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Penfolds

9 notes Sort by: Vintage - Name - Rating

2001
Penfolds Grange  (South Australia)
98
Penfolds Grange is not a wine I often enjoy drinking young. I find it far too massive and lacking in elegance. The 2001 changed my mind in a hurry. It's full bodied, rich, sweet, ripe and packed with waves of juicy berries, but the wine is balanced, round, open and even refined. Tasted blind with about 30 minutes of air, it was already showing well, and like all great wines, it kept getting better in the glass. Interestingly, this is one of the few vintages of Grange produced from 100% Shiraz.

Penfolds Grange is not a wine I often enjoy drinking young. I find it far too massive and lacking in elegance. The 2001 changed my mind in a hurry. It's full bodied, rich, sweet, ripe and packed with waves of juicy berries, but the wine is balanced, round, open and even refined. Tasted blind with about 30 minutes of air, it was already showing well, and like all great wines, it kept getting better in the glass. Interestingly, this is one of the few vintages of Grange produced from 100% Shiraz.

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1998
Penfolds Grange  (South Australia)
96
Massive, packed and stacked with multiple layers of ripe fruit. The wine is filled with fresh blackberries, smoke and spice. This is a beefy, masculine, powerful, tannic wine that demands time. While the quality of the wine is there, and it's clearly well made, for my own palate, it is more about sheer power than finesse.

Massive, packed and stacked with multiple layers of ripe fruit. The wine is filled with fresh blackberries, smoke and spice. This is a beefy, masculine, powerful, tannic wine that demands time. While the quality of the wine is there, and it's clearly well made, for my own palate, it is more about sheer power than finesse.

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1997
Penfolds Grange  (South Australia)
94
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.

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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1994
Penfolds Grange  (South Australia)
93
Still, quite a bit of wood on the nose, as the vanilla, dill and espresso remain front and center before you get to all the layers of black and red fruits. Powerful, full-bodied, long and dense, the wine still needs another decade before it integrates and softens.

Still, quite a bit of wood on the nose, as the vanilla, dill and espresso remain front and center before you get to all the layers of black and red fruits. Powerful, full-bodied, long and dense, the wine still needs another decade before it integrates and softens.

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1990
Penfolds Grange  (South Australia)
94
Thick, concentrated and dense, there is a lot of coconut, dill, black and blue fruit with jam in the nose. Powerful, but lacking elegance. Still young, it will age well, while this is a good wine, I do not think this is one of the great vintages for Penfolds Grange.

Thick, concentrated and dense, there is a lot of coconut, dill, black and blue fruit with jam in the nose. Powerful, but lacking elegance. Still young, it will age well, while this is a good wine, I do not think this is one of the great vintages for Penfolds Grange.

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1986
Penfolds Grange  (South Australia)
99
Blackberry liqueur, pepper, earth, spice and leaf aromas produce a pungent perfume, This wine is huge. It's packed and stacked with layers of intense, ripe dark fruit. This is full boded, powerful and finishes with wave after wave of dense, packed and staked fruit. This is about power, purity and intensity, not elegance. That being said, it's a world class wine with remarkable character and an endless finish.

Blackberry liqueur, pepper, earth, spice and leaf aromas produce a pungent perfume, This wine is huge. It's packed and stacked with layers of intense, ripe dark fruit. This is full boded, powerful and finishes with wave after wave of dense, packed and staked fruit. This is about power, purity and intensity, not elegance. That being said, it's a world class wine with remarkable character and an endless finish.

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1979
Penfolds Grange  (South Australia)
87
Tart, tannic and tough, the wine was all about the oak, the smoke and the sweet, tart red fruits. It was drying out and not a lot of fun to drink. I would not age this any longer hoping for a better experience.

Tart, tannic and tough, the wine was all about the oak, the smoke and the sweet, tart red fruits. It was drying out and not a lot of fun to drink. I would not age this any longer hoping for a better experience.

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1976
Penfolds Grange  (South Australia)
95
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.

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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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.

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.

5,478 Views   Tasted
1971
Penfolds Grange  (South Australia)
87
I've had better bottles of this in the past. But that was also a few years ago, so it's hard to say if this was the bottle or wine for sure, as I do not get to taste old Grange a lot. This bottle seemed like it was starting to dry out. The fruit was more acidic than I recalled and there was some dryness in the cranberry, cherry finish.

I've had better bottles of this in the past. But that was also a few years ago, so it's hard to say if this was the bottle or wine for sure, as I do not get to taste old Grange a lot. This bottle seemed like it was starting to dry out. The fruit was more acidic than I recalled and there was some dryness in the cranberry, cherry finish.

4,582 Views   Tasted
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Minerals, coffee, spice, charcoal, earth, tobacco and strawberry scents. This massive, strong, full bodied wine fills your mouth with layers of ripe, dark berries.

Minerals, coffee, spice, charcoal, earth, tobacco and strawberry scents. This massive, strong, full bodied wine fills your mouth with layers of ripe, dark berries.

6,033 Views   Tasted