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B-21 Top Recommendation
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Counted among a handful of iconic wines instantly recognizable by a single word, pioneering Penfolds winemaker Max Schubert began his secretive experiment in the 1950’s to craft a highly distinctive Shiraz blending grapes from across South Australia’s best vineyards with techniques considered unconventional at the time, initially calling it Grange Hermitage and eventually changing it simply to “Grange." Described as “unquestionably Australia’s benchmark wine” by Vinous critic Josh Raynolds, this selection of highly rated Penfolds Grange vintages available in a range of formats is being offered at special, one-time pricing that Aussie Shiraz fans and collectors of the world’s best wines will want to secure without hesitation.
Among the first to establish vineyards in South Australia’s Adelaide, Dr. Christopher Penfold and his wife Mary established Penfolds in 1844, naming their stone cottage situated among the vines The Grange and eventually growing to become one of the country’s largest wine producers. Now celebrating the 70th anniversary of its first release, continuity has played a big part in the overwhelming success of Penfolds Grange, with only three other winemakers after Schubert crafting its signature style. As Chief Winemaker for Penfolds since 1989, Peter Gago has carried on the Grange tradition of blending mainly Shiraz and usually (although not always as in 2017) a small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon from multiple vineyards across multiple regions, a practice which minimizes the impact of vintage variations, and ages Grange in large casks of 100% new American oak with nearly four more years in the bottle, yielding elegant spiced dark fruit balanced with precise acidity and velvety, forceful tannins ensuring decades of evolution. Described as “a massive wine” by the Wine Spectator’s Harvey Steiman, the 97 pt. 1995 Penfolds Grange has enjoyed over two decades of impeccable aging and is ready to enjoy, “majestic in its proportions, combining power and grace in equal measure” with a finish that “echoes all day and night.” Available in magnums, the 99 pt. 2012 Penfolds Grange is “unquestionably a stonking great Grange!” according to the Wine Advocate’s Lisa Perrotti-Brown with a finish that’s “epically long.” Declaring the 100 pt. 2014 Grange “doesn’t disappoint,” Jeb Dunnuck describes it as “unquestionably the reference point wine for Australia,” while calling the 100 pt. 2015 Grange “a monster of wine and one of those rare wines that blends power and elegance perfectly.” Described by the Wine Spectator’s MaryAnn Worobiec as “memorable, complex, aromatic and explosively deep,” the 98 pt. 2017 Penfolds Grange is both elegant and muscular boasting “a stature and presence possessed only by Grange” according to Aussie expert Tyson Stelzer of the Halliday Wine Companion, only the seventh Grange ever made with 100% Shiraz.
Described as “Shiraz at its finest” by Inside Bordeaux’s Jane Anson, the mythical and highly collectible Penfolds Grange sets the standard for Australian Shiraz, these selections all top-rated vintages guaranteeing enjoyment for decades and certain to be a focal point in any collector’s cellar. |
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A perfect wine: extraordinary chypre and warm earth notes and the powerful fruit follows. Phenomenal Shiraz with 2% Cabernet Sauvignon.
100 points, Matthew Jukes, Decanter (Sep 2019)
Rich, concentrated and intense, the 2014 Grange delivers exactly what we've come to expect from this Penfolds icon wine. It's full-bodied, velvety in feel and loaded with plummy fruit, framed in vanilla and cedar. Dense, powerful and tannic, it should prove to be long lived, even by Grange standards. Gago doesn't rate the vintage overall that highly, but he says the selection this year for Grange was a bit more stringent and that production levels were just average. There are still over 1,000 cases for the United States.
98 points, Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate (Oct 2018)
At first glance, this is a purely indulgent wine, with gobs of creamy, milk chocolate–laden maraschino cherry, raspberry framboise and Earl Grey tea aromas. Then wave after wave of elements start filling in, with toasted cumin, peppermint oil, Kalamata olive and white pepper notes, combining into an almost overwhelming amount of details. Becomes indulgent again on the long, lush finish. Drink now through 2035. 1,088 cases imported.
98 points, MaryAnn Worobiec, Wine Spectator (Mar 2019)
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