000s. Decanted for 5 hours and this opened with a beautiful nose of chocolate and berries. Raspberries dominated the palate, and I was pleasantly pleased with how resolved the wine was and not overly fruit driven or syrupy as I had feared. In a good drinking window but if I had more of this, i would hold for another few years (if not more) as there is plenty of life in this.
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10/29/2023 - Cailles wrote: 92 Points
A few observations: A) The wines undoubtedly deserve their legendary status. Few wines manage to square the circle of being intense, rich in substance and structure, while at the same time being ethereal, delicate and airy. B) The wines are all complex and very precise. With age (and/or air) the wines show a Rayas-like pure red berry fruit to die for. Other defining aromas are the minty/eucalyptus notes and especially the sweet spice I find in many Aussie Shirazes. C) The wines age at a glacial pace. Even the 40+ year old wines are still quite young and all will need a lot of decanting. D) All the wines were on a high level (except for one subpar bottle of the 2000). The winner was the magical 1982 (98pts), the epitome of elegance and balance.
TN: Reductive notes, not much more on the nose. On the palate a bit more open with darker red berries, shy minty notes, spices. Quite clean but not overly complex. Light and airy texture and feel, good freshness but slightly coarse tannins. Probably not the strongest vintage but with a lot of air, this would have been better. 92pts
Decanting: All wines were quickly double decanted 3h before the tasting. In my experience Grange usually needs hours of proper decanting. I would decant this vintage for 5+ hours.
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10/27/2023 - Lars1974 Likes this wine: 94 Points
The nose was fantastic. So much power and finesse, promised the world!
But the taste could not deliver near the same experience. Lots of fruit and layers of tertiary components but a bit flat and clumsy after a while.
Nose 97-98points, taste 91-92 points...
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10/3/2023 - sirpat00 wrote: 93 Points
Grange vertical (Wunderbrunnen, Opfikon): Part of a 7-vintage vertical (key takeaways in the tasting story). First a whiff of brett, but dissipating. Precise but narrow in terms of aromatics. Dark fruit profile, just accents of spice and herbs. The palate is fresh with electric acidity and a firm structure. Feels too young by probably a decade.
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9/28/2023 - acyso wrote: 95 Points
Four decades of Penfolds Grange (Chicago, IL): This comes off as a bit of a red-fruited version of the magnificent 1998. It is similarly on the cusp of maturity, and shows the same firm, leathery tannins, but the fruit is a little more tart and bright. The acidity is also more prominent, making this feel overall more structured. A little more time will help this soften and probably yield a slightly different, but similarly splendid wine.
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9/23/2023 - aames Likes this wine:
This grange is a deep crimson red showing visibly no age or bricking at the rim yet (even at 26Y). On the nose it shows violet, eucalyptus, black cherry and although it only required a double decant, it encourages a bit of time in the glass. The palate is lively, exuberant and generous showing black cherry but also cacao nib with an underpinning of well-integrated but subtle oak and unfolding a whisper of tobacco. Finish is firm, but resolves in a layer of supple, smooth well integrated tannins and encourages another sip.
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3/12/2023 - WildeMeeuw Likes this wine: 100 Points
Kleur: Diep donkerrood met een subtiel begin van een verkleuring naar bruinrood aan de rand. Aroma / bouquet: Een aangenaam en krachtig bouquet dat direct de fles uitstuift na opening, beluchting is volstrekt overbodig ;-). Wow, veel mooier gaat de neus van een belegen Syrah / Shiraz niet worden. Een restant gedroogd fruit, een aangename boersigheid / stallerigheid, cederhout. Aangename rokerigheid. Smaak / Afdronk: BP14 Inmiddels 26 jaar oud en in een perfecte balans. Een zachte zuurgraad. Briljant gerijpte, fluweelzachte tannines, een royale aromatische vulling en 14% alcohol. Een smaakbom met concenetratie en finesse. Boterzacht en verleidelijk met een lange afdronk. Algemeen / potentieel: Voor mij, in dit stadium, de ultieme perfectie. Niets op af te dingen. En daarom ook de score voor perfectie. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 15 + Smaak / Afdronk: 20 + Algemeen / potentieel: 10 = 100/100
Colour: Deep dark red with a subtle beginning of a discoloration to brown red at the edge. Aroma / bouquet: A pleasant and powerful bouquet that immediately exudes from the bottle after opening, aeration is completely unnecessary ;-). Wow, the nose of a matured Syrah / Shiraz doesn't get much nicer. A remnant of dried fruit, a pleasant rusticity / stalliness, cedar wood. Pleasant smokiness. Taste / Aftertaste: BP14 Now 26 years old and in perfect balance. A soft acidity. Brilliantly matured, velvety tannins, a generous aromatic filling and 14% alcohol. A flavor bomb with concentration and finesse. Buttery soft and seductive with a long finish. General / potential: For me, at this stage, the ultimate perfection. Nothing to haggle. And therefore also the score for perfection. 50 + Color: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 15 + Taste / Aftertaste: 20 + General / potential: 10 = 100/100
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2/11/2023 - hmorgan@argandequity.com wrote: 98 Points
With Heons and Eddies for a game night.
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2/9/2023 - dream Likes this wine: 95 Points
A great showing from a perfect bottle. There are the classic wild berry and mint-tinged flavors of a mature Grange but this is still fresh with superb intensity and lively acids. The finish is very complex with wonderful notes of licorice and black slate minerals. This is not as over-the-top as I expected and is just gorgeous tonight with a 4-hour double-decant. 95+
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12/13/2022 - platpeeps wrote: 86 Points
Tight and tannic with tar and menthol. It’s hot and spicy, but muddy, lacking clarity and focus. It finally develops some sweet fruit and a silky texture with a redeeming chocolate finish. In spite of its reputation, I can’t get over-excited and in the immortal words of the Peggy Lee song, “Is that all there is?” CHP 86pts
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11/6/2022 - dcwino wrote: 94 Points
2022 Excellent Burgundy Adventure; 10/31/2022-11/6/2022 (Burgundy): Crumbling cork. Expressive nose displaying very ripe black fruit, blackberry liqueur, blackberry jam, strong licorice, a hint of petrol, smoked meat, eucalyptus, garrigue, dark spices earth. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of intense black fruit, rich and unctuous, medium acidity and mineral, and a long very ripe concentrated black fruit driven finish with a hint of smoke at the end. As expected, very concentrated and ripe. If you like the ripe and concentrated Aussie wines, your rating may be a few points higher.
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7/24/2022 - Piripi wrote:
Wickhams
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4/22/2022 - NickNYC Likes this wine: 92 Points
Bottled opened 45 mins before tasting. Nose is sweet exuberant with all the Barossa Shiraz traits (red and dark berries, eucalyptus, spices). the palate is super velvety long with good freshness. but it is so sweet. too much for my taste. the following day, I pored the remaining half a glass that stayed in the fridge overnight. the nose was less exuberant but also more complex with nice peony notes and the sweetness was toned down a little probably due to a lower temperature of service than the day before.
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1/5/2022 - SlimShaney Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lovely smooth and good fruit but not big enough for me
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4/21/2021 - peternelson Likes this wine: 93 Points
Herbal, forest floor, Bordeaux-like, earthy with purple fruit flavors; good acidity still, nicely balanced with some nice complexity. 3rd place overall, my 2nd place. Taylor's Steak House Dirty Dozen dinner.
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1/22/2021 - Benoit Hardy Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dense nose, which balances between mushrooms, cocoa and menthol. Very heady and diverse.
Creamy to the palate that I have rarely seen on a red. A wine as rich as the 1997 Ornellaia drunk a day earlier with a slight sensation of sweetness in addition. The wine remains fresh and supple despite a great concentration. Sensation of strawberry covered in chocolate on the tongue, it is very pretty but it does not fall easily for all that. The texture is reminiscent of the elegance of Ornellaia and the very creamy, half minty, half roasted finish with a beautiful persistence is very beautiful. The 14 ° pass by themselves.
Excellent
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12/26/2020 - sachsmart Likes this wine: 94 Points
12/2020- Peppery nose with dark fruit. Black berries, current, oak,leather & tobacco on the pallet. Spicy finish. Structured. Excellent.
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11/4/2020 - dream Likes this wine: 94 Points
This is a very expressive bottle of the '97 with classic Grange flavors of ripe wild berries, eucalyptus and licorice. A voluminous, velvety texture with mouth-coating tannins on the long finish which is loaded with notes of tobacco, dark cherry spice and complex, crisp minerals. Decadent yet structured and absolutely delicious!
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10/3/2020 - dream Likes this wine: 94 Points
This bottle is showing a lot of maturity with a voluminous, velvety texture and deep flavors of aged dark fruits, eucalyptus and a hint of prune. The tannins are fully resolved and ultra-smooth and the finish is
layered with a fantastic dark red spice note.. A bit exotic but very fun to drink.
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3/13/2020 - Nanda wrote: 94 Points
Covid-19 Intro/Retro (Chez Hughes): Blind. Youthful nose that initially shows plenty of American Oak toast but then settles in with smoky black fruit, spice and toasted herbs. The palate really sings here. Terrific concentration of classic Shiraz black fruit with so much layering and nuance. Plenty of structure and fine tannin provide grip. Still has upside. My #1, Group #2. Really group?!
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2/28/2020 - Chimer wrote: flawed
How frustrating! You could see the promise of this wine but bottle was badly corked - promised so much!
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12/28/2019 - Alex G. wrote:
Didn't have the "oomph" of the '98, but was quite enjoyable in its own right as a more restrained and subtle style. Ample fruit, soft tannin, would be very happy to drink this again.
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11/16/2019 - chrisdgsmith@hotmail.co.uk Likes this wine: 93 Points
Having read many of the preceding notes, I triple decanted this about 3 hours ahead of drinking. It's worth saying now that the wine continued to evolve for over 2 hours on top of the decant (5 hours total), so I would certainly plan for an early decant if you're wanting to see the full evolution of this wine. Initially it was tapenade that dominated the nose for me, with the inky blue/black fruit element only becoming more dominant later. I'll confess to a degree of disappointment that the palate seemed to me to be typical of top notch Oz Shiraz but didn't deliver the kind of complex nuances that I associate with the best of Northern Rhone Syrah; some may argue that my expectation was wrong and perhaps so, maybe it just confirms where my palate sits. The issue here is that this wine retails for £350, so we're into the territory of top Hermitage and Cote Rotie. They may lack the intensity of the Grange but I think I find more interest in them. I'd be very interested to try one of these alongside a couple of other mid price oz Shiraz (St Hallet's Old Block perhaps), to see how it distinguishes itself. In fairness to the Grange it was incredibly smooth and the length was stunning. A very good wine but I think I'd have been disappointed if I'd paid £350 (I purchased on release for less than a third if that). No hurry to drink these, I'd guess they'll be good for at least another 10 years if stored well but keep an eye on teh cork condition.
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10/14/2019 - graemeg wrote:
NobleRottersSydney - meant to be Grange (360 Bar & Dining, Sydney): [DavidH] {cork, 14%} A bit muted. Malt, earth and blueberries. Almost a touch anonymous – kind of silly that a 20-year-old could still be closed but there you go. This is nicely balanced on the palate, medium weight but still fairly blocky – it seems stuck in a kind of dumb phase somehow. Medium length finish. Hard to get hold of; seems like a long decant or more cellaring (or both) is in order. Although still I feel it’s not quite of a piece like the 90 is. Hold with some confidence I guess.
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8/22/2019 - KoalaHK wrote:
Tasted at Penfolds Magill Estate, Adelaide. 40 Vintages of Grange: Is it a bit maderised on the nose or is it showing more age, bracketed as it is between the monumental '96 and '98? It shows some uncharacteristic bricking on the rim. The palate on the other hand is showing nothing of the sort, perhaps a little softer but otherwise typical Grange.
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8/10/2019 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Smokin Meat and Serious Syrah 2.0 (Westport, CT): Another contender for WOTN which shouldn't surprise anyone who reads my notes who knows I always love Grange. This was opened and decanted prob 7 hours in advance and it needed every minute of that. I've had this vintage in the past and it was always a bit more muted and not quite as expressive as some other vintages. Turns out a good decant fixes that. This is all dark spices and dark fruit and eucalyptus and floral and interesting and constantly evolving and just delicious. In some stiff company Grange always impresses.
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7/14/2019 - Javachip Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted for one hour, re-bottled and brought to restaurant. Clear deep garnet-blood red color with moderate sediment removed by decanting. Outstanding bouquet of mixed red and black fruits and their liqueurs, green tobacco, cigar humidor, bacon fat, spices, mincemeat, and stony soil. Similar on the palate, full body, seamless, beautifully balanced, elegant, refined, satin mouthfeel.
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5/3/2019 - Barry G Likes this wine: 96 Points
What a treat. This was presented with a 'think it might be past it' remark. What an error of judgement!
Perfectly in balance. Refined with smooth tannin. Alcohol invisible. Yet the fruit; more red than black with savoury, coffee and a nip of spice at the end. The finish is as good as you would expect. Sip and savour if you can get hold of it.
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5/1/2019 - willfab60 wrote: 93 Points
Nicely integrated. Rasberry , Bramble, Coffee and a bit of licorice at the end. First Grange.It was great.
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4/9/2019 - BROpus One Likes this wine: 97 Points
My first grange and it was wonderful. Perfect balance. Look forward to more.
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3/23/2019 - LindsayM Likes this wine: 96 Points
Grange 1997 95 points
Popped and poured, crust in the bottle
Colour Pale Ruby translucent , some bricking present 15/15
Nose med intensity with some tertiary aromas, cigar box, leather, , very complex layering present 28/30
Palate med to full bodied, rich velvety soft, long finish, chocolate, coffee , mocha super balance and complexity 42/44
Overall Always a treat to have Grange . I was surprised by the development present for a 22 yo Grange , probably needs drinking up 10/10
Nothing left to retest then following day!
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1/20/2019 - AJCowen wrote:
My first Grange. Marvelous. It need a full hour after decanting. Spicy. Peppers. Currant. Tannins fully balanced. Propably peaking now but plenty of structure left. Great stuff.
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1/13/2019 - scottes Likes this wine: 95 Points
Everything I hoped for it this wine. I doled out pours to myself and friends like passing out treasures.
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12/27/2018 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 97 Points
A private dinner (Restaurant De Lage Vuursche, Lage Vuursche, NL): Almost incredibly youthful, such concentration, deep and rich but perfectly pure and precise, intense Syrah typicity, all minerals and energy, beef stock and mint, great velvety tannic core, black pepper and black fruit, sweet American oak. Almost embryonal. An iron fist in a velvet glove. Half a century. Magnificent.
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8/1/2018 - Pknut wrote:
Dark palate, very rich, with blue-black fruits like blackberries, boysenberries and candied plum, has that Shiraz sweetness but overall, this is balanced and pretty well defined. Still very youthful; this will last for many more years and I am curious what secondary qualities may emerge with another decade in the cellar. I appreciated and respected this wine even though it's not at all the style of wine that I usually enjoy. Quality Italian with Jim W. and Joe D'A.
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6/24/2018 - TwoSmoochies wrote: 93 Points
Decanted at Rare Steak House. Well balanced with a great structure and still some fruit. More powerful than I expected.
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6/16/2018 - JDB wrote: flawed
Corked
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6/10/2018 - steinersing wrote: 94 Points
quite polished nose, open, thought of La Chappelle 1990. Mouth quite round, not very long for a Grange but fine.
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6/9/2018 - Collector1855 wrote: 94 Points
Penfolds Grange vertical with Peter Gago (Singapore): During a tasting dinner. Classic Barossa. Nose of torrefaction, dark fruit, smoke, bacon. Full bodied, a sold but not among the best Grange I had.
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5/23/2018 - wineguy75 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Disappointing for a Grange. Didn't get much Shiraz character. Rather closed but limited decant time. Opened up more with more time but was still beat by the other 2 bottles on the table. I would decant at least 4 hours next time.
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5/20/2018 - barolo300 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Thanks MC2 for sharing this bottle. Shiraz ain’t my thing, but this is no ordinary shiraz. Surprisingly elegant and ethereal. There is heft but there is no clumsiness or syrupy thickness. Wonderful core of red fruit and liquorice. It developed over a couple of hours to start showing more but I think in 10 years it will show more complexity...
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5/19/2018 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
A night of awesome wine (67 Pall Mall): I was interested to see how this wine would come out. It's a bit young I think for a Grange and not necessarily one of the best years, but then again I've never seen a Grange not deliver and this was no exception. We opened and decanted as soon as we got to the restaurant and prob poured a few hours later. Even then, it started a bit alcoholic and perhaps more one-dimensional. With time in the glass though it really blossomed. All of the eucalyptus and mint and herbal and black fruits and spice. Very tasty.
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4/1/2018 - Taronti Likes this wine: 95 Points
First I must confess I love 20 yo Granges, the 71 and 76 both drunk at about 20y are among my top 5 wines ever. I really meant to drink the 98 tonight but was confused by the bottling date.
This is a classic Grange and a very good wine indeed.
Cork in excellent condition, light sediment. Complex nose of blueberry, anise, leather and cigar box. Fruit very well preserved. Clean with good acidity and wonderful long finish.
I am not a fan of big, fruity South Australian Shiraz but a well aged Grange transcends and gives as much pleasure as a great Bordeaux.
I stopped buying Grange after 98 and see it is now ridiculously expensive. What a pity for serious wine lovers!
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2/5/2018 - graemeg wrote:
NobleRottersSydney - Penfolds at 10 20 30 years (360 Bar & Dining, Sydney): {cork, 14%} [Geoffrey] Decanted at the start of the dinner (2 hours). Bears a remarkable stylistic similarity to the 88; it’s not often you get to try decade-apart Granges side-by-side. This too has lots of liquorice and leather, but is tighter than the 88, with bitter dark chocolate flavours and dark grape fruit. It’s partly-developed, medium/full in weight, with medium-high powdery tannins, and a beautifully even palate, which really promises another decade’s aging. Will take another decade’s aging easily on this showing; but the prices for these nowadays outstrip their inherent vale I rather think. Who’s buying them these days?
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12/27/2017 - empire80 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very structured, dense black fruit, a very long finish. Many years ahead but I'm not sure this will improve from here.
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12/26/2017 - Jmac56 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Blind tasted this wine against a much younger Scrarecrow cab- the Penfold had stronger tannins initially and tasted more like a cab than a shiraz with less fruit but beautiful balance. Lots of sediment and after an hour it's age was showing.
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12/23/2017 - Woodbridge Brad Likes this wine: 95 Points
This has been in my cellar for many years, a gift from the winemaker after a visit there and a visit to my winery. I had saved to share with my son ( a story why is private) who just concluded a difficult harvest profitably. It is not a disappointment the ullage was less than half inch, the cork only wet an eighth of an inch. The color is sound and dense, the nose roasted and spicy, distinctly Syrah. Smooth and developed, good acid balance, but I would never guess this as 20 plus years old. Lovely.
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11/18/2017 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
From the land down under - Q4 Wine Club (The Apt): Wine #3: Definitely funky when I poured it originally. There was clearly some age on this. Lots of dried red fruits. Rosemary. More herbal in nature than the previous too. Decent tannin and a wine that seemed like it had a lot more life left. I did not pick it out as a Grange though. In retrospect wish I had decanted. When I revisited later in the night it was still finding it's sea legs, but had continued to improve. (3 pennies)
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9/24/2017 - Burgnick Likes this wine: 93 Points
My first experience with Grange. Decanted for one hour. Nose has violets, smoked fruit, cedar wood, dark fruit and vanilla. Palate is big and powerful but it retains balance, class and finesse. The sweetness is precise. It is very smoothe and soft. This is drinking at its peak. The last sip shows that the fruit is drying up.
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4/14/2017 - Empirate Likes this wine: 94 Points
Restaurant purchase, from memory.
Layers of mature blue fruit, nicely balanced and lingering. Great example of the ageability of the big Aussie styled Shiraz if perhaps more interesting to us because ot is outside our usual wheelhouse. I'm glad we ventured out...
No reason to wait if this bottle is representative.
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3/28/2017 - dchain wrote: 90 Points
Served blind at Acker HK auction. "Is this some sort of cult Australian basket press Shiraz"? was my first reaction! Deep ruby/purple. Very sweet, blackcurrant fruit gum nose which was the dead giveaway for big Aussie Barrosa shiraz! Not the biggest example of Grange I have tasted but clearly well made with ultra-super ripe but healthy fruit. Just lacks acidic uplift and refreshment which at the end of the day is what a beverage is supposed to provide. As good as Australian shiraz is probably going to get and if this is your thing it is wonderful. I might even suggest Run Rig provides a bit more subtlety, balance and purity and that is saying something as Run Rig is not exactly a shy wine. Lovely to taste and sample but not a wine I would want more than a small pour of and certainly not a second glass and hence my score. A good wine is simply something you want to drink more of...
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3/8/2017 - KeithAkers wrote: 93 Points
Penfolds Grange Vertical (Sixteen, Chicago IL): Nose: The nose here was starting to show some evolution and adding a few extra wrinkles of complexity with chocolate, dark red cherries, dusty notes, raspberries, mint, and eucalyptus. There is excellent depth and richness from the fruit.
Taste: Full bodied with medium tannins and medium acidity. The tannins are starting to resolve with the feel showing plush and deep backed up with chocolate notes, dust, dark red cherries, raspberries, and eucalyptus tones.
Overall: This was showing extremely well. It's balanced and deep with a real sense of class even though it is larger scaled.
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1/24/2017 - Double D wrote: 93 Points
First impression-smooth but not much vibrant fruit left, still leggy and bit medicinal on the nose but its still like drinking history.
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12/31/2016 - Gott vin Likes this wine: 93 Points
Stort vin som växte i glaset under många timmar
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12/28/2016 - rmarkey Likes this wine: 95 Points
Drinking superbly. Dark brick red in colour. After 5 hours breathing effortlessly silky yet potent, soft tannins with blackberry and plum fruit, some antsy palate, long clean finish. Softness and balance remarkable.
December 2016
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12/24/2016 - Fatty Cat wrote: 94 Points
Two bottles at Xmas dinner: classic ruby colour; there was a moderate sediment in the bottle; aromas like red currant, black currant , cherry, pomegranate and sandalwood in nose and mouth; light/medium body with round texture; accompanied by small but noticable acidity. The two bottles tasted very similar.
This wine reminded me of an old school bordeaux. At the same time two bottles of Masseto 2009 were served. People at table were equally divided in their opinion which wine they liked more. Since I'm more the aroma and old school guy my vote goes to the Grange. However, the Masseto was really good too.
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9/5/2016 - rikipedia Likes this wine: 94 Points
Terroir-istes International - Australia-Penfolds Mini Verticals (Klein Constantia): (Tasted Blind): A deep black-red wine showcasing a complex and layered nose. Fantastic secondary development with notes of toffee, caramel, black plum, blackcurrant, vanilla pod, sweet spice and cocoa powder.
A sweet and ripe fruitiness on entry with plenty of flesh and layers of black fruits, accompanied by a sinewy texture and abundant richness. Full-bodied, this powerful wine exhibits power and concentration over finesse, a more bodybuilder-like style than a 100m sprinter.
The tannins are blocky with a powdery dryness along with a saline quality. Incredible depth, layers of fruit, and overall complexity and that abundance of power all add up to a top wine that seems to be ageing nicely. Closes with a touch of mint or camphor that lifts its tail nicely.
96% Shiraz and 4% CS
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9/2/2016 - DrZett wrote: 92 Points
Great vertical Grange tasting (Rare-Bordeaux-Weine, Wachtberg (Germany)): Ninth vintage of 10 in vertical Grange tasting.
Not as good as the 2001 vintage but still a lot of fun. It was a little flat but got better with some air. Drink up within the next 4 years.
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5/29/2016 - Mrbuzz Likes this wine: 94 Points
Dinner at Trelio (Clovis Ca.): Had this a couple months ago....not as good of a bottle, but still a fantastic drink! Smooth Bordeaux-like...creme de cassis, purple fruits, mouth coating and saturated, yet firm polished tannins...leather, camphor, graphite powder, pencil, licorice...becoming a BIG Grange fan now!
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4/15/2016 - rmarkey Likes this wine: 98 Points
Excellent, classic Grange, 14% alc. Decanted for 2 hours before tasting, and it softened a good deal in that time.
Colour: dense blackberry, dark chocolate
Bouquet: blackberry, spice, with touches of sulphur that takes a long time fading, old leather character, spice and cinnamon, camphor
Palate: incredibly rich and concentrated, ripe fruit, full flavoured and bodied, blackberry and cassis, blueberry, aged leather, mocha coffee, pencil shavings, anise, cedar, earthy, big very soft tannins, balance, structure and length
April 2016
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3/6/2016 - Mrbuzz Likes this wine: 97 Points
La Paulee S.F. 2016 (Dinner: The Campton Place San Francisco): My first Grange…a blend of 96% Shiraz and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon(guys I knew it wasn't 100% Shiraz! ;-))….this was from a perfect stored bottle….fabulous! Drank like a fine aged(big) Cabernet….very dark and saturated liqueured berries…blackberry,blueberry,cherry,currant….mouth coating smooth and plush….very youthful, yet showing wonderful aged leather, camphor, graphite powder, pencil….cinnamon spiced mocha, dried fruits…very suductive and drank well all night!
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1/27/2016 - Dr. Claret Likes this wine: 95 Points
This is one amazing Shiraz. Still drinking very young with plenty of plum, anise flavors with a bit of white pepper in the background. Finish is very long. My last and only Grange. Will miss you
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12/25/2015 - SlimShaney Likes this wine: 96 Points
Needs to be decanted for at least one hour and preferably two. Initial tastes of wild vine blackberry, true to dry soil and its history. It' a wine of context and place with a beautiful body; full bodied but poised and never heavy. After 3 hours, notes of wet plum set against a finessed tannin are most evident.
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11/27/2015 - Burgundy Al wrote:
Friday after Thanksgiving (FAT) - Part 2 - Penfolds Grange Vertical (Palm Beach Gardens FL): Tasting in 30 vintage Grange vertical, late night, brief note. Ripe fruit, good spice, good concentration. Better than 1996, not nearly as exciting as 1998. Upside from here.
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5/28/2015 - Burgundy Al wrote:
Bonhams Pre-Auction Tasting (Bonham's - San Francisco, CA): Tasting, brief note. I haven't had this in many years and recall not enjoying it when I first tried it, back in the day. Tonight it was rockstar, with huge fruit in balance with spice and structure. Clearly a more modern styled Grange vs some of my favorites from a few decades back (e.g., 1986), but this powerhouse will continue to improve for decades.
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5/28/2015 - drwine2001 wrote:
Bonhams Pre-Auction Tasting (San Francisco): Medium red with lighter edge. Complex blend of smoke and mint. Elegant, poised, lovely, and long. What a beauty and ready to drink.
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4/16/2015 - Stefanos T. Likes this wine: 95 Points
Penfolds Grange Wine Dinner at Botrini's (Botrini's Restaurant Athens): Dark garnet colored with pronounced aromatics of VA, camphor, eukalyptus, leather, rubber, balsamic notes, chocolate.
Full bodied, plush and sweet.
Lingering finish, the mark of a very fine wine.
Second wine of the night, it was tasted together with the 1996.
Both are great wines, 97 being earthier in character.
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4/16/2015 - Yiannis wrote: 94 Points
Penfolds Grange Wine Dinner at Botrini's (Botrini Restaurant, Athens, Greece): Served alongside the 1996 with which it was quite similar. In fact this was the only couple with obvious similarity. Eukalyptus, leather, camphor, some barnyard scents and blueberry on the nose. Medium to full-bodied, sweet fruit, silky tannins and balancing acidity. Long aftertaste. The most typical aussie shiraz of the line-up.
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3/21/2015 - Tim Heaton Likes this wine:
Upon first opening, it was clear this was in need of serious aeration (or another 7-8 years in the cellar), so I'm glad I opened it 2 days before service, giving it a quick pour in decanter and returning to bottle after 30 minutes. Indeed, the secret chambers revealed themselves two nights later whereas upon opening, the wine seemed rather linear and vague. Medium-bodied, with some gently compelling structure and engaging perfumes. Fun to drink, but falls woefully short of its pricetag; this bottle, anyway.
Served non-blind.
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12/23/2014 - KMDoyle405 wrote: 94 Points
Excellent example of Grange. Coravined two glasses. The first one was consumed 1 hour in, and the other was consumed three hours after that. Without question, this is a wine that needs a considerable amount of air if you want to consume it now. Classic Aussie shiraz notes, but didn’t show until given time to breathe. Great wine, but hands off to let the wine fully integrate the beauty it will become in 5-10 years.
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12/4/2014 - Leoville_2012 Likes this wine: 95 Points
My first Grange. Really enjoyed it. Powerful, but not lacking elegance. Dark berries, plum, some leather and tobacco. Touches of licorice/anis. Very long aftertaste. Not an over the top wine, but a real treat. Also went extremely well with game.
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11/22/2014 - Yme wrote:
96% Shiraz, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon
Interesting as it appeared slightly older than expected. Oldish dusky ripe black fruit with leather and wood. There are also hints of woody herbs in the background. We were informed that whilst not old by Grange standards, this year might be better drunk young.
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11/19/2014 - Biggsy wrote: 94 Points
Quite savoury on the nose. There are some black fruit aromas but also a nice liquorice character. The palate is layered with black fruits but there is a lovely savoury edge to it. Still very dense and dark with great concentration but the secondary flavours are just starting to develop. The tannins are still grippy and toasty, but they’re super-fine and have a ripe sweetness to them. A little bit of creamy vanilla on the finish. Still needs more time.
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11/16/2014 - ticklenow1 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Still has time on it's side but as this was a wedding present we had always intended to drink it on our 10th anniversary. It didn't let us down and was a pleasure to drink. Not as powerful as some of the better vintage Grange's but still excellent. The tannins were beautiful and still shows plenty of primary fruit along with chocolate, spice and tobacco. So well balanced and yes, it does deserve it's spot at the pinnacle of Australian Wine as it's so consistently good, but it doesn't warrant it's price tag for me.
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9/6/2014 - pdemaio wrote: 96 Points
Incredible complexity. Power on the body and nose, but in balance. A lovely wine.
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8/27/2014 - Smooth Jazz Likes this wine: 96 Points
Gorgeous wine - drank great immediately upon opening - became less plush and started showing a more granular tannin structure with time but was exceptional nevertheless
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8/26/2014 - Goldstone Likes this wine: 92 Points
My first experience of this particular vintage....thanks Runny! Unfortunately, it only got 2 hours in the decanter before serving.......I would recommend 12 hours at this stage of its evolution even though I think it is probably a faster-maturing Grange than most from the '70s, '80s and '90s. Enough of that....and ignore my score because it will only go a lot higher in the future.
Blackened purple, bright and fresh-looking very surprising that it is a 1997 because in the world of Grange it looks 10-15 years older. Nose is...oh my gosh....deep, very complex, closed but alluring black and red berries. Palate is soft, supple velvet but with a very dry sun-baked brick-red finish....tannic and way too young. BUT.....the finale and the thunderous resonance are all there in a brooding and precocious way....... I wrote "too young" and "but precocious" several times in my notes. Summary: way too young but the quality is unquestionably there to match the very best older Grange vintages in the future. I'd love to check in on its progress in 2017. Runny, dude..... thank you.
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8/17/2014 - Eltigro814 Likes this wine: 92 Points
This wine was an adventure:
Day 1, 2 hour decant of half the bottle (half the bottle returned to 55F) - incredible nose, almost overwhelming. Massive and powerful, sweet and jammy. For some reason, over the course of the evening the wine started tasting overly sweet, and turned into a disappointment.
Day 2 - drank rest of the bottle without a decant. Still powerful and rich but now was balanced and smooth. Really enjoyed it.
This was my first Grange - while it was a joy to drink on Day 2, I came away feeling a bit let down for the price these bottles are going for. Nevertheless this was by far the best Shiraz I have tasted.
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6/18/2014 - LFCHALA Likes this wine: 94 Points
Confraria - Junho 2014 (Restaurante Arturito - São Paulo - São Paulo): Fantastic, complexo and .... young. Can hold a few more years.
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4/5/2014 - vespasian Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drinking very well now, tannins fully resolved - great complex rich berried fruits with whiff of oak on the nose; palate very smooth, rich and velvety with well restrained power. A lovely treat.
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3/27/2014 - bugdoced wrote: 94 Points
really good
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2/11/2014 - psyrah Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very good, tannins a resolved, still somewhat prominent oak.
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1/28/2014 - G_H wrote: 94 Points
Coke hard candy, herbs, very elegant, licorice, vanilla, very very long but not as rich as other Granges
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12/23/2013 - Paco55 wrote: 97 Points
Decanted for an hour before serving at dinner with friends. Had concerns over the cork which was just holding on - certainly no ill effects on wine, though it wouldn't have gone another few years I don't think. The nose was spectacular - beautiful aromatics lifting from the glass just kept coming through - very grand cru burgundy in style. The wine itself was a complete surprise given its billing as a lesser vintage. 16 years old and felt fully integrated, sublime oak and fruit balance with no signs of fading - the colour is bricking a little. It just brought a huge smile to our faces as we tasted it. Really is one of the worlds great wines - yes the price tags are silly but that holds true for all of the top wines. Could keep for a few years yet but I don't think there is any upside to be had and a risk of decline. It is drinking at its absolute apex currently.
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11/4/2013 - graemeg wrote:
NobleRottersSydney - Grange night (Verde, East Sydney): {cork, 14%} (DavidM) Tossed in to drink before the much-anticipated ‘great vintages’ this was so seemingly youthful that you’d never pick it as 16 years old. Barely developing nose of chocolate, charcoal and big black fruit. The palate is still subsumed by oak, liquorice-tinted fruits, and alcohol, at least in comparison to the more mature vintages here. There are fine medium chalky tannins, and a medium/full-bodied long, powerful finish. Wants another ten years at least. I don’t think there’s been a single subsequent vintage of Grange with alcohol lower than this wine, which is rather alarming when you consider the history of the label. Barossa, McLaren Vale, Bordertown fruit. 4% cabernet.
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10/19/2013 - crsprout wrote: 94 Points
I agree with most of the other comments. Lots of black/ dk. fruit. Hints of eucalyptus, floral/violet and anise. Tannins are subtle at this point. Long finish. Med - alcohol, which was hardly noticeable. One of the most well-integrated, balanced Shiraz that I've tasted, but it's tough to justify the price...
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9/21/2013 - SPierson Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted for an hour and returned to bottle before a dinner out. Still plenty of life and was drinking beautifully-- deep purple, dark fruits, chocolate and hint of licorice. Not as impressive as the '85 or '95 / '96 Grange but still excellent. Drank alongside a '90 Clinet and a '92 Massetto and had the slight edge but the Massetto was fabulous as well.
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8/23/2013 - Leigh Johnson Likes this wine: 95 Points
Opaque, purple. Nose ripe fruit, plums, blackberries. Oaky, pronounced. On the palate, the wine immediately feels still incredibly youthful. Oak still needs to integrate, ripe soft tannins, unctuous, black fruits, very long. A super wine that could wait another ten years being being tried again.
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7/19/2013 - searssd Likes this wine: 94 Points
Pretty amazing, but not quite living up to the hype. Extremely sleek, with completely integrated tannin. Loads of black and blue fruit dripping with eucalyptus. Very long finish. Enough flavor and concentration to distract from the heat. Certainly a great wine, and perhaps one of the best Shiraz I've tasted, but not what I'd consider a top-tier product compared with wines of France, Italy and USA at the same price point.
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6/16/2013 - maw246 wrote: 95 Points
Color was ver dark red almost opaque. Purple gone. Nose lots of cassis and cherries. On the palate cherries, raspberry, and a hint of blueberries. Good balance. Long finish. A really special Shiraz
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5/23/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 94 Points
Full bodied, concentrated, powerful and young, the wine is stuffed to the gills with licorice, coffee bean, sweet, jammy berries and spice. Still primary, and a bit on the burly side, give this time before popping a bottle.
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3/22/2013 - Kirk Grant wrote:
The Usual Suspects...a new tradition; 3/22/2013-3/24/2013 (Lucerne Inn): Color: Opaque ruby
Smell: Wet stone, dried meat, dried red fruits, and herbs
Taste: Dried dark fruits, monolithic
Overall: Very Good - Excellent. This medium bodied wine with med acidity, med+ fruit, and med tannin had a short finish and was almost boring. Given the cost of this wine...it's just such a shame that people are paying so much for these wines. I think the statement I heard that night holds true, "Grange is the most over-priced and consistantly underwhelming wine."
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3/17/2013 - NoTrollingerPlease Likes this wine: 95 Points
Shiraz Tasting (@home): Decanting Time: 4h
Glass: Riedel Shiraz
Nose: Right after opening and later after pouring into the glass a beautiful Shiraz nose: complex aromas, spices, dark fruit, vanilla, oak but not too sweet or even marmelade
Palate: Elegant, good acidity, multi layers of fruit, spices, leather, good integration of the used oak
Finish: Very long
Could easyly last and even imporove 10+ years. Great wine!!!
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2/2/2013 - jtsherman wrote: 98 Points
Wow. What an amazing wine. I need to find more of this!!!
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1/27/2013 - sithinfiltrator Likes this wine: 96 Points
This bottle was paired with the amazing 1990 Grange for my 50th birthday bash. 1997 was considered an OK year for Grange and it was sandwiched between two amazing years, so its reputation has suffered a bit. Thankfully, I can report that this baby is tasting just wonderfully 16 years later. It was bold and flavorful, with less of the subtlety of the 1990, but still quite an enjoyable drink. A number of folks at the table actually preferred it to the 1990, it was that nice.
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1/11/2013 - Ex-Ray Likes this wine: 97 Points
An outstanding Grange, perfectly mature and ready to drink. Still dark and opaque. Excellent concentrated cassis, with typical raspberry overtones. We've been drinking Grange for over 30 years and this one's up there with the best. Wonderful complex tongue-coating flavors, no significant tannin, and a very long raspberry finish. I don't think it will get any better, so enjoy!
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12/31/2012 - Stefanos T. wrote: 94 Points
Deeply colored, almost opaque. Very clean and opulent nose with ripe berry and plummy fruit, licorice, violets and sweet spice - nutmeg and vanilla. Full bodied but elegant with a smooth mouthfeel. Finish was quite bitter though. An excellent wine with emphasis on fruit and still very young.
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12/25/2012 - kgh wrote: 93 Points
Very dark color, muted nose, and good amount of sediment in bottle. Decanted 30 minutes. This is a little less powerful than other vintages of Grange I have had, but still full-bodied black fruit on solid backbone of tannins. Black pepper, graphite, mushroom notes.
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12/22/2012 - Jwd12 wrote: 88 Points
Very disappointing - heard so much about this wine - had very high expectations. Will not pay for this wine again.
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11/3/2012 - G_H Likes this wine: 93 Points
Tapas and wine (Park Hyatt Sydney): Oak still dominates, classic coke hard candy nose, still very young and rough around the edges, but I really like it.
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10/28/2012 - Nivlac wrote: 91 Points
I bought mine in AU in its realease year and have been holding since. Opened at Attlier Crenn in SF. The cork broke in half - and this by a pretty talented sommelier. The wine was a little course right at the decant, but softened over the next 1.5 hours as we waited to drink. There were fleeting moments of brilliance that exploded with flavor in one sip and the next would be nice, but nothing to shout about. Then another amazing sip. If I could have lined up all the great sips I might have only had a split of wine, but would have given it a 98! Possibly it needed even longer to decant - as we drank the wine over the next hour or so, I am not sure it would have improved further. I'm not sure the wine would have lasted til 2020, the cork certainly would not have.
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9/5/2012 - dln646 wrote: 95 Points
A wine near opaque clear garnet pours thick from the decanter. Far more shaded than anticipated, with a forceful core next to a few sediments that sways at the bottom of the glass.
Immediately the nose takes me into the winemakers wine that is Grange. Powerful and complex are my first thoughts as the multilayered aromas reveals further depth. An synergistic intricacy requires me to use the intact dictionary of descriptors here; chassis, menthol, cedar, coniferous, mushrooms, licorice and spice.
On the palate the wines opens up to even new magnitudes. Grange is tremendously soft and alluring. High bracing acidity, huge but agile and fine granular tannins along with a concentrated and packed body. The alcohol is in harmony with the wine and the high flavor intensity contributes to the mighty yet elegant structure. On the palate I get a bigger spectrum of primary fruits; perhaps mulberry, black berries and chassis. The aftertaste is extremely long and seductive.
Something that stands out in this wine, made with tweezers, is the refined use of oak, serious complexity, rigid balance and the everlasting aftertaste. Like a gymnast, flexible and elegant built on brute force. This bad boy drinks good now, but will presumably get better over a couple of years. Drink to 2018. Yum! http://quaffable.org/?p=121
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6/4/2012 - Leigh Johnson wrote: 94 Points
Two bottles drunk. First rich, ripe, splendid. Second bottle, TCA affected -shock horror.
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5/13/2012 - BailliSacks Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very dark, opaque. First sip was all soy sauce, very intense. Opened over 90 minutes to show dark fruit, chocolate, but was still dominated by soy, acid, tannin. Very long finish. No complaints, as this was one of the most intense and complex things we've tasted! Hope to try another after more years' age or extended decanting.
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5/7/2012 - Parrymbe Likes this wine: 94 Points
Amazing we decanted it several hours in advance and drank it with medium rare ribeye steaks. Fantastic taste chocolate overtones giving way to the underlying fruit. We allowed our 16 year old son to taste it and even he got the chocolate and did not screw up his face in disgust like he has done with every other wine he has tried. Had to tell him it was our only bottle :-(
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4/27/2012 - DonalOB wrote: flawed
Opus One vs. Penfolds Grange (AWSEC, Hong Kong): Bit of a heatwave in this vintage.
Bricked edge - much more evolved than the others.
Vegetal nose with savoury, 'tomato soup' smell. Also tobacco.
Good acidity on this - raises concerns as to where that came from in this vintage. Mild tannins with a savoury, smokey finish.
This one was quite evolved - I'd even say 'drink up' but I'm sure this was an off bottle compared to the one we had on another occasion.
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3/20/2012 - mraabpfg wrote: 97 Points
A fantastically smooth and lush wine. let decant for 3.5 hours and it was heavenly. First thing that you get is a earthen wood flavor then that softens to expose a mouth coating layered wine with fruit, tobacco, and leather in perfect harmony. One of the best wines I have ever had
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3/6/2012 - pilot360 wrote: 96 Points
e: Had nose of hay, menthol, and clay moulding( sort of play dough ) Coffee and raspberry. Had a distinctive Bordeaux nose, without the poop. Finish smooth. Long and classy. Superb wine. 2 hour decant, drank over 3 hours, evolved in the glass.
24 hours later under vacu vin, then this glass over 3 hours, the fruit is the dominant profile on the nose - massive cherry, raspberries. The depth of the nose and wine have doubled. As good as last night, but the advantage of evolution.
Drank in 2012
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3/4/2012 - Charlie Carnes wrote: 87 Points
This bottle was rather underwhelming. Red fruit, herbaceous, woody, and too sharp to really enjoy
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1/14/2012 - DonalOB Likes this wine: 95 Points
AWSEC French Connection (AWSEC, Hong Kong): This is the wine Stephen grabbed from his collection when the '95 Pichon Lalande proved off - happy days.
Dense purple core with light rim. We opened and poured this straight from the bottle but I didn't even approach it for an hour, and after I had tasted everything else.
A great nose - incredibly minty flavour on both the nose and palate. The oak is very well integrated. It's got medium acidity and tannin but it's the density and length of the fruit /chocolate / mint that is so compelling. This looks like a baby and I'm assured that we drank it far too young! I can believe that. I think I'd like a few of these resting in the lower shelves.
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12/29/2011 - Wino from Michigan wrote: 92 Points
This wine was nice and definetly got better after an hour or so being opened -- but with the hype around this wine I was expecting a lot more. It was very earthy with soft red and black fruit with a nice structure -- almost gave me the impression of a Bordeaux but you could tell it was Shiraz (if that makes sense). Nice wine and better with food than without but for the cost -- I do not see this in the mix going forward as there I wines that consistently do more for me for $100 - 150.
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12/26/2011 - jimfree wrote: 96 Points
Drank at a wine dinner and was without a doubt the wine of the night. Beautiful depth and could still go many more years.
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11/27/2011 - Outplaying wrote:
Wine with Friends (Our House, Avondale, PA): Aromatics of ripe black fruits, licorice, menthol, eucyliptus. Smells so good. Great acidity. Dark fruits, menthol, dry. Beautiful and classy.
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11/22/2011 - bingedrinker Likes this wine: 91 Points
Mini-review: Ruby. Moderate density, good solid fruit still in play, rounded tanins. A solid Grange, but not profound.
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11/5/2011 - Zweder wrote: 95 Points
A weekend with friends in Germany Mosel area: Part 3: Very juicy and concentrated wine. Beautiful black forest fruits. A mouth full. Beautiful acidity and tannin. Really luxurious and I did not make more notes. Young maturity now. 95+
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11/5/2011 - jkoenen wrote: 95 Points
Dreamtasting #3 (Bernhard Eifel Restaurant, Trittenheim): (*, open label) Full-blooded Shiraz-bouquet, recognisable as a New World-wine, but certainly not jammy nor overextracted. In fact, i thought this was very restrained and extremely well proportioned. On the palate I got notes of blackberreis, blueberries, grilled meat, just a pinch of eucalyptus and mint, and then a forest in autumn, sous-bois and wonderful earthy dustiness. Still feels very youthful and lively, not sticky or sweet. This has lots of classical style and character. Truly a class-act. 18.5-19/20
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10/16/2011 - deanmillson wrote: 95 Points
Deep, dark red. Cheery, floral, jammy, big but well structured. My first grange and my first impression was how much more complex in the 'middle' this wine is to most. Very fine tannins. Beautiful wine, but it didn't change my life.
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10/2/2011 - Kris G wrote: 95 Points
black berries, ripe, a truly great wine
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9/19/2011 - jbar wrote: 93 Points
Decanted and let it sit for about an hour before pouring. About 3 tbs were left in the bottle with sediment. Dark ruby color, long, long - legs. The nose was very floral with all the same aspects of other great Barossa Shiraz. Mouthfeel was silky smooth and full, near perfection in this regard. Alcohol was masked well and the taste went on for some time. Very balanced in the mouth with fruits, coffee and perhaps chocolate melding well together. In the end I have to say it was probably not worth the time and money spent getting it to this point. Others from the region are performing as well or better for a quarter of the price. Strike this one to a youthful, somewhat ignorant purchase, but alas... no regrets.
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9/11/2011 - Mark H. LeQuire wrote: 94 Points
Dark garnet color. No flaws. No sediment. Some rim variation in the glass. Full of fruit. Low acid and tannin. Medium finish. Served with beef. Paired perfectly. Completely ready to drink.
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8/4/2011 - pmarsland wrote: 91 Points
Very dark stain at end of cork. Dark purple rim. Decanted and served 3 hours later. Very primary. Lots of fruit. Good concentration. Reasonable length. Kept a little back for 24 hours. Fruit softened a little, very mellow, not especially complex. Nice wine, impressive in many ways, yet I suspect it might get better with age.
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4/16/2011 - cubswinws wrote: 93 Points
Big and rich. Lots of vanilla oak eucalyptus. Some liked it more than me.
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3/7/2011 - cortoncharlie wrote: 92 Points
Open and high-toned nose - quite floral with some sweet red fruit and minty elements. Sweet, thick and meaty and undeniably grange. Despite the sweet liquor elements it had reasonable balance with good underlying acidity. Quite round tannins. Primary but accessible. Will keep and improve.
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1/25/2011 - V64 wrote: 94 Points
Brick red colour to the edge with only slight suggestion of purple. Nose revealing black currant, some greenery, with savoury characters and lovely suggestion of palate to come. Palate is beautifully balanced, with acid, fruit and tannins all there but integrated with a distinct savoury character. Drinking really well now.
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8/15/2010 - qhdeputy wrote: 94 Points
Drinking very nicely now. Opened 3 hours before serving. Deep red color. The cork was as black as they come. The creamy smooth texture was opulent. It was well balanced, but not bold, very subtle at this stage. Notes of dark berries and cherries. Not the pepper notes one might expect.
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6/7/2010 - rikipedia Likes this wine: 92 Points
Terroir-istes International - Australia-Penfolds (Rodwell House): 96% Shiraz/4% Cab, barossa/mclaren vale blend, 20 months in new amerrican oak, 14% alc, 7 Tal; 3.52 pH; [Tasted Blind] The initial bouquet has some volatility and barnyard pong. As it blows off, one senses this is a super complex wine with prune, chocolate, cinnamon spice, and marmite accompanied with blackberry, bilberry and blackcurrant preserve. It feels like some American oak is involved with coconut and vanilla pod - also some wood smoke. Overarching is a menthol or more mint-chocolate chip (after eight mints) that add further interest.
The entry is full-bodied, the wine powerful yet sleek and distinguished with poise. With layers of complexity, the wine exudes class and is remarkably persistent on the finish. Wonderfully appealing! Some felt Va distracted, and there was a rusticity to the wine.
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5/7/2010 - markjanes wrote: 93 Points
Deep color, high extraction with a young ruby rim for a wine at this age. On the nose impressive with loads of richly spiced red and dark fruits, has some of that coffe/toffee kind of thing, ukalyptol in the way background. On the palate the wine has moderate to high acidity, a very lush and rich midpalate that isn't cloying in any way, a very smooth transition into a still reasonably tannic finish... the tannins are ripe and full... moderate alcohol. The wine is extremely well balanced with the hard and soft elements and fruit ripeness/depth and new barrique use all in synch, very good persistence, great intensity, very high complexity. Wine has finesse, a wonderful texture and is expressive of place. I haven't had this wine in a while and was very impressed... it does an incredibly good job in balancing a lot of elements that are intense and all in balance. Clearly exceptional wine that for me is drinking very close to its peak though I imagine there is so upside in cellaring this another 3-5 years or so.
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4/10/2010 - WildeMeeuw wrote: 91 Points
Penfolds Grange among Australias greatest (Heemstede - Rest. Southern Cross): 1997 Penfolds Grange (Australië, South Australië) Kleur: Diep donkerrood met oranjebruine rand. Aroma / bouquet: Boers stalllerig, donker fruit, beetje gebrand, hele andere stil. Smaak / Afdronk: Licht zoetige aanzet, krachtig zuur, Algemeen / potentieel: Wijn met ballen, lange tijd te gaan. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 11 + Smaak / Afdronk: 17 + Algemeen / potentieel: 8 = 91/100
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4/2/2010 - jwongham wrote: 96 Points
Sensational. Complex. Possibly a bit sharp. Incredible, complex long finish. Plenty of power.
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2/5/2010 - Old Amarone wrote: 95 Points
I am always stunned by this wine! It was decanted for about an hour. I caught a sweet nose of red and black berries and it grew as the glass emptied all too quickly! The taste was textured and to me gave blend of raspberry and black fruit working into soft, sweet tannins. I got a second level of taste of sweet coffee that I feel runs over the surface of the wine as it rushes around the palette. The thing about this wine, that endures for me, is that each glass seems to get better than the last and as the end approaches, I wonder what it would evolve into if we had more time, . . . . more of this great experience!
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12/26/2009 - Night Train wrote: 92 Points
Tar, leather and plums on the nose. Tremendous depth on the palate, with assorted black fruits. Great structure and power - everything in balance. Medium body and a slightly disappointing finish.
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12/24/2009 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 94 Points
Menthol, pepper, cassis, earth and minerals. Complex wine and lengthy finish. My first Grange and I look forward to sampling better vintages in my lifetime.
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10/26/2009 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 94 Points
Christie's Private Pre-Sale Tasting and Dinner (Amsterdam): Excellent depth, sweet fruit, less expressive than the Hill of Grace, massive, young and quite closed still, a very impressive classic, firm structure, long. Long life.
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10/26/2009 - Ludi wrote: 96 Points
Dark red with slightly garnet rim. Nose is supremely elegant: chocolate, red fruits, black pepper. In the mouth it is elegant and powerful at the same time, with tones of dark chocolate and a balsamic finish. What a wine! (2007-2020)
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10/2/2009 - Patton wrote: 96 Points
Amazing!
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7/19/2009 - mdefreitas wrote: 90 Points
Grange in the 90s @ Mike J's (Wilton, CT): When first opend, this displayed a lush, hedonistic, opulent profile. Drinking well, yet still holding a nice spine of tannins. With time, this appeared gain a bit of a "sweet" and slightly soft mouthfeel. Good, but not great.
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7/18/2009 - tplskylrk wrote:
TWATS Typhoon (Kells Shelter): lots of pepper in that, great mouth but then short, coffee, milf, huge way to go, toasty, a lot like Bosh - not complex
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6/8/2009 - graemeg wrote:
NobleRottersSydney - Langtons Classification (Alio's, Surry Hills): [cork 14%] All of 4% cabernet in this vintage. Immensely impressive in isolation, its really suffering tonight just by being too young, and therefore less expressive. Hasn’t yet developed the vocabulary of the Henschkes [91 Edelstone, 90 Hill of Grace]. Spiced ripe tarry fruits make up the youthful aromas, the palate still retains a monumentally youthful quality about it. Primary black fruits, fine dusty tannins, great intensity and length are all present; the oak has integrated nicely. Perhaps lacks the final touch of magic about it; yet remains eminently drinkable now despite the feeling that only some potential is being realised. Not clumsy or gauche in any way, just needs time – 10 more years? – to strut its stuff properly. Could be a ‘bargain’ in years to come, especially being sandwiched between the lusted-after 1996 and 1998 wines. Very, very good, could be great, if the fruit can keep up with the tannins...
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6/7/2009 - dream wrote: 92 Points
Very dark color. Nose is tight but with hints of eucalyptus and dark berries. Still young and yet to develop the secondary flavor profile of of liquid licorice that I love so much in this wine. Lighter-bodied than some of the blockbuster vintages but this will be elegant and complex with time. 92+
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6/5/2009 - andrewstevenson.com wrote: 91 Points
There's black fruit and menthol on the nose, which feels very refined. A lovely flavour. Nicely classy on the palate. But it doesn't blow me away.
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6/2/2009 - DJenkins wrote: 90 Points
Off-vintage Grange. A bit disjointed at the moment. Lots of power but doesn't quite hang together. Probably much better in 5 years or so
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5/5/2009 - Ludi wrote: 94 Points
(2005-2025)
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11/14/2008 - Giggs wrote: 93 Points
At BH/LP dinner gathering, Angaston, SA. No full notes. Youthful, round palate, ripe fruit; very structured, but not a powerhouse.
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11/9/2008 - NathanJM wrote: 95 Points
Dark red/purple, still seems young. Very well structured, well-balanced. Blackberry, blueberry, cedar, and white pepper. Heavy but well-integrated tannins. A nice long finish. To me, the structure really sets this one apart from the more well-done cheaper wines with similar taste characteristics.
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9/23/2008 - LEOCORP wrote: 95 Points
Good ruby rim colour, The nose is blueberry and red fruit and very fresh leather and cedar, in the mouth the wine has good weight and it fills all the mouth with delicious red fruits the wine still has a nice tannic backbone there is no rush to drink this I love this wine like most Granges.
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9/13/2008 - mghomula wrote: 95 Points
Consistent notes with 7/12/08 notes.
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7/12/2008 - mghomula wrote: 95 Points
Consistent tasting notes with 6/4/08 TN's. Again, I am drinking this too soon, I know, but the 1998's I have really need to wait so I am drinking 97 to keep my hands off the 98's.
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7/11/2008 - vanpe003 wrote: 94 Points
I was quite wrong about this wine. While we were drinking it, I thought it had some comparability to the 2003 Forefathers I had opened earlier in the evening. I was wrong. Much as I enjoyed the Forefathers earlier in the evening, it doesn't hold a candle to the Grange. Grange....rich, complex and long...all those descriptors being relative to the '03 Forefathers that I was in love with earlier in the evening. No detailed notes, but simply put, the best syrah/shiraz opened this evening....by quite a wide margin. The Cote du Rhone Nate suggested was a worthy #2. Nate....if you're reading this, I need a case of that stuff!!
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6/4/2008 - mghomula wrote: 95 Points
This was my first Grange and perhaps a bit of infanticide to drink it now 10 years from bottling. BOOM! This was incredible. Though I have read this is not the best vintage representation of Grange (WS gave it a 92 in 2002) I found it to be outstanding and much better than some others. Decanted for 2 hours before tasting. Pulling the cork was a beautiful experience as the wine end of the cork was so deep purple as to almost be black. Gorgeous! In the glass it was a clear, deep red nearing purple. Very nice color. The nose was huge black fruit (blackberry, blueberry), spice and a hint of oak. Oh so smooth on the palate. Blackberry, blueberry (name your black fruit and it seemed to be present) and plum fruits coalesce in a huge jammy mouthfeel but not overdone. This wine reveals more on the palate with some cassis, hints of oak, pepper and a touch of cocoa. Seriously complex, well integrated and balanced throughout; this wine just doesn't seem to want to quit with a very nice, elegant and long finish (I stopped timing the finish because it didn't seem to want to stop). This is a great wine right now but I am sure it is going to be better around 2012. I have 6 of the 1998's sitting here which I understand to be near perfect. Since the 97 was my first Grange and I found it to be this good I am concerned about my reaction the 1998's.
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4/9/2008 - jamieirving wrote: 97 Points
Deep red with ruby edges, this wine shows plum, blackberry and spice on the nose. The palate is smooth and full with dark red fruit, white pepper and savoury capsicum characters. Long velvety finish. A really great wine.
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4/3/2008 - Bruno wrote: 94 Points
My first Grange, and a brilliant experience. Tasting notes very consistent with Will's below. Lots of oal and ripe fruit to be sure, but very complex and layered. Beautiful structure.
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3/28/2008 - jamieirving wrote: 97 Points
Deep red with ruby edges, this wine shows plum, blackberry and spice on the nose. The palate is smooth and full with dark red fruit, white pepper and savoury capsicum characters. Long velvety finish. A really great wine.
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2/27/2008 - Keith Cooper wrote: 85 Points
This bottle was drunk at a tasting of the Three Borders Wine Group in Hampshire, England, and shared amongst the 13 members present. For many, it was their first experience of Penfolds Grange. Opened 3 hours before tasting, the first impression was of a huge nose, the aroma filling the room. Very full bodied, with treacle and chocolate very prominent. Very big on the taste too, with more treacle and thick berry fruits, the wine seemed overly complex, whilst retaining a sound structure. The aftertaste was quite long, with a distinct spearmint gum lingering in the mouth. General opinions around the room varied from excellent to reasonably interesting, with some members clearly more impressed than others, bearing in mind we had all expected something really special for our £82 spent on the bottle. One thing upon which we were all agreed was that this wine is still reasonably young and will doubtless benefit from several more years in bottle.
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1/21/2008 - flattfam@charter.net wrote: 94 Points
My first bottle tasted or drank. Very unremarkable shortly after opening. Within an hour however, oh boy! Recommend waiting at least one hour from opening.
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8/19/2007 - baxter67 Likes this wine: 97 Points
First Grange. Wow! Super fruit, structure, complexity and restraint(!). Cherries,plums, layered, seamless. *****
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8/11/2007 - the godfather wrote: 95 Points
No question in my mind that Grange is the greatest Aussie Shiraz there is. Have had the 97 before, but it is drinking better than ever. Held up against some french giants
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6/29/2007 - vanpe003 wrote: 95 Points
Very approachable right out of the bottle, but even better after an hour in the decanter. An elegeant rendition of Aussie Shiraz. Well balanced, with noticeable hints of cedar on both nose and palate. A crowd favorite this evening at Cesare's. According to Brian, "one of the best wines I've ever tasted, and probably the best Shiraz".
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3/1/2007 - Burgundy Al wrote: 90 Points
Mystery horizontal that ended up as Australia 1997s (Hughes House - Chicago IL): Double blind tasting. I feel stupid not liking this wine, which was the group's blind #2 WOTN. But I frankly felt it was too modern and seemingly manipulated with overripe fruit and too much oak-driven sweetness. All that said, I also felt it had lots of potential with its clearly great raw materials. I was very uncertain whether this needed lots of time to resolve and integrate (I wrote 65% likely) vs. needed to drink this young before it falls apart (35%). Admitting that makes me feel stupid again...go with Option A.
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3/1/2007 - winefool wrote: 95 Points
WineFlock - 1997 Australian Horizontal (My House): Group #2, My #1 - Nearly opaque red/purple color. Forward rich spicy sweet black fruit nose - lifted. Big mouthful of serious rich blackcurrant/cassis fruit with spice and licorice notes. A great wine.
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3/1/2007 - johnphinney8 wrote: 93 Points
Some fruit notes, mostly blueberry and prune, but generally quiet on the nose. Can get the blueberry aussie shiraz note as it opens, as well as glycerin, but this is total infanticide. Such a structured wine. Is nice to appreciate the structure more than the fruit... If you have it leave it for 3-5 years AT LEAST. Much higher score in the future...95+?
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2/15/2007 - the godfather wrote: 95 Points
For me no other Aussie wine compares to Grange, my friend tasted this blingd and thought it was Bordeaux. The 97 is drinking beautiful with perfect balance, make sure you decant this if only to avoid the sediment.
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8/20/2006 - psmith wrote: 94 Points
Meaty with loads of concentration, blackberry and mineral. A very sexy, though nicely restrained mouthfeel and finishing with a very distinct blueberry note. Slightly sweet and sappy, balanced throughout and with a huge upside. A very special wine, and a far more impressive showing than the last several bottles of this I've been fortunate enough to have.
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8/19/2006 - Captain R wrote: 95 Points
Wow. just beautiful. decanted 2 hours and the expression was just brilliant.
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3/1/2006 - Pool Boy wrote: 91 Points
Wonderful! 91pts.
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9/20/2005 - JJA wrote: 95 Points
Wonderful! Luscious, fruity, smooth. Outstanding!
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11/9/2004 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
Quite forward, showing graphite, ripe berry and cedar characters. The palate was seamless and all flavours seemed to meld together effortlessly.
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10/10/2004 - NeuroDoc wrote: 94 Points
Fabulous sweet nose, almost right out of the bottle. Decanted 45 min. On the palate complex, but sweet cherries, minimal spice, no oak, dark, dense, luscious. Not as tannic as I expected. Medium finish, not as long as expected. I made the 2 glasses last for 3 hours, and things improved over time.
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5/19/2004 - Will wrote:
France Syrah vs Australia Shiraz (Toulouse): This time the nose screams Hermitage but also oak! oak! oak! So from what I've heard this must be the Grange. Mr Grange, please lay down on the sofa and let's see if I can analyze you... Nose with a lot of oak at first (I find myself saying "cool, 90% oak, 10% wine!") with hints of black berries/currant and palate overpowered by wood. Wait & aerate - lather, rinse, repeat. After a few minutes of this treatment, we start to catch a glimpse of something that just might not be wood - there's light at the end of the tunnel! Luckily enough we're stubborn as maybe only French people can be, so this wine avoids the dreaded "wood shards infusion" label: indeed there is something. And when it starts kicking, it's actually really nice. Berries on the nose start to be exuberant, the wine pulls itself together and we finally can understand why this wine is typically compared to an Hermitage. Something new comes with every sip. Best Australian wine of the night by far, and my 3rd overall (after Jamet and Chave), this is indeed the Penfolds Grange 97. Huge potential in this wine.
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12/20/2003 - Eric wrote: 93 Points
Bearfoot Bistro with Amy & Justin. This has a stunning nose of eucalyptus, iodine, and toasty oak with a pleasing, medicinal aspect. The color is deep black, and the impressive cork (not the barest hint of seepage) was pure black on the end in contact with the wine. On the palate this was fairly stern with a wall of tannins and acidity. The power, concentration and complexity are exceptionally impressive, but throughout the finish was somewhat choppy and tight even with 90 minutes of air. After about 3 hours this really started to clamp down and get more black, yet this was certainly enjoyable and impressive. I would wait a minimum of 5 years to try again though.
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8/3/2003 - OneLastSyrah wrote:
Dallas Blur Tasting 2003: Showing lots of oak and some late astringency.
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6/7/2003 - rjonwine@gmail.com wrote: 92 Points
Deep berry, framboise nose; concentrated blueberry, blackberry, raspberry palate, with some heat; medium-plus finish
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2/14/2003 - peternelson wrote: 93 Points
Red Carpet: Opaque coffee-mud color! Sweet leather, intense, huge mth. Tasted like a thick syrupy Cab, or a big N. Rhone Syrah. Not a lot of fruit like I would expect.
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9/9/2002 - futronic wrote: 90 Points
Deep red to purple, intense colour. Huge nose, jammy dark fruit with chocolate and cassis, soft oak. Huge in the mouth as well, but softer than I was expecting. More silky and elegant than powerful and extracted. Plenty of tannins to give this a long haul in the cellar. Touch of coffee on the finish. Time is needed for tannin/oak/fruit to blend better. Slightly disappointed after all the hype, but still worth 90 points.
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