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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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The 2020 RWT Shiraz Bin 798 is a powerhouse of bloody fruit and firm tannin. It veritably explodes from the blocks, showing plum skin, raspberry leaf, blackberry, mulberry, lashings of salted licorice and rendered lamb fat. I am coming to love (in a big and serious way) the Barossa Shiraz' bottlings from 2020—the year was significantly down in yields, warm and dry, and responsible for wines of muscle, density and gravitas. So, too, for this wine. Excellent.
98 points, Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate (Jul 2022)
This is a wonderful Bin 789 with striking poise, polish and intensity on offer. Show-stopping aromas of ripe blackberry, dark plum and espresso are primal and freshly captured. The palate is rich and lusciously expressed, with a very plush and intense core of ripe blackberry and dark-plum fruit. Roasted coffee here, too. Such poise and polish. Drink over the next decade or more.
98 points, James Suckling (Oct 2022)
Matured for 16 months in an even split of new and 1yo French hogsheads. When you see a wine with this depth of colour, grading to a brilliant crimson rim, you know all is well. The deliberate use of French oak (to the exclusion of all others) was a decision made when planning the birth of RWT with its inaugural 1997 vintage, and in tasting through Penfolds' array of red wines, it stands out. It's a brilliant trifecta of intense fruit, balanced tannins, and that classy oak.
97 points, James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion (Aug 2022)
Opaque violet. Smoke-accented cherry, dark berry preserve, fruitcake and incense aromas are complemented by suggestions of vanilla, cola and baking spices. Fleshy and expansive on the palate, offering alluringly sweet black and blue fruit, vanilla, exotic spice and dark chocolate flavors and repeating smokiness. Displays excellent clarity and spicy lift on the impressively long, smooth finish, which features polished tannins and reverberating blue fruit and floral notes. All French oak, 49% of it new.
96 points, Josh Raynolds, Vinous (Sep 2022)
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