Winemaker comments by Peter Gago - PENFOLDS Chief Winemaker COLOUR - As a five year old at the time of writing, and just before its annual release, the wine is deep, dark and impenetrable. NOSE - At once Grange...oh, and the aromatics just happen to be compatible with that of Shiraz. As is its want, the aromas transform and complex across many planes, with air and over time in the glass. At first, a rich mix of dark chocolate infused with coffee bean and black liquorice, then scents of tar, aniseed, raw (pure) soy and black olive. Is it oak, or a hybrid, 'barrel ferment' character that can be captured as it oscillates in and out of this beguiling aromatic offering. PALATE - The palate is expansive, and yet finessed, balanced, highly defined, sleek. A continuum, an amalgam of dark berried flavours and textural sensations - deceptively accessible, yet a hidden largesse, untapped flavour and structural precursors threaten to ingress. 100% new oak is completely absorbed, meshed with ripe tannins, completing a palate of impressive length and youthfulness.
Grange is both PENFOLDS and arguably Australia's most famous wine and is officially listed as a Heritage Icon of South Australia. Grange boasts an unbroken line of vintages from the experimental 1951 and clearly demonstrates the synergy between shiraz and the soils and climate of South Australia. PENFOLDS Grange displays fully-ripe and intensely-flavoured Shiraz and some Cabernet grapes in combination with new American oak. The result is a unique Australian style that is now recognised as one of the most consistent of the world's great wines. The Grange style is the original and most powerful expression of PENFOLDS multi-vineyard, multi-district blending philosophy. This has been worth the wait. A complete wine, the description of which is not subservient to words - surely a good sign. The wine is at the other end of the Grange spectral offer to its predecessor, the 2001, purely as a result of two very different climatic vintages.
Don't Pay: $525.00
WBW Rating: 98/100
Closure: Cork
Region: Barossa Valley / McLaren Vale, SA
