The 50 Big Bash (Harry's NYC): Blind and while many people nailed it I got as close as it's new world and it's a monster. Big and red and more alcohol and maybe that bit of eucalyptus so I probably should have known about the Grange but this was just over the top and a bit too much. This wine seems like it might last forever.
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Still a beast of a wine. I'm not 100% sure that this wine won't end up lasting a lot longer than I do. It's awesome though. Powerful, ever changing, and bold. Darker fruits and spicy. Not as much eucalyptus as we sometimes get.
Penfolds Grange vertical with Peter Gago (Singapore): Blind tasting dinner. Auction bottle that was in great shape here. I guessed Napa Cab Sav. Expressive nose with complex aromas of tobacco, rum pot, peat, smoke, plum. As ripe as this is, it is not oxidative or overpowering. Just very ripe and lush. Long finish. Every time you drink a Grange it awes you how far ahead of the curve these guys were back then in quality wine making than the rest of the country.
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Tasted at Penfolds Magill Estate, Adelaide. 40 Vintages of Grange: Again beautifully bright in the glass with just a touch of heat on the nose; although this isn't evident on the palate. The tannins are a bit more raw on the '76 as it doesn't have the same balance as the '71 but it's still great. A great anecdote recounted at the tasting was of the outrage at this wine being priced at over $20 for the first time when it was released back in 1981. Those were the days!
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Greg. Like to smell this more than actually drinking it. Plummy, floral aromas, lots of energy. Problem is palate overpoweringly sweet. Really evokes bitter chocolate.
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Penfolds Grange dinner with Stephanie Dutton (The Musket Room in NYC): This is just a beast of a wine. If tasted blind I'd be hard pressed to get anywhere near the right decade. It's a bit more full bodied, more intense, more fruit, more spice, more eucalyptus... just more. To be honest, on the edge of too much, but you can imagine with more time in the bottle to calm down it's going to be so impressive. This is a wine that might outlive me. Really fun to have twice in a week.
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Old Grange and some other goodies (Ristorante Morini): It is easy to tell why this is one of the best years of Grange. It's is a different animal than some of it's brothers. Fruit is much more intense here and comes across more as a sweet jam (not a jammy wine though). More dark and brooding. A bit more heft in the palate. Very balanced. Very tightly wound. Will be hold our bottles for decades if I had to guess. This is a wine that needs lots more time. But wonderful.
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White Burgs and Penfolds. Bellecour, Wayzata MN: This bottle was clean, pristine and showed with utter clarity. Interesting combination of deliciousness, structure, and power. An eucalyptus note, and for our "what would you guess if this was blind?" game, two of us said 74 Heitz Martha's. A great bottle, and ultimately my favorite of the Grange foursome.
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I loved the exotic fruit and spice of this wine but the finish was a disappointment as it lacked complexity and was a bit syrupy and simplistic. Here is one Grange that was perhaps just picked too ripe and therefore has not aged well.
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Robuchon blind dinner. Inky, purple and hugely sedimented. Crazily extracted and syrupy sweet. Is this dry red wine or port? Would I enjoy drinking this if I didn't know it was an expensive old Grange?
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Drank to celebrate Parker's acceptance at Marymount.
Based on my last note from a couple of years ago I was a little trepidatious...but while this seemed port-like upon opening, after an hour it was perfection. Even at this age, needs a decant of an hour before it starts showing properly. I think it's got a few more years left in it -- I've got one bottle left and am waiting for a sufficient occasion!
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Brought to dinner by dear friend. Tasted blind. Single owner, bought by him on release. Ullaged to low shoulder. Cork a shrivelled blackened wrinkly mess. Nose opens with unmistakable stamp of Penfolds and gravelly shiraz notes, plum, earth,mocha. Deep, strong wine with no signs of falling over, can it be in chemical stasis? Just tastes like a great old shiraz. Reminds me of some old Hermitage I have tasted. Improved with airing. A true icon wine and the state of your cork determines the experience. My second bottle experience of this wine, the first a perfumed memory of shiraz, this the full on version.
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ChrisD's 40th: 1994 Penfolds clinic re-corked. Aromatic nose with blackcurrant, menthol, chocolate, charcoal, licorice, raspberry and violets - so much happening on the nose here. Youthful fruit on the palate along with great balance and structure, this is in excellent condition and drinking close to its peak.
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In Zurich again with CVA and Andrew, another epic dinner that included a tasting of Syrah based wines. This was Andrews contribution, drank with a 91 Ermitage La Pavillion, 03 Saxum Bone Rock, 04 SQN Ode to E...this was decanted for only about 20 minutes, perfectly preserved bottle from the 25th anniversary of Grange. Would benefit from a bit more air time, wine just kept getting better through the 2 hours we drank it.
Color was still deep, opaque and some cloudiness, garnet to the rim. Nose was classic Grange, cherry, cedar, oak, earth. Palate repeats with dusted red fruits, baking spice, cigar box. Long and nuanced finish.
I would describe this as elegant and balanced, for a Grange it still packs the big Aussie fruit but has settled into a place where the secondary flavors and finish show the quality of this wine. Pushing 39 years old, this one still has a good arc ahead of it. Hope I am lucky enough to try again in the future.
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This remains an incredible Grange. Special occasion dictated opening it now. Previous notes reflect wine at this point. Can go another 10 years if desired. Final glass benefited from 6+hours of double decant. Simply a beautiful wine.
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Delivering a complex set of aromatics with its ripe cherry, cigar box, oak, earth and spicy nose, this was no wall flower on the palate, Big, dense and packed with a wall of beefy fruits and tannins, this masculine, structured wine can age for decades.
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Opened with Tom and Chris W. This had been re-corked in 2008 so cork was fine. Took some time to open up (2 hour decant) and got better and better the longer we waited.
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Opened this Grange, one of 4 purchased upon release, for my 60th birthday. Drank the first one in mid 90s and it was a cracker, tho still young. I could say the same about this wine. Used cork puller, not screw, which was wise as the cork would have disintegrated. Wine was sweet upon opening but still fairly closed. Decanted and let it sit for 2 hours then double decanted it. Tried it an hour later and it blew me away, but was still fairly closed. For a 37 yr old wine it has amazing fruit and balance. Fine, soft but full tannin structure. Finish never ends. I will cork half and give it a go tomorrow when I fully expect it to be even better. Those lucky enough to have this wine in their cellars need not rush to drink it. I have 2 left and will wait at least til my 65th to try another.
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Uncle Ray dinner with PP, DC and MW (Amuse Bouche): soaring nose of tobacco and exotic spices. initially thought it was Celestins, although it was much thicker and sweeter on the palate, almost syrup like. massively dense. a clear 100-pointer for those who love big wines.
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Unfortunately, I think this is my last bottle of this great vintage I've drunk this 4 times since 2008, each time blown away by its finesse, structure and complexity. I drink grange often, this vintage is the greatest I've had, reinforced again this time. So much to describe, other notes below fairly accurate Perfect wine
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Penfolds tasting with Grange etc (Osia): intensive color, lots of energy. Concentrated - a sense of muscat, sugar, almost port/sweet wine;beautiful aromas though
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(Bdays Brunner with Just, Ads, Geoff, Grace: this 1975/1976 Vertical Tasting report is communal) Cloudy inky garnet in the glass. Cork crumbled upon extraction. Fine sedimentation.
Upon opening: Lively, elegant nose of plums, blackberry, mulberry, dark chocolate with a tinge of freshly roasted coffee bean, and glycerol cognac flavors. Highly textural in the mouth, with silky velvet tannins, the flavors dramatically extend up and out, showing layers of extroverted complexity, focus and balance: A pronounced zingy minty numbing buzz which lasts for a good two minutes, not unlike biting into freshly toasted Sichuan peppers (hua-jiao); Medicinal chinese herbs featuring dried prunes, hawthorne berry, dried mandarin orange peel, preserved sourplum (suan-mei), American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) along with hints of five-spice (cloves, cinnamon); Fresh botanical notes reveal snow peas, long beans, boysenberry, blackberry and mulberry. Nevertheless, this wine remains well integrated, genteel, outgoing and almost feminine.
After decanting 4 hrs: It has certainly bloomed much more, with now a broader, more extensive perfume yet maintaining a lovely depth, intensity and focus that is at the same time gentle and restrained in its delivery. Tasting now yet reveals a surprisingly forward nose of crisp-toasted skate and fried ikan-bilis (anchovies), along with developed dimensions of dark plums, prunes, hawthorne, strawberry; Also a richer savoury brew of dried licorice root (gan-cao), Brand's Chicken Essence, smoky rubber, porcini mushrooms, and a twist of roquefort funk! What a long, sustained finish, with toasted pistachios emerging after a couple minutes.
Unlike the 1975, I wouldn't pair this bottle with food as there already is so much going on, complete within the glass: eloquent, youthful, elegant, controlled and integrated, while keeping things approachable without being overwhelming or intimidating, yet infinitely interesting: biding its time in the glass, beckoning for flavors to be playfully teased out with each whiff and sip, requiring great conversation, fantastic company, and heaps of time! No longer about the wine, it really has become more about the story.
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Spice box, cherry tobacco, blackberry cassis, pepper, earth, truffle and earthy aromatics open to a powerful, dense, concentrated wine. Massive, chewy and full bodied, this masculine styled wine ends with a big mouthful of blackberry, cassis and citrus flavors.
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Opened 4 hours before serving, decanted 2 hours before. Wow. lived up to it's legendary status. Softer than the traditional Grange, long chocolate finish. Perfect wine
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Geoff Lindsay's 50th: Good lift on the nose with an interesting eucalypt nose. Still firm to taste and plenty of bitter aniseed. Long and tight, particularly for its age.
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Utterly fantastic. I made sure to drink this one from decanter rather than lapped up from limestone like the last one. Layer after layer of rich, velvety fruit that was perfectly balanced, not overwhelmingly jammy, and with a minute long finish. Sadly the cork disintegrated; I tripled decanted it to get the pieces out but there was one or two sips where I caught one. That probably depressed the score. A marvelous wine with years to go, but virtually perfect now.
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My wine cellar has been christened, inadvertently, by this wine. By which I mean I hazarded only two sips of this wine, being as it was served on clean, recently-installed limestone floor tiles. Of the 1800 bottles I've moved so far, why, oh why, did this one have to smash to the ground? It pooled deeply enough where I could lap up a tiny amount -- good lord how pathetic does this sound? -- but what I tasted completely outclassed the 1990 Jaboulet I recently had. It is rare that a legend lives up to its reputation but this, served in non-clinical conditions to say the least, was amazing. I purchased another bottle immediately and I'll handle it with greater care. Meanwhile the cellar now smells beautifully of this wine. Two points deducted for the limestone serving vessel.
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A concentrated deep, brooding colour belies the age of this wine. The nose just bursts out of the glass with intoxicating aromas of redcurrant, vanilla, violets, ginger, chocolate and coffee. Vibrant, youthful, sumptuous fruit on the palate is tempered by super fine tannin structure and glorious texture. Simply incredible length and balance. This is a truly legendary wine and is set to improve even more over the next 10+ years. Wow, after years of doubt, two stunning bottles of Grange in the past month have rendered me converted.
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Grange Offline (1990-1975) (Alba Restuarant London): 89% SH 11% CS, 13.9% More mature than the 1978, some full caramel/coffee flavours, like a black mars bar, quite low fruit with very nice balanced finish.
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Old Wine Dinner (Caliterra -Chicago IL): An exciting Grange flight. Dark color. Black cherry, plum, cassis, dark chocolate, black pepper aromas. Powerful lack fruit on palate with the most faint hints of mature advancement. It's rare to say you'd want an older bottle of wine more evolved, but that's the case here. When will this be ready?!?!
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Ray Goder Dinner at Caliterra (Caliterra): Opaque black purple. Huge big spicy black fruit aromas with good acidity. Huge rich chocolate balck cassis fruit. Like many of the great Granges, this feels almost immortal – it still shows tight after 30 years in bottle! 94+ pts.
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Deep ruby in colour with just a hint of browning around the edges. Typical Grange VA nose, with some plum and berry notes. Palate had some fruit sweetness to it, but was drying out significantly on the back palate and fell into a disjointed mess about 10 minutes after opening. This particular bottle was sadly past its best and should have been drunk some time ago. The "joys" of bottle variation under cork.
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Drank during christmas. This tasted like a port, never had anything like it before. They tanis had mellowed is was flavor all the way through. Couldn't imagine drinking more than a bottle.
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1/21/2023 - MC2 Wines wrote:
The 50 Big Bash (Harry's NYC): Blind and while many people nailed it I got as close as it's new world and it's a monster. Big and red and more alcohol and maybe that bit of eucalyptus so I probably should have known about the Grange but this was just over the top and a bit too much. This wine seems like it might last forever.
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8/23/2021 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Still a beast of a wine. I'm not 100% sure that this wine won't end up lasting a lot longer than I do. It's awesome though. Powerful, ever changing, and bold. Darker fruits and spicy. Not as much eucalyptus as we sometimes get.
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6/23/2021 - Collector1855 wrote: 96 Points
Penfolds Grange vertical with Peter Gago (Singapore): Blind tasting dinner. Auction bottle that was in great shape here. I guessed Napa Cab Sav. Expressive nose with complex aromas of tobacco, rum pot, peat, smoke, plum. As ripe as this is, it is not oxidative or overpowering. Just very ripe and lush. Long finish. Every time you drink a Grange it awes you how far ahead of the curve these guys were back then in quality wine making than the rest of the country.
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4/17/2021 - SimonPh wrote: flawed
Extremely high levels of VA. Undrinkable
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8/22/2019 - KoalaHK wrote:
Tasted at Penfolds Magill Estate, Adelaide. 40 Vintages of Grange: Again beautifully bright in the glass with just a touch of heat on the nose; although this isn't evident on the palate. The tannins are a bit more raw on the '76 as it doesn't have the same balance as the '71 but it's still great. A great anecdote recounted at the tasting was of the outrage at this wine being priced at over $20 for the first time when it was released back in 1981. Those were the days!
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5/10/2019 - fcxj wrote: 90 Points
Greg. Like to smell this more than actually drinking it. Plummy, floral aromas, lots of energy. Problem is palate overpoweringly sweet. Really evokes bitter chocolate.
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4/30/2019 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Penfolds Grange dinner with Stephanie Dutton (The Musket Room in NYC): This is just a beast of a wine. If tasted blind I'd be hard pressed to get anywhere near the right decade. It's a bit more full bodied, more intense, more fruit, more spice, more eucalyptus... just more. To be honest, on the edge of too much, but you can imagine with more time in the bottle to calm down it's going to be so impressive. This is a wine that might outlive me. Really fun to have twice in a week.
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4/28/2019 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Old Grange and some other goodies (Ristorante Morini): It is easy to tell why this is one of the best years of Grange. It's is a different animal than some of it's brothers. Fruit is much more intense here and comes across more as a sweet jam (not a jammy wine though). More dark and brooding. A bit more heft in the palate. Very balanced. Very tightly wound. Will be hold our bottles for decades if I had to guess. This is a wine that needs lots more time. But wonderful.
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4/2/2019 - BradE wrote:
White Burgs and Penfolds. Bellecour, Wayzata MN: This bottle was clean, pristine and showed with utter clarity. Interesting combination of deliciousness, structure, and power. An eucalyptus note, and for our "what would you guess if this was blind?" game, two of us said 74 Heitz Martha's. A great bottle, and ultimately my favorite of the Grange foursome.
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10/4/2018 - dream wrote: 90 Points
I loved the exotic fruit and spice of this wine but the finish was a disappointment as it lacked complexity and was a bit syrupy and simplistic. Here is one Grange that was perhaps just picked too ripe and therefore has not aged well.
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10/3/2018 - nywine68 wrote: 93 Points
Duos, Trios and Quartets Among Friends (Ai Fiori Restaurant, NYC): The first switch to new world wines of the evening. This still has lots of wonderful fruit left. It lacks some of the complexity, though. Very enjoyable nonetheless
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8/18/2017 - fcxj wrote: 70 Points
Robuchon blind dinner. Inky, purple and hugely sedimented. Crazily extracted and syrupy sweet. Is this dry red wine or port? Would I enjoy drinking this if I didn't know it was an expensive old Grange?
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4/30/2017 - nvandyk wrote: 98 Points
Drank to celebrate Parker's acceptance at Marymount.
Based on my last note from a couple of years ago I was a little trepidatious...but while this seemed port-like upon opening, after an hour it was perfection. Even at this age, needs a decant of an hour before it starts showing properly. I think it's got a few more years left in it -- I've got one bottle left and am waiting for a sufficient occasion!
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4/29/2017 - crazywineguy Likes this wine: 95 Points
Brought to dinner by dear friend. Tasted blind. Single owner, bought by him on release. Ullaged to low shoulder. Cork a shrivelled blackened wrinkly mess.
Nose opens with unmistakable stamp of Penfolds and gravelly shiraz notes, plum, earth,mocha. Deep, strong wine with no signs of falling over, can it be in chemical stasis? Just tastes like a great old shiraz. Reminds me of some old Hermitage I have tasted. Improved with airing. A true icon wine and the state of your cork determines the experience. My second bottle experience of this wine, the first a perfumed memory of shiraz, this the full on version.
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12/25/2016 - Lord Rayas wrote: 98 Points
MNSC - PP: opened for 1 hour before decanting and serving. unmistakable aroma of sweet exotic fruits and coconut. so rich and syrupy. stunning.
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12/2/2016 - CamWheeler wrote: 95 Points
ChrisD's 40th: 1994 Penfolds clinic re-corked. Aromatic nose with blackcurrant, menthol, chocolate, charcoal, licorice, raspberry and violets - so much happening on the nose here. Youthful fruit on the palate along with great balance and structure, this is in excellent condition and drinking close to its peak.
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11/2/2015 - nvandyk wrote: 96 Points
Rich and velvety, but rather port-like at this stage. Could be getting long in the tooth.
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1/27/2015 - walkerjfw wrote: 97 Points
In Zurich again with CVA and Andrew, another epic dinner that included a tasting of Syrah based wines. This was Andrews contribution, drank with a 91 Ermitage La Pavillion, 03 Saxum Bone Rock, 04 SQN Ode to E...this was decanted for only about 20 minutes, perfectly preserved bottle from the 25th anniversary of Grange. Would benefit from a bit more air time, wine just kept getting better through the 2 hours we drank it.
Color was still deep, opaque and some cloudiness, garnet to the rim. Nose was classic Grange, cherry, cedar, oak, earth. Palate repeats with dusted red fruits, baking spice, cigar box. Long and nuanced finish.
I would describe this as elegant and balanced, for a Grange it still packs the big Aussie fruit but has settled into a place where the secondary flavors and finish show the quality of this wine. Pushing 39 years old, this one still has a good arc ahead of it. Hope I am lucky enough to try again in the future.
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11/23/2014 - salua wrote: 98 Points
This remains an incredible Grange. Special occasion dictated opening it now. Previous notes reflect wine at this point. Can go another 10 years if desired. Final glass benefited from 6+hours of double decant. Simply a beautiful wine.
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11/20/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Delivering a complex set of aromatics with its ripe cherry, cigar box, oak, earth and spicy nose, this was no wall flower on the palate, Big, dense and packed with a wall of beefy fruits and tannins, this masculine, structured wine can age for decades.
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9/19/2013 - hongkongtom Likes this wine: 95 Points
Opened with Tom and Chris W. This had been re-corked in 2008 so cork was fine. Took some time to open up (2 hour decant) and got better and better the longer we waited.
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7/15/2013 - salua Likes this wine: 98 Points
Opened this Grange, one of 4 purchased upon release, for my 60th birthday. Drank the first one in mid 90s and it was a cracker, tho still young. I could say the same about this wine. Used cork puller, not screw, which was wise as the cork would have disintegrated. Wine was sweet upon opening but still fairly closed. Decanted and let it sit for 2 hours then double decanted it. Tried it an hour later and it blew me away, but was still fairly closed. For a 37 yr old wine it has amazing fruit and balance. Fine, soft but full tannin structure. Finish never ends. I will cork half and give it a go tomorrow when I fully expect it to be even better. Those lucky enough to have this wine in their cellars need not rush to drink it. I have 2 left and will wait at least til my 65th to try another.
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1/31/2013 - Lord Rayas wrote: 95 Points
Uncle Ray dinner with PP, DC and MW (Amuse Bouche): soaring nose of tobacco and exotic spices. initially thought it was Celestins, although it was much thicker and sweeter on the palate, almost syrup like.
massively dense. a clear 100-pointer for those who love big wines.
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8/13/2012 - docwines wrote: 100 Points
Unfortunately, I think this is my last bottle of this great vintage
I've drunk this 4 times since 2008, each time blown away by its finesse, structure and complexity. I drink grange often, this vintage is the greatest I've had, reinforced again this time.
So much to describe, other notes below fairly accurate
Perfect wine
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4/25/2012 - steinersing wrote: 96 Points
Penfolds tasting with Grange etc (Osia): intensive color, lots of energy. Concentrated - a sense of muscat, sugar, almost port/sweet wine;beautiful aromas though
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10/16/2011 - JerM wrote: 97 Points
(Bdays Brunner with Just, Ads, Geoff, Grace: this 1975/1976 Vertical Tasting report is communal) Cloudy inky garnet in the glass. Cork crumbled upon extraction. Fine sedimentation.
Upon opening: Lively, elegant nose of plums, blackberry, mulberry, dark chocolate with a tinge of freshly roasted coffee bean, and glycerol cognac flavors. Highly textural in the mouth, with silky velvet tannins, the flavors dramatically extend up and out, showing layers of extroverted complexity, focus and balance: A pronounced zingy minty numbing buzz which lasts for a good two minutes, not unlike biting into freshly toasted Sichuan peppers (hua-jiao); Medicinal chinese herbs featuring dried prunes, hawthorne berry, dried mandarin orange peel, preserved sourplum (suan-mei), American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) along with hints of five-spice (cloves, cinnamon); Fresh botanical notes reveal snow peas, long beans, boysenberry, blackberry and mulberry. Nevertheless, this wine remains well integrated, genteel, outgoing and almost feminine.
After decanting 4 hrs: It has certainly bloomed much more, with now a broader, more extensive perfume yet maintaining a lovely depth, intensity and focus that is at the same time gentle and restrained in its delivery. Tasting now yet reveals a surprisingly forward nose of crisp-toasted skate and fried ikan-bilis (anchovies), along with developed dimensions of dark plums, prunes, hawthorne, strawberry; Also a richer savoury brew of dried licorice root (gan-cao), Brand's Chicken Essence, smoky rubber, porcini mushrooms, and a twist of roquefort funk! What a long, sustained finish, with toasted pistachios emerging after a couple minutes.
Unlike the 1975, I wouldn't pair this bottle with food as there already is so much going on, complete within the glass: eloquent, youthful, elegant, controlled and integrated, while keeping things approachable without being overwhelming or intimidating, yet infinitely interesting: biding its time in the glass, beckoning for flavors to be playfully teased out with each whiff and sip, requiring great conversation, fantastic company, and heaps of time! No longer about the wine, it really has become more about the story.
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3/8/2011 - Jeff Leve wrote: 95 Points
Spice box, cherry tobacco, blackberry cassis, pepper, earth, truffle and earthy aromatics open to a powerful, dense, concentrated wine. Massive, chewy and full bodied, this masculine styled wine ends with a big mouthful of blackberry, cassis and citrus flavors.
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11/12/2010 - docwines wrote: 100 Points
Opened 4 hours before serving, decanted 2 hours before. Wow. lived up to it's legendary status. Softer than the traditional Grange, long chocolate finish. Perfect wine
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11/4/2010 - StewartWent wrote: 92 Points
Geoff Lindsay's 50th: Good lift on the nose with an interesting eucalypt nose. Still firm to taste and plenty of bitter aniseed. Long and tight, particularly for its age.
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4/10/2010 - WildeMeeuw wrote: 95 Points
Penfolds Grange among Australias greatest (Heemstede - Rest. Southern Cross): 1976 Penfolds Grange (Australië, South Australië) Kleur: Bruinrood Aroma / bouquet: Bedwelmend zwoel, jammig donker fruit, kruidig, beetje minty. Smaak / Afdronk: Super-rijp maar nog volop overeind, zachte zuren, relatief krachtige tannines maar vooral boterzacht, hout, enorme lengte. Prachtig verfijnd hout. Veel structuur en een prettig bittere finale. Algemeen / potentieel: Prachtig glas, nu optimaal op dronk, niet langer bewaren! 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 13 + Smaak / Afdronk: 18 + Algemeen / potentieel: 9 = 95/100
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9/11/2009 - Alex G. wrote:
Gorgeous, elegant nose. Velvet tannins, exotic spices and fruit on the palate, lengthy finish. Elegant, layered, complex and balanced. Exceptional
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1/14/2009 - nvandyk wrote: 98 Points
Utterly fantastic. I made sure to drink this one from decanter rather than lapped up from limestone like the last one. Layer after layer of rich, velvety fruit that was perfectly balanced, not overwhelmingly jammy, and with a minute long finish. Sadly the cork disintegrated; I tripled decanted it to get the pieces out but there was one or two sips where I caught one. That probably depressed the score. A marvelous wine with years to go, but virtually perfect now.
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8/9/2008 - nvandyk wrote: 98 Points
My wine cellar has been christened, inadvertently, by this wine. By which I mean I hazarded only two sips of this wine, being as it was served on clean, recently-installed limestone floor tiles. Of the 1800 bottles I've moved so far, why, oh why, did this one have to smash to the ground? It pooled deeply enough where I could lap up a tiny amount -- good lord how pathetic does this sound? -- but what I tasted completely outclassed the 1990 Jaboulet I recently had. It is rare that a legend lives up to its reputation but this, served in non-clinical conditions to say the least, was amazing. I purchased another bottle immediately and I'll handle it with greater care. Meanwhile the cellar now smells beautifully of this wine. Two points deducted for the limestone serving vessel.
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5/19/2007 - CamWheeler wrote: 96 Points
A concentrated deep, brooding colour belies the age of this wine. The nose just bursts out of the glass with intoxicating aromas of redcurrant, vanilla, violets, ginger, chocolate and coffee. Vibrant, youthful, sumptuous fruit on the palate is tempered by super fine tannin structure and glorious texture. Simply incredible length and balance. This is a truly legendary wine and is set to improve even more over the next 10+ years. Wow, after years of doubt, two stunning bottles of Grange in the past month have rendered me converted.
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7/8/2006 - Russell Faulkner wrote: 93 Points
Grange Offline (1990-1975) (Alba Restuarant London): 89% SH 11% CS, 13.9%
More mature than the 1978, some full caramel/coffee flavours, like a black mars bar, quite low fruit with very nice balanced finish.
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7/7/2006 - andrewstevenson.com wrote: 82 Points
Penfolds Grange Vertical Tasting (1990-1975) (Alba Restaurant, Whitecross Street, London): 89% shiraz, 11% cabernet
Bit of a flat nose with hints of mocha and coca cola. There could be some very mild TCA in this. On the palate, a bit weedy and lacking fruit.
82/100
Re-tasted around 11 p.m. Unchanged. Still thin and weedy.
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6/17/2006 - Burgundy Al wrote: 93 Points
Old Wine Dinner (Caliterra -Chicago IL): An exciting Grange flight. Dark color. Black cherry, plum, cassis, dark chocolate, black pepper aromas. Powerful lack fruit on palate with the most faint hints of mature advancement. It's rare to say you'd want an older bottle of wine more evolved, but that's the case here. When will this be ready?!?!
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6/1/2006 - winefool wrote: 94 Points
Ray Goder Dinner at Caliterra (Caliterra): Opaque black purple. Huge big spicy black fruit aromas with good acidity. Huge rich chocolate balck cassis fruit. Like many of the great Granges, this feels almost immortal – it still shows tight after 30 years in bottle! 94+ pts.
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5/8/2006 - navantis wrote: 96 Points
Like a fine port. Still plenty of life in this one.
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4/20/2006 - CamWheeler wrote: 85 Points
Deep ruby in colour with just a hint of browning around the edges. Typical Grange VA nose, with some plum and berry notes. Palate had some fruit sweetness to it, but was drying out significantly on the back palate and fell into a disjointed mess about 10 minutes after opening. This particular bottle was sadly past its best and should have been drunk some time ago. The "joys" of bottle variation under cork.
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12/25/2005 - Farwell_Race wrote: 95 Points
Drank during christmas. This tasted like a port, never had anything like it before. They tanis had mellowed is was flavor all the way through. Couldn't imagine drinking more than a bottle.
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