A Rare Complete Set of Penfolds Grange

A Rare Complete Set of Penfolds Grange

Tuesday 12 May 2026, 10:00am

Timed Online Auction (Melbourne)

Rewards of Patience Rating System:

***** Exceptional

**** Very good

*** Good

** Not showing its best

* Past

1951 PENFOLDS BIN 1 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

100 percent shiraz. 50 percent Magill Estate, 50 percent Morphett Vale (Adelaide).

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

**

Past. The first experimental Grange; never released commercially and extremely rare. Rare hand-blown bottles. 100 cases/ 3 hogsheads made.

Bottle Condition:

Minor label damage. Penfold's re-corking clinic 2014

1952 PENFOLDS BIN 4 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

100% shiraz. 50% Magill Estate, 50% Morphett Vale

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

Drink now to 2060. Released as Bin 4 and Bin 4A. The first commercial release. “Wonderful freshness courtesy of perfect pH balance. Still showing dark fruits, a full deck of secondary warm earth spicy flavours, and soft persistent tannins.” - James Halliday

Bottle Condition:

Into neck. Label damage. Penfold's Wine Clinic Series V 1998.

Reviews & Score:

95 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Great colour! A deepish red/brickred with black glints; nose very complex, sweet and sound; deep and layered. Woodsy, savoury, palate incredibly soft silky and supple. Tannin almost disappears. Very good length and harmony, seems to have some alcohol warmth and glycerol, but it's an illusion. Very rich. Terrific length. Pruney, hints of raisin. A smidgin overripe, but I'm carping. Sublime wine, with a texture like velvet. 28 Sep 2007

18.5/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Extremely deep blackish ruby with a ruby rim. Looks more youthful than the 1953!

Took almost 70 years to overtake the 1953. Rich aromas of warm Australian earth. A hint of mint and a fair whack of camphor. Lots of acidity and just slowly losing fruit but with a very long finish after quite a bit of richness. The most typical and intense Grange of these three from the 1950s. Tasted Oct 2024

89 Points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. The first Grange (100% Shiraz) to be commercially released in the whoppingly large quantity of 150 cases, and sold at a price of one Australian dollar per bottle, this wine is clearly drying out, somewhat rustic, but intact. Colored a dark plum/garnet, the wine shows charming, sweet notes of coffee, licorice, and faded fruit in the nose. The wine is still full-bodied, shows good ripeness and flesh, but then the finish shows some tart acid and some dry, astringent tannin. As the wine sat in the glass, it did not crack up, but certainly did not improve. Nevertheless, for a wine that is nearly 50 years of age, it still provides excellent drinking.

1953 PENFOLDS BIN 10 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

87% shiraz and 13% cabernet sauvignon. Magill Estate and Morphett Vale (Adelaide), Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley).

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): *****

Drink now or hold a bit longer. Lighter in body than the 1952, with a fine chalky residue and inky complexity. Beginning to dry out but could last for decades if cellared correctly and the cork holds out.

Bottle Condition:

Label damage. Penfold's re-corking clinic 2004

Reviews & Score:

20/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Very dark blackish ruby. Shaded rim. Another era. Saddles yet freshness. Len Evans was a boy! This just vindicates great wine. So lively, sweet, long. Tasted 25 Jun, 2011

97 Points, Campbell Mattinson. The Wine Front. Sweet invitation. Dramatically long. These early vintages of Grange Hermitage are in far better shape than I was imagining. Lots of ripe, mature tannin, lots of sweet leather, lots of mocha and port-soaked beef. Citrus highlights, like a joke in an otherwise serious affair – the kind of joke that tells more than seriousness ever could. Light and shade. This soared in the glass. An incredible Australian red wine at more or less 55 years of age. Posted on 06 November 2008.

99 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Deepish red/brick-red colour. Very sound and intense, wonderfully deep and vibrant with a lot of power and persistence. It finishes right out. Great wine indeed. Big structure, still with tannin firmness. Tremendous wine, great complexity. 03 Aug 2012

93 Points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. A blend of 87% Shiraz and 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, 260 cases of this wine were produced. This is the first Grange to incorporate wine from the Kalimna region in the Barossa. This was a revelation. An astonishing, great wine with remarkable vigor and freshness, this wine has a dark garnet color with considerable amber at the edge. A sweet nose of mushrooms, roasted herbs, tar, red and black fruits, and underbrush is followed by a wine with considerable opulence, flesh, and vivacity. The wine has terrific harmony and a long finish. It is an amazing effort that should continue to drink well for another 7-10 years.

1954 PENFOLDS BIN 12 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

98 percent shiraz and 2 percent cabernet sauvignon. Magill Estate (Adelaide) and Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley).

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): ***

Drink Now (past). Released as Bin 11 and Bin 12.

Bottle Condition:

Label damage. Penfold's Wine Clinic Series V 1998.

Reviews & Score:

86 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real review. Lighter and more amber in hue. Nose is sweaty meaty and gamy, with some tiredness. Lighter bodied, soft and very round, gentle and mild; lacks depth and intensity. Still drinkable, but rather earthy now and a bit weak. 28 Sep 2007

1955 PENFOLDS BIN 14 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

90 percent shiraz and 10 percent cabernet sauvignon. Magill Estate and Morphett Vale (Adelaide), Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley) and McLaren Vale. The most decorated Grange

Awards:

Winner of 12 trophies and 52 gold medals on the Australian wine show circuit. Spent only nine months in oak. Named by US magazine Wine Spectator as one of 12 “Wines of the Millennium” in 2000.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

Drink Now. Bin 95 is the most common bottling and commercially available. Also released as Bins 13, 53, 54 and 148A.

Bottle Condition: Into neck. Minor label damage. Penfold's Wine Clinic 200/2001

Reviews & Score:

99 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Three bottles were opened, two showed staleness and were disappointing, the third was sheer magic. The colour was medium-full brick-red/tawny, the bouquet profound and wonderfully multifaceted. At 60 years old, this is a very great bottle of a famous wine and one of the finest old Granges I've ever drunk. The tannins have mellowed right away to a soft, silken texture, and the wine is infused with fabulously complex roasting-pan and cigarbox intricacies. A beautiful old wine. 25 Aug 2015

17.5/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Shaded mid-rust colour. Looks older than the 1952 or 1953. Minty nose, with a little oxidation apparent on the nose in this bottle. Strong treacle-toffee aromas. Very salty and sappy. Really vibrant on the palate. Drying a little on the (persistent) end. Tasted Jul 2009

97 Points, Campbell Mattinson. A miraculous wine. Really bloody delicious. Feral, sweet, leathery and yet juicy and long through the finish, the cow paddock dressed up for show day. Slaking tannins, fine, firm and joyous. Curranty and chocolatey and pruney too. Here’s where wine gets emotional. An unstoppable wine. Tasted when the wine was over 50 years old.

1956 PENFOLDS BIN 14 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

96 percent shiraz, 4 percent cabernet sauvignon. Magill Estate and Morphett Vale (Adelaide) and Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley).

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): **

Past. In variable condition with the best still showing freshness, mature developed fruit and lacy firm textures. But really now past its best. Very rare. Lightened with only nine months in oak to meet internal criticism. Released as Bin 14 and Bin 53.

Bottle Condition:

High shoulder. Minor label damage.

Reviews & Score:

89 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Very deep meaty/animal nose; funky and rich, deep and muscly. Rich, fleshy, layered; falls a trifle short perhaps but the flavour is good and it's sound. Treacle, molasses and roast meats. Good, not great. 28 Sep 2007

91 Points, Cambell Mattinson. Blockier, less elegant style, but with huge impact and assertion for a wine of this age. Lots of tannin, lots of beefy flavour, black leather and black suspenders too. Rings clear through the finish, though there is something gaudy about that finish too. What a pile of fun this is. Tangy and acidic as you swallow but, really, what a marvel this wine is.

1957 PENFOLDS BIN 50 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

88 percent shiraz, 12 percent cabernet sauvignon. Magill Estate and Morphett Vale (Adelaide) and McLaren Vale.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): **

Mostly past. Some bottles are still holding but most have lost their charm and freshness. Very rare and valuable due to its historic significance. The first of the three “hidden Granges”, this wine was made without the knowledge of Penfolds management, who had ordered Max Schubert to cease production. Matured in the previous year’s Grange barrels. Released as Bin 50 and Bin 113.

Bottle Condition: Mid-shoulder. Label Damage. Scuffed capsule.

Reviews & Score:

90 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Great balls of tannin, fire to the firm rich, leathery hit of the palate. There’s spice here, ribbons of it, coffee grounds and twigs, the intervention of man in the play of nature set starkly against each other. A power player. No truck with finesse.

87 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real review. Simpler kind of nose; some plums and seems slightly less ripe. Soft, earthy grainy textured, somewhat coarser tannins than some; still hanging in there with good flavour but a touch cracking now; finishes with a slightly unbalanced grip. Drink up! (One of the Hidden Granges: no new oak) 28 Sep 2007

1958 PENFOLDS BIN 46 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal: 94 percent shiraz and 6 percent cabernet sauvignon. Magill Estate and Morphett Vale (Adelaide), Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

**

Mostly past. Now mostly over developed. The best bottles are still showing fresh and polished mahogany, demi-glace and tobacco characters and fine, lacy textures. Very rare and valuable. The second “hidden Grange”. Released as Bin 46, 47 & 49

Bottle Condition:

Minor label damage. Penfold's Wine Clinic Series V 1998.

Reviews & Score:

90 Points , Campbell Mattinson. Sweet toffee, sweet leather, and then … then it turns, like a new perfume has just been sprayed on. It smells of lavender, aniseed, rosemary and all other kinds of fancies. It holds firm on the palate, but not so that the wine is restricted. The wine can play; yet the winemaker is watching. There is a juiciness here that is alarmingly attractive. Not a lot of flavour of course and you have to be in the mood, but there’s fun here for sure.

1959 PENFOLDS BIN 46 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

90 percent shiraz, 10 percent cabernet sauvignon. Magill Estate and Morphett Vale (Adelaide) and Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley).

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): ***

Drink now to past. At the end of its optimum life. Some bottles holding up with advanced maturity but fine sinewy tannins. Very rare. The third and final “hidden Grange”. Released as Bin 46 (also Bins 49 and 95). The Bin 95 bottling was the most commercially available.

Bottle Condition:

Into neck. Label damage. Penfold's Wine Clinic 1998.

Reviews & Score:

91 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Oxidised and porty and overlaid in hay. But boy what a beautifully structured palate. There is no club-footed muscularity here, in the mode of the early 707s. There is brute beauty, of the useful kind, and it’s hard to know what to do with it – except drink lustily of it. Some coarseness here, some twigginess to the flush of honeyed leather. Probably some gamey/barnyardy characters too. But boy I forgive it every mole.

1960 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

92 percent shiraz, 8 percent cabernet sauvignon. Magill Estate and Morphett Vale (Adelaide) and Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley).

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

Past. Fragile old wine showing developed fruit and lacy fine textures. Some good bottles lying around. Very rare. Released as Bin 95 (also as Bin 45 and 49).

Bottle Condition:

Label damage. Penfold's re-corking clinic 2010

Reviews & Score:

19/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Bottle 1: Bright crimson. Very dark. Deep and mineral and very lively. Very full and spicy – almost curry spice aromas. Savoury with great lift – very ripe and sweet. Long. Just at the end of its drinking bracket. Notably volatile. Drying finish. This example dried out in the glass. Bottle 2: Much more vibrant and rich and complete. Just very slightly dry on the finish, but with great intensity. The mark is for this second bottle. Tasted Oct 2008

90 Points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. A blend of 92% Shiraz and 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine showed a dark garnet color with moderate amber at the edge. Notes of prune, mint, coffee, caramel, molasses, and some sweet cherry and berry fruit are present in this full-bodied, intact, succulent Grange that is still fresh, with no traces of oxidation or decay. The wine is round and complex as well as delicious, with full body. Drink it over the next 6-7 years.

92 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Weedy, oystery notes. Sap and soy and sour plums – this is an extremely different expression of Grange. Vintage expression, in the ultimate corporate blend. Smells of orange peel and mandarine. Lovely, elegant structure, flow and follow through. Earthy, truffly, tangy notes – and it keeps on giving and giving and giving until its beauty starts to hurt. Talking about rising in the glass with air. Crackingly good – in the end. But different.

1961 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

88 percent shiraz, 12 percent cabernet sauvignon. Magill Estate, Morphett Vale and Modbury Vineyard (Adelaide), Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley) and Coonawarra.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): ***

Drink now to past. Beautiful old Grange showing fresh developed dark chocolate, panforte and tobacco leaf characters and fine, persistent graphite tannins. Still has mid-palate richness and amplitude. Very rare. Released as Bin 95 and Bin 395.

Bottle Condition:

High shoulder. Label damage. Scuffed capsule.

Reviews & Score:

89 Points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. A blend of 88% Shiraz and 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1961 was the first Grange to incorporate some grapes from Coonawarra. Nevertheless, the base for this wine continued to be the Magill estate in Adelaide, the Barossa Valley, and the Kalimna sector of the Barossa. The first bottle was completely maderized, but a second showed plenty of amber in the color, a somewhat monolithic personality with notes of roasted coffee, singed leather, hot rocks, herbs, underbrush, and pruny fruit. The wine is somewhat out of balance, with the tannin and acidity dominating the fruit with sweetness. It needs to be drunk up.

94 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Great. Sturdy, beefy, a bit macho – a Tarzan of Grange, swinging from flavour to flavour with a Weismuller physique. Great husky tannin, the type that make tannin-lovers gush. Heaps of leathery flavour. Spice and coffee, thoroughly interwoven. I adore it. It must be nearing its run, but the best bottles will still have a fair bit of life left in them. The bottle tasted here showed no signs of drying out and/or fading.

90 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Darker colour, very earthy bass-notes. Sweet old faded fruit palate, still has that ripe sweetness as a remnant of rich ripe fruit. This is a deeper, richer wine and still an excellent drink. Grainy tannin finish. 28 Sep 2007

Origin & Varietal:

87 percent shiraz, 13 percent cabernet sauvignon. Magill Estate (Adelaide), Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley) and Adelaide Hills. Barossa Valley fruit becomes leading component and the Kalimna Vineyard – purchased by Penfolds in 1945 – is now the mother vineyard of Grange.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

Drink Soon. Released as Bin 95 (also as Bins 59, 59A and 456). “A rich and vital wine with a Christmas cake bouquet, sweet spice notes and a wonderfully long and harmonious palate.” (James Halliday)

Bottle Condition:

High shoulder. Label damage. Scuffed capsule.

Reviews & Score:

94 Points, James Suckling. The density of fruit here is fantastic with orange blossom, dried berry, chocolate and cedar. Beef broth. Full body, layered and powerful. Showing intensity and depth. Drink now.

95 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Wonderful nose! First sniff and I'm in heaven. Magical wine: tremendous complexity and fragrance; haunting flavours of great depth and style, harmony and persistence. Cedar and beef-stock. Great wine indeed! But started to fade as it sat in the glass, whereas '63 pulled away. 28 Sep 2007

19.5/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Very intense nose, with lots still to give. High-toned and really very beautiful. Sleek and seems like the perfect time to drink this! Complete. Fresh. Maybe not the most typical Grange (cf the 1952) but just a glorious drink. Tasted Oct 2024

94 Points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. A sensational Grange (a blend of 87% and 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, all from the Kalimna sector of the Barossa as well as the Adelaide Hills), this dark garnet-colored wine shows knock-out aromatics of brown sugar, blackberry and currant fruit, with a hint of eucalyptus in the background. Some pepper, coffee, and prune add to the complex concoction. The wine is not a blockbuster, but one of purity, harmony, and actually, restraint, an extraordinarily elegant style of Grange that has aged sensationally well because of its equilibrium. This wine could continue to drink well for at least another 6-7 years.

96 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Perfumed, lifted, sweet, comely. A country wine par excellence. This is where the word genius comes in. It’s rustic, bloody hell it is, but it’s not in any way dried out. It’s long and satisfying. It trills like a canary and every time you look at it, you notice something different. Tomato leaf? Twigs? Beef? Cocoa? Not just the herbs and spices, but the way it’s cooked. Adorable. Spunk-tastic.

1963 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

100 percent shiraz. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate, Morphett Vale and Modbury Vineyard (Adelaide).

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

Drink now to 2026+. Released as Bin 95 (also as Bin 65). A late developing Grange that achieved its fame in the late 1980s. A magnificently mature wine with superb density, viscosity and length.

Bottle Condition:

Penfold's re-corking clinic 2016

Reviews & Score:

98 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Richer, earthier, less ethereal nose than '62; great presence, majesty. Fullbodied and powerful, a rich, concentrated wine with great harmony and elegance as well. Multi-layered, Sweet fruited, incredibly deep and lush fruit. Fleshy, sensuous experience. Gorgeous. A very great wine. 28 Sep 2007

19/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Looks older and paler than the 1962. Perfumed. Sweet, with a hint of dusty violets. It’s a gorgeous drink but suffers by comparison with the smoother, sleeker 1962. Just a little chewy on the end. But long. And very concentrated. But a more typical Grange with lots of life ahead of it. Tasted Oct 2024

94 Points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocae. The first vintage since 1952 to be made from 100% Shiraz, this wine exhibited a fabulously complex nose of smoked meats, Asian spices, sweet, earthy scents, underbrush, licorice, charcoal, black currant, and plum. The wine is very full-bodied, very sweet, creamy-textured with opulence, a load of glycerin, and a seamlessness. Even some blackberry fruit is still present in this fabulously rich, fully mature, yet vigorous wine. It should continue to drink well for up to another decade. A great Grange!

95 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Nearing the end of its run but still a lovely old wine. Better than lovely. Honeyed leather, softness, herbs, kirsch, full of finesse, full of clean, pure, aged goodness. Long, lingering, lively, lovely. Hit of tar and roses on the finish. The kind of wine you wish you could spend more time with.

1964 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

90 percent shiraz, 10 percent cabernet sauvignon. Magill Estate (Adelaide), Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley) and Barossa Valley.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): **

Past. Now in decline. Fading fruit with drying textures. Some bottles better than others showing more richness of flavour. Rare. Released as Bin 95 (also as Bins 395, 66, 67 and 68).

Bottle Condition:

Label damage. Penfold's re-corking clinic 2016

Reviews & Score:

89 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Shorter and stockier than the (wines from) vintages around it, but in fine form, it’s true. Meaty, chunky tannin, spice and blood, farm-floor and leather. Lots of life, mind. And lots of time to go. But those rustic horsey characters here are drying through the finish, leading to a touch of arrested development. Drink now or any time. Not one of my favourite old Granges, but a good experience nonetheless.

90 Points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. A blend of 90% Shiraz and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is a light, elegant style. It almost comes across as a medium-bodied claret style of Grange, with notes of cedar, cassis, licorice, and plum. The wine is medium-bodied with modest alcohol (about 12.8%) and a dark garnet color with plenty of amber at the edge. The wine is balanced, restrained, and believe it or not, quite elegant. Drink it over the next 6-7 years.

1965 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

95 percent shiraz, 5 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate and Morphett Vale (Adelaide), McLaren Vale.

Awards:

Jimmy Watson Trophy Winner

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): ****

Drink Soon. Released as Bin 95 (also as Bins 69, 70 and 71).

Bottle Condition:

Label damage. Penfold's re-corking clinic 2012

Reviews & Score:

92 Points, James Suckling. Very mature, this shows old leather, sweet polished wood and a sanguine, hot-steel note, too. Dried red plums. The palate is smooth-honed and silky. Closing out. Drink now.

18.5/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Shaded brownish ruby. Not quite as eloquent as the 1963 and 1962 on the nose. A bit occluded. Needed some encouragement to express its sweet fruit. On the palate, it’s sweet and salty like the 1955. Surely the best 1965 any of us will ever encounter? (No. I looked up our database and see quite a lot of enthusiastic tasting notes.) Quite long. A tad leathery on the slightly dry end. Tasted Oct 2024

95 Points, Campbell Mattinson Wow. Power, juiciness, length, complexity and rustic interest. Throaty tannins growl through a powerful, fruity/leathery/chocolatey palate before a long, full-fruited finish. Style and substance. Big impressive wine with a mountain of time ahead of it – which it will play out on its own terms.

BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

88 percent shiraz, 12 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate and Morphett Vale (Adelaide).

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): ****

Drink now to 2028. Released as Bin 95 (also as Bins 71 and 72).

Bottle Condition:

Into neck. Label damage. Penfold's Wine Clinic Series V 1998.

Reviews & Score:

91 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review.Good colour, deeper and about right for its age. Some celery and maderised notes, lamb-fat and gaminess. Very savoury, dry and mature; flavours are appealing but it's drying out and a bit past its prime now. Slightly raisiny hints. Chewy tannic and still firm. Serious wine. Have seen better bottles of this. 28 Sep 2007

19/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Bottle 1: Very deep blackish crimson. Just a hint of oxidation on the nose. Sweet and smooth and a tad volatile. More port-like than most. Is there some residual sugar here? Not the most refreshing. Neat but would be more impressive in isolation. Some drying on the end. Bottle 2: Not decanted. Signed by Max Schubert! Really at peak and gloriously detailed. Fresh but Grange-like. Sweet and layered. So much better than the first bottle! Quite a bit of grip and obviously this has a future, too. Pungent. Very intense. Tasted Oct 2024

93 Points, Robaert Parker, The Wine Advocate. A great Grange, and certainly the best bottle I have had out of four different tastings, this large-scaled Grange (13.4% alcohol with a relatively high pH of 3.76) is a blend of 88% Shiraz and 12% Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine showed a huge nose of cigar box, licorice, coffee, mocha, caramel, plum, and currant, and in the mouth, fabulous concentration, plenty of glycerin, wonderful freshness, and superb delineation for a wine that is 35 years of age. A very long finish of close to 40 seconds is also impressive. Pristine bottles should continue to drink well for at least another decade.

95 Points, Campbell Mattinson. This has long been regarded as a classic Penfolds Grange vintage and so finding bottles of it is difficult. The last bottle auctioned at Langtons (in 2010) sold for $890 plus auctioneer’s commission. Delicious floral complexity. Mint, raspberry, violets, leather, laces of farm-floor and leather, kirsch and roses. Tremendously yummy. A wine you’d like to suck on all day. Tar and ground coffee and sandalwood too. Maybe not one for the squeaky clean technocrats – but a wine that I found enormously enjoyable. A great Grange in my books.

1967 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

94 percent shiraz, 6 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Magill Estate (Adelaide).

Awards:

Won the Jimmy Watson Trophy in 1968, the second time in three years.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

Drink Soon. Released as Bin 95 (also Bin 74). “In remarkably fresh condition with a fragrant bouquet, good dark berry dark chocolate flavours and still active supple tannins; nothing drying or rasping.” (James Halliday

Bottle Condition:

Label damage. Penfold's Re-Corking Clinic 2016

Reviews & Score:

98 Points, James Suckling. This is incredible with incense, dried meat, Indian spice and cigar tobacco character. Full body, velvety and layered. Fantastic mouthfeel. Truly great wine. Showing breeding and greatness.

19/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Very dark. Much fresher on the nose than the 1966. Fermented Liquorice Allsorts. Sweet and cajoling and insistent. Complete. Still lots to give. Tasted Oct 2024

90 Points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. A blend of 94% Shiraz and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine showed a very intriguing nose of caramel, coffee, cedar, tobacco, cassis, underbrush, and pepper. The wine is ripe, full-bodied, very well-balanced, soft, and elegant, but clearly not a blockbuster in the style most people associate with Grange. It is fully mature, but then I thought so six years ago, and yet the wine's overall harmony has served it well. Drink it up. I

94 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Tastes of leather and old blackberries and fresh, strong coffee grounds. Great structure and impact. Quite perfect really. Fruit, tannin, life, length. Great Grange in a slightly simpler style.

1968 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

94 percent shiraz, 6 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate (Adelaide), Clare Valley, Adelaide Hills, Coonawarra.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): **

Past. Some bottles holding but mainly past. Drink up. Released as Bin 95 (also as Bin 826).

Bottle Condition:

Label damage. Penfold's Wine Clinic Series V 1998.

Reviews & Score:

86 Points, Robert Parker. A very mature, monolithic style of Grange that has an autumnal decaying vegetation, mushroomy nose, with some hints of ashtray, currant, and caramel. The wine is medium-bodied, has some sweetness on the attack, but then narrows in the finish. Overall, it seems somewhat monolithic, with an austere finish. It is a blend of 93% Shiraz and 7% Cabernet with surprisingly low alcohol for a Grange (12.1%).

1969 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

95 percent shiraz, 5 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate (Adelaide), Clare Valley, Morphett Valle (Adelaide), Coonawarra.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

*

Past. A wine that has held up remarkably well given it was such a wet year. However, fading now. Drink up. Released as Bin 95 (also as Bin 826).

Bottle Condition:

Minor label damage. Penfold's Wine Clinic 2016

Reviews & Score:

87 Points, Robert Parker. A blend of 95% Shiraz and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 1969 Grange emerged from the year Max Schubert considered "difficult." Notes of earth, plum, mushrooms, and roasted vegetables emerge from a wine with considerable amber at the edge. It is austere, dry, with medium body, some notes of coffee and molasses, but fading fruit. Drink it up.

1970 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

90 percent shiraz, 10 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley and Magill Estate (Adelaide).

Awards:

Jimmy Watson Trophy at the Royal Melbourne Wine Show.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): **

Past. Lives in the shadow of the 1971 vintage and never achieved a big reputation. Starting to fade and lose freshness. Drink up.

Bottle Condition:

Penfold's Re-Corking Clinic 2022

Reviews & Score:

95 Points, James Suckling. This shows superb density and a center palate of sweet plum flavors with spice, dried fruit and brightness. Full and lively.

89 Points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. A blend of 90% Shiraz and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon with extremely low alcohol for a Grange (11.5%), this wine shows notes of chocolate, plum, coffee, and caramel in the moderately intense nose. In the mouth, it is fully mature, but with some dry, astringent tannin beginning to dominate its mid-palate and finish. This wine needs to be drunk up.

Origin & Varietal:

87 percent shiraz, 13 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate (Adelaide), Clare Valley and Coonawarra.

Awards:

Topped the Gault-Millau Wine Olympics in Paris in 1979 – beating some of the best Rhône wines and creating a sensation.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): *****

Drink now to 2030. Wonderful complexity, richness and vigour. Will probably last quite a while longer.

Bottle Condition: Into neck. Minor label damage. Scuffed capsule.

Reviews & Score:

99 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. A superb bottle in every way, living up to its fame 100% . Deep colour, fascinatingly complex bouquet of smoked meats, leather, traces of raisins and squashed ants and all sorts of things. Incredible depth of flavour, concentration and power. Endless length. A very great wine indeed, drinking at its peak. Bottles as good as this will have at least 10 years of life left. This bottle is way better than the last bottle I tasted - at the 2007 Rewards of Patience. 01 Jan 2015

18/20 Points, Jancis Robinson.Dark blackish ruby. Lots of development. Masses of molasses and smoked meat on the nose. Round and sweet with an edge of dustiness. Old but fresh on the end. Not big and heavy but subtle and sweet and gorgeous. Very glorious. Sweet and balsamic. Tasted Sept 2015

96 Points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown. The Wine Advocate. Medium brick colored, the 1971 Grange opens with touches of aldehyde / bottle-stink to begin over a core of fruit cake, leather, potpourri, game and sandalwood. With an elegant light to medium-body, the palate blossoms into incredible spice box, anise and mincemeat notes - wonderful multilayered flavors – supported by a good backbone of remaining fine-grained tannins and lively acid. It’s a classic Grange in terms of construction, though a little atypical considering its pretty rather than powerful nature.

94 Points, Campbell Mattinson. It’s riddled with pink lipstick-like aromas – smells like the girlfriend I never managed to have. As an old wine it smells seaweedy too. It really sings though once you get it into your mouth – lovely length and power through the palate, with slaking tannins and a juiciness that races the flavours along your tongue. Let me just summarise: I don’t really like the smell of it, but I adore the taste. I suspect that its best days are just past – though it will go on providing drinking enjoyment for some time yet.

1972 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

90 percent shiraz, 10 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate and Modbury Vineyard (Adelaide) and Coonawarra.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): ***

Drink now. Some bottles still holding, but most past their best. A very good Grange vintage.

Bottle Condition:

Minor label damage. Penfold's Re-Corking Clinic 2016

Reviews & Score:

92 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Meaty gamy and rich chocolate; hints of raisin; savoury palate with lots of tannin; deep and structured. Rich, still fruit-sweet and slightly chewy, savoury tannins. Lovely drink now, holding up well. Rum & raisin chocolate. A very good bottle of this potentially variable wine. 28 Sep 2007

90 Points, Campbell Matinson. I guess this doesn’t have the ring through the finish (i.e. the persistence) that the stunning vintages of Penfolds Grange have, but boy it has a lot of appeal. Ignore the rating. Fresh dark leather, rosewater, musk, and lots of beefy tannin. The way the wine finishes lets things down a touch. Vegetal characters here – some would call them unripe – but it has aged most attractively. It’s past its ‘best drinking’, but good bottles will still offer up a lot of fun.

1973 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

98 percent shiraz, 2 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate and Modbury Vineyard (Adelaide). The last vintage entirely vinified in open wax-lined concrete fermenters (before barrel fermentation) at Magill Estate.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): **

Past. Mostly past now with the structure overtaking the fruit. Drink up.

Bottle Condition:

Label damage. Penfold's Re-Corking Clinic 2016

Reviews & Score:

90 Points, Robert Parker. The Wine advocate. The Real Review. A blend of 95% Shiraz and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, this was considered "a good wine from an undistinguished vintage." It certainly was outstanding in June in Adelaide, showing a terrific nose of blackberry jam intermixed with sweet earth, plum, brown sugar, and tobacco. Full-bodied, deep, rich, and fully mature, this layered, concentrated, very fresh wine even exhibited some espresso-infused chocolate in the finish. It should drink well for another 5-7 years.

1974 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

93 percent shiraz, 7 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley and Magill Estate (Adelaide). Winemaking is transferred to Nuriootpa.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): **

Drink now to past. The wine has mostly faded now with only a few bottles still drinking moderately well.

Bottle Condition:

Minor label damage. Penfold's Re-Corking Clinic 2016

Reviews & Score:

89 Points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. Considered "a good wine from a very difficult vintage," this wine was also the first vintage for the current Penfolds chief winemaker, John Duval. A blend of 93% Shiraz and 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine has considerable amber at the edge and an intriguing nose of melted road tar, caramel, leather, coffee, and blackberry. It is medium to full-bodied and fully mature, with good spice and a somewhat dry, angular finish with dusty tannin. Drink it over the next 4-6 years.

1975 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

90 percent shiraz, 10 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley and Coonawarra.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

Drink soon. A sturdy Grange with surprising richness and muscular frame. Barnyard notes are now beginning to dominate but some good bottles around.

Bottle Condition:

Label damage. Penfold's Re-Corking Clinic 2016

Reviews & Score:

18/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Dark, bright blackish crimson. Light nose. Sweet start and some iodine notes. And I’m aware of some alcohol for the first time. Long and reverberant. Sort of a sword rather than a cloud in how it approaches the palate. But very vigorous! (JR)

92 Points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. A blend of 90% Shiraz and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, this vintage was considered as a "good yet tannic Grange." Certainly the tannins have become beautifully integrated in this sweet, expansive, full-bodied wine, with notes of subtle leather, melted asphalt, blackberry, and coffee. It is a very powerful, rich, deep, muscular wine with enormous concentration, plenty of glycerin and sweetness, and remarkable freshness and vigor. Drink it over the next 12-15 years.

1976 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

89 percent shiraz, 11 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate and Modbury Vineyard (Adelaide).

Awards:

The 25th anniversary of Grange. The first Australian wine to cross the $20 barrier at release. Robert Parker scores it 100 points

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): *****

Drink now to 2040 A classic Grange vintage.

Bottle Condition:

Minor label damage. Penfold's Re-Corking Clinic 2018

Reviews & Score:

97 Points, James Suckling. Fully mature, with aromas of blueberries and spice with red plums, dark stones and some leather, too. Opens to show still-fresh berries. There’s intense blueberry at the core of the palate, which is delivered in a smooth, fleshy mode. This is still so fresh for its age. Drink now.

92 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Chocolaty nose, rich and vanillan-oaky. Sweet honey/molasses nuances. Tannic, drying, a big bastard. Tannin is obvious but it still has a lot of flavour. Raisin and prune. Big chewy grippy palate. Solid wine: needs food, and still has a few years left in it. 28 Sep 2007

19/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Blackish ruby. Thick, not lifted. Treacle toffee. Dry finish. But very luscious on the palate. Masses of pleasure! Very hedonistic. Long. Rich candied violets. (JR) Tasted Oct 2024

100 Points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. Consistently one of the most awesome wines ever made at Grange, this blend of 89% Shiraz and 11% Cabernet Sauvignon (13.9% alcohol) was the first Australian wine to cost $20 upon release. I have had this wine six separate times, every time rating it between 96 and 100. It had a phenomenal showing at Penfolds' Magill estate. The color is an opaque purple, the wine massive, full-bodied, and to me, the quintessential Grange. Notes of blackberry liqueur intermixed with cassis, charcoal, new saddle leather, and underbrush resonate from the glass. Huge, thick, unctuously textured, with extraordinary concentration but perfect harmony among all of its elements, this is a prodigious Grange that is still not fully mature. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2020. A legend for sure! I

1977 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

91 percent shiraz, 9 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate (Adelaide) and Clare Valley.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): **

Drink up (now to past). Now looking overdeveloped. The fruit richness is fading, revealing drying tannins and marked acidity.

Bottle Condition:

Minor label damage. Penfold's Wine Clinic 200/2001

Reviews & Score:

95 Points, Bob Campbell. The Real Review. Dense, developed Shiraz with toffee, caramel and forest floor flavours plus vestiges of berry. Still has quite firm tannins - very much alive and with time ahead. Remarkable wine 23 Feb 2012

89 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Not a great Grange but I quite enjoyed drinking it. It’s glycerol, nutty, polished, pure and lingering. The nose is dull but the palate drew me in. Dried herbs, beefy leather, boot polish, asphalt and coffee. Too much tannin, and too dry/drying, but with food these characters would either dissolve or become less jarring. It’s mouth-puckering, meaty and (very) developed, but all-up it’s not a bad release of Grange.

1978 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

90 percent shiraz, 10 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate (Adelaide), McLaren Vale, Clare Valley and Coonawarra.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): *****

Drink now to 2035. Lovely mature Grange.

Bottle Condition: Into neck. Minor label damage. Scuffed capsule.

Reviews & Score:

96 Points, Bob Campbell. 10% CS, 18 months in new US oak hogsheads. Lovely developed red with maltexo, forest floor, Bovril, woodsmoke and toast. A hint of caramel. 20 Feb 2013

17.5/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Light nose. Just a little simple and one-dimensional at the moment, with some drying on the end. Just a tad pinched. But there’s a mass of concentrated fruit there. Hints of Syrah rather than Shiraz. Tasted Oct 2024

93 Points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. A wine that seems to get better every time I have it, the 1978 Grange, a blend of 90% Shiraz and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, has turned out to be a blockbuster wine with extraordinary intensity, a voluptuous palate, notes of camphor, coffee, jammy black fruits, leather, and creme de cassis. As the wine sits in the glass, pepper and melted asphalt make an appearance. Very unctuously textured, thick, and chewy, this wine is soft, with a very succulent style. Its color is showing just a touch of amber as this wine approaches its plateau of maturity. Drink it now and over the next 20 years.

94 Points, Campbell Mattinson. By co-incidence this vintage was tasted twice within a few days of one another, and both times it showed extremely well. Leathered, tarry, and spicy, it’s looking fantastic on the nose and pretty much as good in the mouth, with vibrancy and development, juicy, licoricey acidity and coffeed tannins. There’s a subtle farminess and great persistence; it’s damn fine.

1979 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

87 percent shiraz, 13 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Magill Estate (Adelaide) and McLaren Vale.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): ***

Drink now to 2025. Not a classic Grange, but still showing fresh dark chocolate cedar, dark fruits and fine-grained lacy tannins. Should last for a while longer.

Bottle Condition:

Label damage. Penfold's Re-Corking Clinic 2016

Reviews & Score:

89 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Intense dark chocolate and rich old fruit/oak aroma; very drying tannic grip; again a bit faded and lacks fruit/flavour. Very puckering chewy tannins dominate the finish. Still has good flavour, and heaps of it: better than I remembered this vintage. Drink up soonish. 28 Sep 2007

18/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. How is the fruit on this 42-year-old wine still so alive and energetic! The tannins have melted, leaving imprints of umami and salty, intense umeboshi plums on the rich, almost port-like sweetness of the fruit. And yet there is such an elegant, cool freshness and lift that darts through the wine, almost minty, almost cold wet slate. Of all the five vintages of Grange, this is the one I kept coming back to. It had real grace. A gentleman of a wine. Tasted Nov 2021

89 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Vinegary aromatics. Flush with vanilla, musk, eucalypt, coffee, toffee even – in that order. Seems to have quite a lot of cabernet influence, with herbs and mint and strong, straight, uncompromising tannins. In all, a pretty serious Grange. The question: are the tannins pulling away from receding fruit? It tastes as though there has been an ongoing battle between the fruit flavour and the tannin, and that at nearly 30 years of age, the tannin is winning. Age tends to magnify slight imbalances. It’s a good Grange and worth tucking into; but not a stellar Grange.

1980 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

96 percent shiraz, 4 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Magill Estate (Adelaide), McLaren Vale and Coonawarra.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): ***

Drink now. Still has density and richness yet is assuredly starting to enter its twilight years.

Bottle Condition:

Label damage. Penfold's Re-Corking Clinic 2018

Reviews & Score:

92 Points, James Suckling. A layered and beautiful wine with chocolate, cedar, walnut and berry character. Lots of cedar. Medium body, soft and delicious. Holding on nicely. Very low alcohol for Grange. Holding on nicely.

90 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Savoury old wine; leanish and seems to lack a little fruit, not very intense or fresh. Pretty old now. Nose is good: this has character and is very Grange-like. Liked it better and better as it sat. A bit stolid: not a fine or elegant wine. 28 Sep 2007

18/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Dark ruby with a black core. Rich and warm and attractively medicinal. Sweet and rich. Fresh finish. Very well balanced. Thicker in the middle than claret but not on the end. Black pepper. (JR)

94+ Points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. The least impressive, but still a very great wine, is the dark garnet-hued 1980. Still a young wine at age 29, it exhibits massive earthy, meaty, bacon fat notes intermixed with notions of scorched earth, blackberries, currants, pepper, and spice. Full and rich with slightly rustic tannins, it has a good 20 years of life ahead of it.

PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

89 percent shiraz, 11 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate and Modbury Vineyard (Adelaide), Clare Valley and Coonawarra.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): ***

Drink now to 2025. A sturdy Grange with plentiful dark chocolate, dark berry, dried fruits, graphite characters and dense powerful firm tannins. Will continue to hold.

Bottle Condition:

Penfold's Re-Corking Clinic 2016

Reviews & Score:

89 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Old leather and honeycomb, beef stock aromas; savoury palate that is dry and mellow. Rich and chewy in texture. Not a bad wine. Second bottle: slightly funky? Very tannic and a bit lean/dry. Pleasant but nothing special. 28 Sep 2007

19/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Black/ruby and one of the deepest colours in this range (The Samplers 10th birthday icon collection.) Mild, sweet, lightly medicinal but so pure and refreshing. Neat and fresh. Sweet with a lot going on –almost as though all the contents of the medicine cabinet had been cooked up together. Dry, savoury, lightly tarry finish after all that rich fruit. Very well balanced and lovely now but with lots still to give. Tasted Dec 2016

97 Points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. The 1981 stood out as slightly superior. Winemaker John Duval always felt this was a tannic style of Grange, but the wine has shed its tannins, and this is one of the few vintages where the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon was above 10%. Sweet notes of creme de cassis, cedarwood, charcoal, and barbecue spices are followed by a full-bodied, opulent wine displaying heady amounts of alcohol, glycerin, and density in its full-bodied, skyscraper-like texture. I was drinking this wine with great pleasure in the mid-nineties, yet here it is nearly 15 years later, and the wine does not appear to have budged much from its evolutionary state. This is a testament to how remarkably well these wines hold up, and age at such a glacial pace.

PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

94 percent shiraz, 6 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate and Modbury Vineyard (Adelaide) and Clare Valley.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

Drink now to 2030. Still looking fresh with unusual cherry, raspberry and kirsch notes. An atypical Grange but showing very well.

Bottle Condition:

Minor label damage. Penfold's Re-Corking Clinic 2018

Reviews & Score:

92 Points, James Suckling. A dense and chewy red with plum, meat and berry character. Hints of walnut and dried meat. Full body, dry tannins yet turns ripe and fruity on the finish. Dusty texture. Drink now.

92 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Chocolate raspberry and red berries; rich and fleshy; smooth and plush. Lovely flavours and texture; a smart old wine and shows no negatives of the '82s (ie. vegetal), but has the Ribena-like fruit idiosyncrasy of the year. Now to 15 years. 28 Sep 2007

18/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Dark garnet. Pale rim. Definitely mature. Cough medicine from the back of the cupboard but it’s definitely going to be effective!

93 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Intensely spicy, raspberried, honeyed wine – incredibly fragrant – with cedar and cranberry scents frollicking throughout. These characteristics work better on the nose than they do in the mouth, yet still it’s as long and impressive as a freight train. Some will love this wine’s fleshy, warm sweetness, others may find it too oddball – it’s that kind of wine. Exaggerated kind of style – more Grange than Grange. Almost smells like toffee apples, and has a tangy, apple-like flavour to it too. Beguiling. Exquisite. Filligreed tannin. Has a glossy silken mouth perfume that lures you in and keeps you entertained. Thoroughly.

PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

94 percent shiraz, 6 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate and Modbury Vineyard (Adelaide).

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): *****

Drink now to 2040.

Bottle Condition:

Minor label damage. Penfold's Wine Clinic Series V 1998.

Reviews & Score:

94 Points, James Suckling. This shows a ripeness and meatiness with plums and berry character. Very ripe and intense. A boot-kicking earthiness. Full and soft tannins. Long and flavorful. Superb fruit and intensity for a difficult vintage. Drink now.

94 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. (magnum) This has matured beautifully and is now in its peak of drinking - at least from the magnum format. The colour is still deep and dark; the bouquet is very complex, with roasting-pan, chocolate/mocha and raisin aromas with a trace of crushed-ant. It's very intense and powerful, and the tannins have mellowed out beautifully. It's amazing: I remember this as a very tannic youngster. The wine is now marvellous drinking. But you have to like the style: it is obvious that the wine was very oaky in youth. 19 Aug 2015

17/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Fresh blackish crimson. Firm and the opposite of seductive. Quite severe and demanding. Dry finish. Camphor. Always quite tannic?

92 Points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. The earliest harvest on record at Penfolds, the 1983 vintage was characterized by devastating bush fires, followed by enormous flooding in March. A blend of 94% Shiraz and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine has a surprisingly low pH (3.41) for a Grange, with an amazing 7.1 grams of acid per liter. The wine still shows considerable tannin in its flavors, but enormously powerful, rich, high acid characteristics. It is somewhat of a paradox to taste. Five years ago, it was exhibiting huge, powerful, concentrated flavors, but also high acid and high tannin. The wine seems very youthful, very backward, and still in need of at least another 4-5 years of cellaring. Whether it will all come together in a seamless classic remains open to conjecture. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2020.

94 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Deep, brooding, timeless scents with a whopping slink of malt and licorice and blackberry – this is still a very youthful wine. Renowned for its inapproachability, this wine is finally starting to come around, now offering rich licorice, drying tannin, a cigar-box savouriness and oodles of concentrated, muscular power. It also has mint-doused leather notes, sexily interwoven. Oak has largely taken its leave. A rugged champion of a wine.

PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

95 percent shiraz, 5 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate (Adelaide), McLaren Vale, Clare Valley & Coonawarra

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): ***

Drink soon. Not a classic Grange but still showing dark berry, roasted walnut and mocha aromas, attractive richness and firm persistent tannins.

Bottle Condition:

Label damage. Penfold's Re-Corking Clinic 2018

Reviews & Score:

95 Points, Bob Campbell. The Real Review. Obviously a very mature wine but, less obviously, from a fairly average vintage. Forest floor, Bovril, beef tea savoury characters underpinned by vestiges of berry fruit. Rich and appealing wine with coffee/mocha and some sweet oak. Still retaining a good tannic backbone. 02 Sep 2016

94 Points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. The best showing ever for this wine from my perspective, this blend of 95% Shiraz and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon is considered a relatively forward, accessible style of Grange. The color is still a dark plum/purple, and the wine shows plenty of sweet cassis, with notes of chocolate and toasty oak. The wine is opulent and luscious, with great intensity, full body, and fabulous extract. The acidity seems relatively low and integrated, and the tannins quite ripe. Drink it over the next 12-18 years.

92 Points, Campbell Mattinson. There are some volatile, vinegary aromatics, though toffeed, coffeed oak characters struggle to make it all seem attractive. The palate cuts the crap and turns in a powerful, curranty, minty performance (you can really see the Clare Valley in this wine), the tannins keenly massaged and the finish sound. It’s a good Grange, well balanced and complex, without being a powerhouse.

PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

99 percent shiraz, 1 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Modbury Vineyard (Adelaide).

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): ***

Drink now. The tannins are now dominating the palate although there is some fruit richness and mocha oak complexity.

Bottle Condition:

Minor label damage. Penfold's Re-Corking Clinic 2018

Reviews & Score:

93 Points, Bob Campbell. The Real Review. (Magnum) A better vintage, although intermittent rains delayed harvest. Fresher than the ’84 and showing a little heat from a higher alcohol. Rich, fleshy wine – quite attractive but not showing as much complexity. Probably close to peak. Drink now. 02 Sep 2016

90 Points, robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. Considered a more "restrained" Grange, this wine has balance but a somewhat foursquare/monolithic character with dry, astringent tannin in the finish, hence the question mark. The color is still a healthy dense purple, and the wine shows the tell-tale peppery, asphalt, earthy, creme de cassis characteristics, but the tannin seems to be increasingly problematic. As always, it is still a young wine, so the question that begs to be answered with time is, "Is it just unevolved and backward, or is it too tannic?"

94 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Power, balance, intent. Wonderful Grange. Woodsmoke, toffee, coffee, plums, soy –you want more? Ok, you got more – mint, black leather, pure and clean and velvety. Complete wine. It has matured beautifully. It is now fully in its drinking peak.

Origin & Varietal:

87 percent shiraz, 13 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, McLaren Vale and Modbury Vineyard (Adelaide).

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): *****

Drink now to 2045. A landmark Grange vintage.

Bottle Condition:

Into neck, Minor label damage. Scuffed capsule

Reviews & Score:

96 Points, James Suckling. In a great place and aging so well, this has arrived at a fully mature moment, with earthy elements, as well as leather and spiced dried plums. Some flesh on the palate with ripe blackberries, set on super fine tannins. Complete. Drink now

98 Points, Bob Campbell. The Real Review. This was my top wine – a fantastic drop. I wasn’t surprised to learn that it was a cracker of a vintage. Intense, powerful with masses of fruit flavour plus liquorice, dark chocolate, coffee and a texture to die for. Should offer top drinking for many more years. 02 Sep 2016

18/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Deep blackish garnet with an aged rim. Heady, intense and hedonistic. Minty and very Australian. Bone-dry finish. Lots of cassis. Tated Oct 2024

96 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Judging by this wine it’d be well worth doing – it’s a spectacular wine, developed but youthful, with a chord of coffee strung throughout and a great sway of leathery, licoricey flavour. Terrific mouthfeel, balance, finesse, and power. There’s some mint/eucalypt character here too and to be frank, I’d rather that it wasn’t there. But quality is quality, and this wine has it. And then some.

98+ Ppoints, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. One of my favorite wines from Penfolds, the 1986 (a blend of 87% Shiraz and 13% Cabernet Sauvignon) is one of the most powerful Granges produced (14+% alcohol). At age 23, it reminds me of the way it tasted around 9 years of age. Inky/purple to the rim with an extraordinary perfume of sweet licorice, crushed pepper, blackberry liqueur, camphor, and barbecue spices, this sensationally full-bodied, concentrated, layered 1986 is still an infant in terms of its ultimate potential. It is remarkable how this wine has aged, and it’s hard to believe how certain wine geeks will subscribe to the aging ability of the Grange, but don’t believe the same is true for other old vine Shiraz wines from the Barossa and McLaren Vale. It just doesn’t make any sense. The 1986 is one of the greatest Granges for my palate, and it appears to still have 25-30 years of upside.

1987 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

90 percent shiraz, 10 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): ***

Drink now to 2028. A strongly tannic Grange with concentrated dark chocolate, dark fruit, herb, mint flavours and sappy leafy textures.

Bottle Condition:

Minor label damage. Penfold's Re-Corking Clinic 2018

Reviews & Score:

98 Points, Bob Campbell. The real Review. Great wine in peak condition. Gobs of ripe berry fruit flavours with a medly of savoury and bottle developed characters. This is truly complex and very long. Still has reasonably firm tannins but they are smothered in sweet fruit. Fantastic wine! 23 Feb 2012

18/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Magnum. Pungent nose reminiscent of gunpowder. Sweet, salty, thick and decidedly medicinal – in a most attractive way. Elderberry compote on the palate. Very rich and convincing. Tasted May 2015

90 Points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. A light, elegant style of Grange made with a blend of 90% Shiraz and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine has a deep ruby/purple color and a spicy, peppery nose with some new oak, black cherry, and blackberry flavors. The wine shows some dry tannin in the finish that may ultimately prove worrisome given the less-than-massive style of this vintage. Nevertheless, there is still a lot to like in this wine, which is very pure, ripe, and medium to full-bodied. Anticipated maturity: 2003-2016.

Origin & Varietal:

94 percent shiraz, 6 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Padthaway and McLaren Vale.

Awards

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): ***

Drink now to 2028. A rich and voluminous wine with plentiful dark fruits, dark chocolate, raisin and mocha. Vigorous firm tannins and attractive sweet fruit finish.

Bottle Condition:

Minor label damage. Penfold's Re-Corking Clinic 2022

Reviews & Score:

97 Points, Bob Campbell. The Real Review. More restrained than the ’86 but elegant and quite dense with intense fruit flavours and nice energy. This was my second favourite wine – it is developing beautifully with an almost peacock’s tail display on the finish. Long and complex. 02 Sep 2016

17/20 Points, Richard Hemmings MW. Lovely rotting-strawberry fruit. Pretty firm tannins. Savoury liquorice character. Olive tapenade. Blackcurrant juice. Very good, but not the most convincing Grange ever. Tasted June 2013

91 Points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. A blend of 94% Shiraz and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, this was considered to be "an uncharacteristically soft, fruity Grange." Everyone at the tasting agreed with those comments. This wine shows a syrupy creme de cassis, earthy note, some pepper, and caramel. It is somewhat soft and accessible for such a relatively young Grange, but there is plenty of structure and tannin in the finish. It is certainly perfumed and more evolved than some of its siblings that are actually older, chronologically speaking. This wine has sweet, full-bodied, plum, cherry, and cassis flavors, with some distinct truffle and asphalt notes. Anticipated maturity: 2003-2016.

Sweet hit of fruity blackberry through the palate, bolstered by mint and blackcurrant. Regulation fruit flavour, prettied up by rose-like nuances. I very much like the tannin structure of this wine. It gives it a sense of aristocracy. Apart from the gentle run of mint, I reckon this is a very fine Grange. Elegant, lingering, structured and controlled.

BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

91 percent shiraz, 9 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale. The last vintage labelled as Grange Hermitage.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): *****

Drink now to 2030. Out-performs vintage reputation considerably.

Bottle Condition:

Minor label damage

Reviews & Score:

92 Points, James Suckling. A warm year has resulted in a typically full-weighted wine, albeit, one that is now at, or even past its apex of maturity. Avuncular aromas of cinder-box, tamarind, clove and varnished leather, with a wisp of menthol and muscle rub. A core of sweet curranty fruit lingers. There is plenty of charm here and with that, imminent appeal for those picking up a bottle in the secondary market. Drink now.

98 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Deep brick-red with a tawny-brown edge, looking very mature. Lovely oldshiraz bouquet of licorice/aniseed, roasted nuts, dried figs and dried cranberries. Mocha and cocoa-powder. A magical bouquet of a fully mature wine of pedigree. Palate is supple and fleshy, smooth and mellow, fully develped and gloriously complex, the tannins still present and subtly drying, the aftertaste long and loaded with licorice, raisins and figs, still with wonderful fruit sweetness at the core. A real treat to taste. 21 Jun 2023

19/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Very hot year with rain in early March. Blackish crimson. Comfortable, toasty nose. Rich and sumptuous. Really very glorious and rich and deep-flavoured, with heady layers. Not unlike a bordeaux 1989. Complete. Tasted Oct 2024

93 Points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. A very hedonistic, almost decadent style of Grange, this blend of 91% Shiraz and 9% Cabernet Sauvignon from three grape sources - Kalimna in the Barossa, Penfolds' other sources in the Barossa, and McLaren Vale - is a gorgeously opulent, almost Pomerol-like Grange with an over-ripe characteristic to the fruit. Cherry liqueur intermixed with cranberry and cassis presented in a seductive, full-bodied, very soft, forward style is truly not the classic Grange in the sense of having huge structure and massive concentration, but this wine is loaded, very corpulent, and fleshy. The wine is going to last for up to two decades, but it will be uncommonly succulent and delicious to drink young, as it was several months ago. Among the young vintages of Grange, this is perhaps the most flattering wine that they have produced over the last 20 years, at least for such a relatively young wine. Anticipated maturity: now-2018.

93 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Very sweet profile. Raisiny, aniseedy, confected. Drinking it is like sucking on licoriceallsorts – did Dave Powell visit Penfolds during this vintage? (that was a joke). Absolutely hedonistic, bitter on the finish maybe but soft and delicious through the palate – a complete crowd pleaser. I am one of the crowd. It’s not a stylish Grange but it packs a sweet punch of flavour.

1990 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE

Origin & Varietal:

95 percent shiraz, 5 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Clare Valley and Coonawarra.

Awards:

Red Wine of the Year by Wine Spectator magazine, 1995.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

Drink now to 2060. “A famous vintage and wine. Everything is laid out with infinite precision finesse and length. At the peak of perfection.” James Halliday

Bottle Condition: Into neck.

Reviews & Score:

97-98 Points, Wine Spectator. Magnificent, exotic, a veritable cascade of opulent flavors earthy currant, black cherry and licorice on a grand frame of incredible length, wrapped in finely grained tannins. Feels like it can age through 2010 or 2020, at least. UNVERIFIED

17.5/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Very bright and glowing. Fresh, vibrant nose. Dry finish after quite demanding fruit that’s bordering on hard. Will it ever come round? Tasted 4 Oct 2024

94+ Points, Neal Martin. Tasted at the Fine Wine Experience “Dream Fourteen” tasting with Peter Gago, the Grange ’90 is a blend of 95% Shiraz and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from Barossa, Clare Valley and Coonawarra, matured for 100% new American oak hogsheads. Sourced directly from Penfolds’ library reserves, the “Grange” 90 seems to have barely aged since we last met in 2006. Once again, the nose demands coaxing but eventually reveals notes of blackberry, brambly black fruits, a touch of game…perhaps a scintilla of ox blood. Good definition. The palate is fullbodied and appears to have put on a touch more weight. Very well balanced with smooth tannins and “exuberant” flavours of macerated red cherries, wild strawberry and a touch of peppermint, with the Shiraz continuing to impart that Northern Rhone-like finish. Superb. Drink 2012-2030+ Tasted October 2009.

95 Points, Neal Martin. blend of 95% Shiraz and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from Barossa, Clare Valley and Coonawarra, matured for 100% new American oak hogsheads. A deep garnet core with dark brick rim. It is amazing how closed the nose is compared to the previous bottle a couple of years ago. It has a glorious nose that just blossoms

with aeration with blackberry, wild hedgerow and a touch of anis and yet it is tightly coiled compared to before. The palate is medium-bodied, beautifully balanced with svelte tannins, quite feminine with subtle flavours of red cherries, mulberries, mocha, black plum and peppermint. Very focused on the almost Cote-Rotie like finish. Outstanding. Drink 2012-2030+ Tasted September 2008.

95 Points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown. Deep garnet-brick colored, the 1990 Penfolds Grange has an evolved, earthy character of damp loam, black truffles and tar with an underlying core of figs, dried mulberries, salami and aniseed. There's a good amount of savory flesh supported by a crisp acid line and medium to firm level chewy tannins, finishing long with some smoked meat coming through. Drink this one now to 2020+. Published: May 31, 2012

96 Points, Campbell Mattinson. The Wine Front. Sweet oak shows prominently – but this is a big wine, and can cope, with its oak only serving as a temperance to all that sweet, saturated fruit. In the mouth it’s superb: big, balanced, long and stuffed with mature tannin. Earthy sawdusty characters liven up the considerable churn of blackcurrant-like flavour. It’s a model of a pristine, powerful, youthful wine. Posted 1st Jan 2005

98 Points, James Suckling. Blackberry, blueberry, spice and dark chocolate aromas. Full body, deep and powerful. Just a baby. Layered. Goes on for minutes. Drink or hold.

97 Points, James Halliday. Destined to be one of the greatest Granges. A beautifully weighted and concentrated bouquet, with seamless fruit and oak; masses of dark cherries and plum. In the mouth a superb wine; while the fruit is opulent, it is not excessively so; indeed there is a touch of near austerity to the fine tannins to give the wine both character and balance. The iron fist in a velvet glove.

Origin & Varietal:

95 percent shiraz, 5 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

Drink now to 2050. Classic Grange with all the elements in perfect balance.

Bottle Condition:

Minor back label damage.

Reviews & Score:

93 Points, James Suckling. This is a more balanced Grange that shows a slightly fluid center palate with currant, spice and meat character. Medium to full body and fine tannins. A medium, fruity and juicy finish that's even Porty. Drink now.

97 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Typical Grange power and concentration, now nicely mature. A crushedant/formic acid note on the nose is typical of Grange of this era (some tasters objected to perceived volatility). A touch of mint in the background. A superb wine, from a stand-out vintage of this famous wine. 11 Oct 2022

18+/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Bright blackish crimson. Lots going on here – bonfires and smoulder. Dry end but it’s clearly a Grange – even if not one of the sweetest. Hermitage? Tasted Oct 2024

95 Points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown. The Wine Advocate. Medium brick colored with a garnet core, the 1991 Grange has a wonderful perfume of black and red fruits preserves, prunes, figs and plum preserves with suggestions of licorice and dark chocolate. Medium to full-bodied, rich, powerful and spicy right through the long finish, this Grange still has loads of life and should cellar for another 10-20 years

96 Points, James Halliday. Medium to full red-purple; the usual array of richly luscious cherry, plum and black fruit aromas mingling with mocha and dark chocolate on the bouquet. The palate is as complex and structured as the bouquet promises; the tannins pick up early but are not overly aggressive, and run through a wine showing the full gamut of ripe, old vine Shiraz flavours.

96 Points, Campbell Mattinson. At first it presents as remarkably fruity, but the more you look at it the more it seems like an example of highly skilled engineering. It’s a wine of considerable and outstanding finesse, with black and red berry fruit cascading through the mouth and savoury, gently herbal, developed characters just starting to pull through. Great structure, and it will get even better.

1992 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE

Origin & Varietal:

90 percent shiraz, 10 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Coonawarra and McLaren Vale.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

Drink now to 2040. A sturdy Grange with the power and concentration for further cellaring.

Bottle Condition: Into neck.

Reviews & Score:

97 Points , Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Typical Grange power and concentration, now nicely mature. A crushedant/formic acid note on the nose is typical of Grange of this era (some tasters objected to perceived volatility). A touch of mint in the background. A superb wine, from a stand-out vintage of this famous wine. 11 Oct 2022

18++/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Pale rim and very deep, glowing crimson. Rich, almost buttery nose and then sleek and a little reserved on the palate. Should provide exciting future drinking. Dry but not drying finish. Tated Oct 2024

92 Points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. This is a very aromatic Grange that seems to be the product of a vintage where the wines are showing extremely well young. It is dense purple, with a sweet blackberry/cherry nose and some subtle cedar and licorice in the background, unctuously textured, thick, full, without as many nuances of some of the greatest vintages of Grange, but very concentrated and dense. Anticipated maturity: now-2017. I

96 Points, James Halliday. Outstanding dense but bright purple-red; a powerful, concentrated bouquet with blackberry, mulberry and licorice aromas, and the oak seemingly more restrained than is usual. A powerful but impeccably balanced and structured wine, redolent of black cherry, licorice and mulberry fruit flavours; oozing class, breeding and staying power. It will be very interesting to watch the development of this wine versus the much-vaunted 1990 and 1991 vintages.

1993 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE

Origin & Varietal:

86 percent shiraz, 14 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley and Coonawarra. The highest percentage of cabernet sauvignon in the history of Grange.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

Drink now to 2028. Not a grand vintage but still Grange.

Bottle Condition: Into neck

Reviews & Score:

91 Points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. 1993 was a very light harvest because of excessive rainfall and mild growing conditions. This wine performed well, although it would not appear to have the nuances of the finest vintages of Grange. The wine, a blend of 86% Shiraz and 14% Cabernet Sauvignon, has an opaque purple color, a sweet nose of black currants intermixed with cedar, and earthy, almost truffle-like notes intermixed with some camphor. The wine is full-bodied, dense, somewhat monolithic, but very concentrated, powerful, and long. Anticipated maturity: 2002-2018.

93 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Fresh aromatics. Inviting leaf, ash, tomatoes, violets and blackcurrant. Seems both cabernet influenced, and the result of a cool, wet vintage. But regardless it seems, despite its atypical Grange flavour profile, to be very good quality, drinking beautifully now and with a good future ahead. Sappy stalky characters, but excellent juicy freshness, tannin structure, and length. This isn’t the hedonistic experience Grange lovers may be seeking; it’s different and cool, herbal and perfumed. But it is a very good release.

94 Points, James Halliday.Medium to full red-purple; voluminous blackberry, licorice, black cherry and chocolate fruit aromas completely integrated with sweet vanillin oak on the bouquet; has a texture and structure all of its own, not monolithic, yet meltingly smooth. Maintains the great tradition.

Origin & Varietal:

89 percent shiraz, 11 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Coonawarra.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

Drink now to 2040. A classic Grange vintage combining opulence, tannin richness and integrated acidity for further aging.

Reviews & Score:

97 Points, James Halliday. Dense red-purple; the typically rich and powerful bouquet has layers of dark berry fruit and integrated and balanced oak. What makes it unusual is the distinct hint of chocolate, which appears again on the silkily powerful palate. Here there is an array of all of the fruit flavours one could possibly expect, but once again that touch of dark Swiss chocolate adding an intriguing note. The oak balance and integration is better than any five-year-old Grange I can remember, the tannins perfectly balanced into the bargain.

96 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Full brick-red colour with a pronounced tawny rim. The bouquet is magically complex, with aromas of raisins, licorice, squashed ants, smoked oysters, indeed all sorts of roasted things. A superb old wine, this bottle is fully mature now, and possibly a tad more developed than I would expect of a 24 year-old Grange from a top vintage. Still, it's no obstacle to enjoying the wine on the day. 28 Aug 2018

19/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Blackish garnet. Crushed ants and blackberries. Such excitement compressed in here! Dry finish but, with ink and fruit, this should eventually be a great drink. Very long finish. So impressive! Tasted Oct 2024

94 Points, Joe Czerwinski. The Wine Advocate. A substantial 11% of the 1994 Grange is Cabernet Sauvignon, and it's most clearly apparent on the elegant, leafy, floral nose. On the palate, it's more clearly Grange and Shiraz-like, with plenty of weight and richness along with flavors of dried fruit, roasted meat and mocha, but there's also a sense that it's starting to lighten and become approachable/mature. Drink now or hold up to another 10 years or so. Tasted Oct 2018

94 Points, Campbell Mattinson. There’s a noticeable cabernet component here (it’s 11% cabernet), giving the flavour profile a noticeable hit of blackcurrant and a more elongated, bony, tannin-driven structure. Still, the palate does come with flights of deep, dense, dark blackberry and crushed ants, and there’s a thick, malty, mentholly hit, particularly on the finish. Again, the striking thing here is the wine’s balance. And with a polished array of supporting flavours: cedar, dark chocolate, Asian-spice and prune, it seems that time could easily do wonders.

1995 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE

Origin & Varietal:

94 percent shiraz, 6 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley and Magill Estate (Adelaide).

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): ****

Drink now to 2035. “Vibrant and precise with exotic sappy, bitter cherry, redcurrant spice aromas, lovely richness of flavours, fleshy textures and firm tannins.” (Josh Raynolds)

Bottle Condition:

Minor label damage

Reviews & Score:

92 Points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. An impressive Grange that may ultimately prove to be underrated, like many wines from this vintage, the 1995, a blend of 94% Shiraz and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, exhibits a saturated plum/purple color and a sweet blackberry liqueur nose intermixed with cassis, licorice, and new oak. The wine is textured, jammy, full-bodied, with impressive levels of extract, glycerin, and black fruit flavors. It is long, ripe, with unobtrusive acidity and tannin. Anticipated maturity: 2004-2018.

95 Points, James Halliday. In the manner of all great stayers, has picked up pace markedly over the past year. Deeply coloured, ripe cherry, spice, vanilla and a hint of licorice rumble through the bouquet; the palate is powerful and sustained by sweet tannins, the plum and black cherry fruit providing the core for the future.

1996 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE

Origin & Varietal:

94 percent shiraz, 6 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Magill Estate (Adelaide). Maturation of Grange temporarily discontinued at Magill.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

Drink now to 2050. One of the great vintages of the 1990s.

Bottle Condition:

Back label damage

Reviews & Score:

99 Points, James Suckling. This is so classy and amazing with such composure and finesse. All about fine grain and perfect tone. Sensational from the start. Full body, tight and silky. Will go on forever.

98 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real review. An outstanding bottle of an outstanding vintage. The colour is still youthful, deep and bright; the bouquet explodes from the glass with toasty, nutty, smoky oak and blackberry aromas, and coffee/mocha nuances, laced with traces of tar, licorice and even crushed-ants. The palate is mesmerising: amazingly powerful, concentrated and intense, yet never heavy nor clumsy. It has amazing presence, and is incredibly long, resonating for minutes after the wine has left the mouth. Undoubtedly a great Grange, still quite youthful at 21 years and will still be drinking superbly at 50, such is its vitality. 19 Jul 2017

97 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Perfectly profound Grange. As bouncingly youthful as can be imagined – though remarkably approachable too. Gorgeous plum-fruit depth, choc-and-vanilla richness, sumptuous depth and length and a terrific pull of tight, ploughing, statuesque tannins. Impeccable South Australian shiraz.

97 Points, James Halliday. Medium to full red-purple, still bright after five years, vibrant cherry and plum fruit aromas more than handle the oak on the bouquet; the palate is sumptuous, but not heavy, the cherry and plum flavours tracking the bouquet. The wine has a very long finish, with fine, integrated tannins. Destined to become one of the great Granges.

1997 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE

Origin & Varietal:

96 percent shiraz, 4 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Limestone Coast.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): ***

Drink now to 2035. “Decadent yet reserved with attractive balsamic red and black fruits. Very close-knit in structure with a cashmere-like quality but lacks a little fruit succulence.” (Dr Neil Beckett PhD)

Reviews & Score:

92 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review.A very good bottle of this wine, which was never a top Grange or a very longtermer, but this bottle is utterly lovely. Really fine balance and texture, complex but not strongly expressive. An elegant Grange, soft and mellow and fully mature. It doesn't show any overt oak, which is a plus. The tannins have mellowed out beautifully. 31 Dec 2019

19/20 Points, Jancis Robinson.Thick, dense, and camphor. Just a hint of volatile acidity. Dense. Yes, fresh, too! Vital. Tasted Oct 2024

94 Points, Robert Parker. The Wine advocate.The 1997 Grange (a blend of 96% Shiraz and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon) looks to be a classic Grange, although slightly softer and more forward than the backward 1996. The saturated purplecolored 1997 offers a gorgeously sweet nose of blackberry liqueur, cherries, camphor, chocolate, plums, and mocha. The wine is opulently-textured, extremely soft, layered, and seductive, with Grange's tell-tale personality welldisplayed, but in a seamless, seductive style. This is a superb Grange that can hold its own against the more heralded 1996. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2022.

Medium to full red, with just a touch of purple remaining; powerful, complex dark fruits, chocolate and savoury lemon/vanilla oak on the bouquet, then a similarly powerful palate where earth and chocolate join the chorus of flavours promised by the bouquet; persistent tannins, of course. It's hard to suggest this will be regarded as a great Grange in 20 years or so, but it is nonetheless in the mainstream of Grange style.

Origin & Varietal:

97 percent shiraz, 3 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate (Adelaide) and Padthaway.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

Drink now to 2055. Supple and seamless in structure. A great Grange vintage.

Reviews & Score:

94 Points, James Suckling. Rich and plummy, with leather, spices and smoked meats. Full-bodied, with a velvety and lovely fruitiness. Goes to cigar box, cigar leather pouch and a long flavorful finish. Yet reserved. Drink now.

93 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real ReviewDark colour: big roasted nose, cooked fruits, toasty charred oak, savoury; a big ballsy wine that is very warm, very ripe and perhaps not as tight or elegant or fresh as a classic Grange. Fat, broad, rich and ample but lacks tightness and finesse. Second bottle: a bit more vivacity and detail in its flavours. Even better. Now to 20 years. 28 Sep 2007

98+ Points , Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. A wine that flirts with perfection, and should rival the 1986 as one of the legendary Granges produced, the 1998 has one of the highest alcohol contents (nearly 15%) as well as one of the highest percentages of Shiraz in the blend (97%). Its stunning purple color is accompanied by exceptionally sweet aromas of blackberry liqueur intermixed with barbecue spices, an endearing, smoky earthiness, pepper, roasted meats, and coffee. Huge, massive, unctuously textured, and extraordinarily youthful, this impressive wine is a candidate for perfection. It should continue to evolve over the next three decades.

97 Points Campbell Mattinson. The temptation must have been to create a monster and while there’s plenty of weighty, black, aniseedy fruit here, the salaciousness is entirely less aggressive than you’d expect. In short, it’s curvaceous but considered; it’s full of saturated, plummy fruit that somehow has proven almost totally porous to the best-of-the-best new American oak. At this early stage complexity is no great issue and yet there’s an array of fruit flavours already showing: bright, crushed cranberry, dense blackberry, licorice, raisins, woodspice and a hiss of blueberry, with a spit-and-polish of sweet smoky milk chocolate flavour. It’s like a bigger version of the 1998 St Henri, with oak a lot less prominent than you’d expect.

97 Points, James Halliday. Deep purple-red, it oozes blackberry, blackcurrant and licorice from every pore, the palate a sumptuously smooth velvet cushion of small black fruits. It will outlive anyone who can afford to buy it.

Origin & Varietal:

100 percent shiraz. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate (Adelaide), McLaren Vale and Padthaway.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

Drink now to 2065. A substantial Grange – beautifully framed by strong persistent tannins. Will it overhaul the 1998 in 20 years’ time?

Reviews & Score:

92 Points, James Suckling. This is a dense elixir, at its optimal drinking window. Notes of matcha, chashu and minty liniment. Almost port-like with incense and further aromas of the Chinese medicine cabinet across the finish. Largeframed and sweet, yet attractively herbal and souk-like exotic, mitigating any sense of excess. Not the greatest Grange, but a rich, medicinal expression with a winning, eccentric personality. Drink now.

97 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Deep brick-red colour of a mature red wine, the bouquet echoing this with mature cigarbox and roasting-pan aromas of classic aged shiraz. Roasted chestnut, traces of mocha, but it has developed through its fruit stage into a drier spectrum of aromas now. The palate is still drying from tannin, very savoury and complex, mellow and long. Tannins are still quite insistent, but it's in its prime. 21 Jun 2023

95 Points, James Halliday. Concentrated blackberry and licorice fruit, the oak perfectly integrated. A powerful, masculine style, a touch more austere than the 1998.

95 Points, Campbell Mattinson. This is a fabulously balanced Grange, the perfect follow-up to the extraordinary 1998. Full of luscious, elevated, malty oak and crawling with deliciously spiced, leather-like, licorice-laden, plum-infused, blackberried fruit, it’s gorgeously supple and gamey and long, with a magnificent silkiness and a sense of power, balance and finesse almost second to none. Given a good decant it drinks outstandingly well already, but it will live for a very long time. Given that time, this will become a top-shelf Grange.

2000 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE

Origin & Varietal:

100 percent shiraz. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley) and Barossa Valley

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

Drink now to 2028+. “We had such lofty ambitions for the millennial vintage. Mother Nature aside, the Barossa Valley came to our rescue. Over two decades later we’re just so pleased.” (Peter Gago)

Reviews & Score:

93 points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. Penfolds’ renowned 2000 Grange is only the fifth vintage to be made from 100% Shiraz (the others being 1951, 1952, 1963, and 1999). It is also, atypically, 100% Barossa fruit. While it is not considered to be one of the great Granges, the 2000 exhibits outstanding potential, and is much more accessible than usual. One of the top wines I tasted from this vintage (which has had to take a back seat to subsequent years), its dense ruby/purple color is followed by a big, sweet nose of blackberries, cherries, chocolate, and earth. With decent acidity, ripe, silky tannin, superb intensity, wonderful equilibrium, and a more open-knit, softer, accessible style than usual, it can be drunk now or cellared for 15-16 years. While this is no wimpy wine, it is an ideal example for readers who are unwilling to invest the patience required for the big, blockbuster Granges.

96 Points, James Halliday. Good depth to the colour; seamless blackberry fruit and vanilla/cedar oak; abundant power and concentration; sultry blackberry, dark chocolate and spice; persistent but balanced tannins. Exceptional outcome for an ordinary vintage; obviously strict selection criteria used. Stained cork broke on extraction.

18/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Very sweet and minty. Big and ripe. Really rather gorgeous. But the alcohol is pretty obvious, though hedonistic.

2001 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE

Origin & Varietal:

99 percent shiraz, 1 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley) and Barossa Valley.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): ***

Drink now to 2050. A hefty Grange with strong firm/sappy tannins.

Bottle Condition: Into neck

Reviews & Score:

98+ Points, Robert Parker. The Wine Advocate. The 2001 Grange is one of the few vintages of this cuvee to be composed of 100% Shiraz (the others being 1951, 1952, 1963, 1999, and 2000). Aged 17 months in 100% American oak, and tipping the scales at 14.5% alcohol, the 2001 is undeniably one of the top examples of this wine. At this stage, it appears to eclipse the 1998 and 1996. Inky/blue/purple to the rim, with a stunning perfume of blueberries, blackberries, chocolate, graphite, and earth, it boasts good acidity, huge tannins, magnificent concentration, and a multilayered, textured mouthfeel. It is a big, but impeccably well-balanced Shiraz that should shed some of its structure and tannin over the next 4-5 years, and be at its best between 2010-2030+.

95 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Lush and youthful and banged up with flavour – as a Grange should be. Forget the 2000, it was a momentary blip – this is a Grange in very good form. Fresh, young, opulent, perhaps a little lighter in tannin than is customary – though it builds considerably as the wine opens up – essency black (100%) Barossan fruit with a crunch of blueberries squeezing over the finish. Plus, of course, liberal vanillin oak – though it’s integrating fast. A big, soft, cuddly Grange. It’ll drink well both young and once it reaches maturity.

96 Points, James Halliday. It is extraordinary how this wine has gained power, weight and complexity since first bottled; now majestic black fruits, licorice and chocolate/mocha notes run through the palate. Great tannins sustain and support the back palate and finish. Please move to screwcaps; this wine would live forever.

Origin & Varietal:

98.5 percent shiraz, 1.5 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley) and Barossa Valley.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

Drink now to 2050. Elegance and power

Reviews & Score:

95 points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Vivid colour. Cherry spicy and plum, nice wine; finer structure in this context. Elegant, spicy, raspberry and kirsch. Not so big but tight and elegant: how will it age? I suspect well. Not great length, perhaps. Now to 25 years. 28 Sep 2007

98+ Points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown. The Wine Advocate. Deep garnet with a touch of brick, the 2002 Grange is locked in a time capsule, like many of the 2002s, yielding a very youthful nose of red currants and red cherries, kirsch and violets with some lovely exotic spices in the background. Quite perfumed and pretty in terms of fruit expression in the mouth, the structure is rock solid, with a lively backbone cutting through the muscular fruit and great purity to the finish. If you're looking for that real "Grange" experience, best to keep cellaring it another 5-10+ years.

97 Points, James Halliday. As hoped and expected; beautiful colour; a wonderful bouquet, with black fruits of various kinds the engine, oak in tow. Impeccable texture and balance in the mouth; again, a wonderful array of seamless blackberry, licorice and high-quality oak; destined to become recognised as one of the great Granges.

96 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Its wealth of fine-boned tannins is, though, what sets this wine apart, and gives it the best long-term cellaring potential since the 1996 vintage Grange release. This should be a 25+ year wine. It’s a classic example of precision wine engineering. Combined with thumping, hedonistic, all-encompassing flavour.

19/20 Points, Jancis Rbinbson. Deep blackish-blueish crimson. Super-correct Grange nose. Still quite restrained with no shortage of tannins but surely this is going to be classic! Such freshness and vitality! Tasted Oct 2024

PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE

Origin & Varietal:

97 percent shiraz, 3 percent cabernet sauvignon. Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek, Coonawarra and Magill Estate (Adelaide).

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): ***

Drink now to 2035. Moderate year for Grange. “The palate is encased with tannins, but the fruit is within. It’s far from a lost cause, but the wine needs more than usual patience.” (James Halliday)

Reviews & Score:

18+/20 points, Jancis Robinson. Dark blackish crimson. Heady and such concentration on the nose! Maybe just a tad too much? Or is that being too picky? Charcoal dominates sweetness. Tasted Oct 2024

93 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Great result for the vintage. Has hot, brandied, salty characters but lots of fleshy, pippy fruit through its core, and enough fruit attachment to the tannins to bear it well. This is a ripping result. Saltbush characters concern me a little but there’s so much punchy, grunty fruit here that it’s impossible not to admire it. Drink: 2015-2025. 93 points.

92 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Scented floral and superripe berry aromas. Fleshy and well concentrated, lush and supple tannined, savoury and superbly balanced. Grainy tannins, slightly savoury as opposed to black-fruity. Some spices. Not bad. Now to 25 years. 28 Sep 2007

2004 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE

Origin & Varietal:

96 percent shiraz, 4 percent cabernet sauvignon (significant contribution from Block 42). Barossa Valley (including a substantial proportion of Kalimna Vineyard shiraz), McLaren Vale and Magill Estate (Adelaide).

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

Drink 2028 to 2060. A perfectly symmetrical Grange. Keep!

Reviews & Score:

98 Points, James Suckling. This is so precise and beautiful. Balanced and refined. A wine with great depth and focus. Full body, super polished and dense and powerful. Muscular yet balanced. Needs more time still but magical.

18++/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Black! Looks very youthful. Pungent and so direct up the nose! Pure liquorice balm. Impressive, even if not flattering. Definitely a ‘black’ Grange according to Nick Ryan’s classification of red and black ones. Tasted Oct 2024

98 Points, James Halliday. Saturated purple-crimson colour; has an amazing depth to the bouquet, oak and black fruits already seamlessly woven; the longer you spend inhaling the aromas, the more you learn about the wine within, in much the same way as a Grand Cru red burgundy. The palate delivers all that the bouquet promises, and then some; it has absolutely perfect proportions to the river of flavours running through blackberry, Satsuma plum, licorice and spice; the tannins are quite active, but totally balanced and ripe.

99 Points, Campbell Mattinson. It tastes spectacular. Perfect structure, depth and length. Espresso, crushed ants, blood plums, earth, malt, Asian spice, bay leaf, black tea, pan juices. Tannins cut, crush and mould the wine in the most positive of manners. Massive fragrance. Much like the fabulous 1996 model, though the oak on this one is better integrated than it was with the 1996 as a young wine. Subtle, smoky, barrel ferment characters too. If you are ever going to buy a new-release Grange, this is the one. It’s a fifty-year wine.

2005 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE

Origin & Varietal:

96 percent shiraz, 4 percent cabernet sauvignon. Barossa Valley (including a substantial proportion of Kalimna shiraz), McLaren Vale and Coonawarra.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): ****

Drink 2028 to 2050. Still seems to be in its elemental stage.

Reviews & Score:

97 Points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate. Containing just a dollop of 4.1% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2005 Grange is about 85%+ Barossa fruit with the remaining proportions coming from McLaren vale and Coonawarra. It was aged for 18 months in 100% new American oak hogsheads. The nose begins a bit animal with some smoked game, mincemeat and bacon notes emerging over the freshly crushed, sun-warmed blackberries, black currant cordial, earth, black truffles, anise and allspice. Rich and full with very firm very fine tannins and very crisp acid, it gives a long finish layered with coffee, mincemeat and toast. Drink it 2013 to 2025+.

95 Points, Campbell Mattinson. In fact it’s beautiful. Showy vanillin, coffeed, toasty oak is the first impression – as you’d expect of a Grange – though it’s neither syrupy nor malty. The big surprise with this release though is that it doesn’t have the bigness of tannin that some (or most) Grange releases boast. Is this a bad thing? In this case, no –because the balance of this 2005 is brilliant. So too is the dark fruit power motoring through the finish. Grange is renowned for its ‘formula’, but this vintage changes the tune according to the wants of the season – less muscle, more finesse. A vote for the craft of the winemakers involved. It’s persistent and seductive and awash with flavours of sweet, dense, meaty, smoky, leathery blackberry and blackcurrant. It does the Grange name proud.

95 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review. Deep red purple, good colour for age. Sweet blackberry and blueberry aromas; oak not too dominant, seems almost fruit driven for a Grange. Chocolate, vanilla, cooked fruits, some coconut emerged with airing. Palate is balanced and not all that tannic, smooth and remarkably approachable. Youthful in mouth; remarkably fresh and charming fruit flavours; ideal ripeness. Tannins are finer and more powdery than expected, and subtly run the length of the palate. Good long aftertaste. An elegant, finer, more subtle vintage of Grange. 09 Jul 2010

17.5/20 Points, Jancis RobinsonBottle 1: Very dark but looks older than the 2004. A tad volatile on the nose. But also lots of pleasure! Foxgloves. Rich fruit. Juts a bit tired. Bottle 2: Rich and clean and really very jazzy and fun. Somehow like sweeties/candies, in a nice way. Tasted Oct 2024

Origin & Varietal:

100 percent shiraz. Barossa Valley (including significant contributions from Kalimna and Koonunga Hill vineyards) and Magill Estate (Adelaide).

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

Drink 2025 to 2065. A superb vintage.

Reviews & Score:

17.5/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Bottle 1: Looks older than the 2004 but it’s still vibrant in terms of fruit, even if still a bit chewy. Bottle 2: Just a little fresher than the first pour but basically the same strong liquorice notes. A tad severe. (Nick Ryan arguing it should be elevated to top division of Grange.) Tasted Oct 2024

98 points, Bob Campbell. The Real Review. Dense and quite closed wine that is a little hard to read at this stage. Big and powerful red with great power and intensity. Obviously the best years lie ahead but this is clearly an impressive red now. Dark berry, spice, vanilla, dark chocolate and a solid overlay of oak. Hard to say whether it's a classic Grange but it's certainly very, very good.h 13 May 2011

98+ Points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown. The Wine Advocate. Made from fruit coming predominantly from the Barossa Valley this year (97%) and containing 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2006 Grange has been added to my list of favorite recent vintages. Deep garnet-purple colored, it’s still a little youthfully mute, offering notes of warm cherries, black currants, anise, coffee and toast with underlying hints of soy, yeast extract, black olives and Indian spices. Tight-knit and solidly structured on the medium to full-bodied palate, the concentrated fruit is densely coiled around the firm grainy tannins and very crisp acidity at this stage, but promises something very special in the years to come. It finishes very long, complex and layered with the cedar poking through the fruit purity. Patience is required for this vintage; it should begin opening out around 2016 and drink to 2030+.

98 Points, James Halliday. Deep crimson; its bouquet has a strikingly complex array of black characters that run all the way from the first whiff to the finish and aftertaste: licorice, tar, bitter chocolate, blackberry, prune and plum. The tannins are prominent, and play their part with each successive sip of the steadily building impact on the very long palate, but they are in balance with the fruit and oak of an extremely powerful Grange.

2007 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE

Origin & Varietal:

98 percent shiraz, 2 percent cabernet sauvignon. Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Magill Estate (Adelaide).

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

Drink 2025 to 2060. “Blue fruits, exotic spice and hints of smoked chocolate reflecting some fancy new oak and distinct barrel ferment notes. The structure dominates the wine.” (Nick Ryan)

Reviews & Score:

18.5 /20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Very dark crimson. Sweet and rich. Sweet fermented digestive-biscuit sort of flavours. Rich and spicy. Hint of animal. Lots of dustiness but masses of pleasure too. Very long. Lots of acidity. Tasted June 2015

95 Points, James Halliday. Full crimson, with a purple rim; a 98/2% blend of shiraz and cabernet sauvignon that exudes power and authority; the bouquet is already complex, the American oak making an impact as it always does when Grange is in its youth, the palate with multiple layers of predominantly black fruits; the tannins, like the oak, need to soften, and should do so well before the fruit starts to fade. Follows the Grange pattern, with 21 months in the 100% new American oak in which it finished its fermentation. A good grange, but not a great one.

96 Points, Bob Campbell. The Real Review. Dense, powerful and youthful wine that is surprisingly accessible, thanks to luscious sweet fruit and a sensitive structure of ripe tannins. Still has unrevealed depths. 2% Cabernet. 100% new oak. 23 Feb 2012

Origin & Varietal:

98 percent shiraz, 2 percent cabernet sauvignon. Barossa Valley, Clare Valley and Magill Estate (Adelaide).

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

Drink 2025 to 2060. A riper-style Grange with marvellous power and density from a classic Penfolds year.

Reviews & Score:

100 Points Lisa Perrotti-Brown. Wine Advocate. Very deep garnet-purple in color the 2008 Grange reveals a truly decadent nose with tons of spices, fruit cake and black & blue fruit compote notes along with nuances of chocolate and potpourri. The full and rich, multi-layered palate has a little oak still showing, it is going through a little bit of a structural stand-out stage, but it doesn't detract on the long and complex finish. It still needs a good few years to develop, though this very opulent, expressive Grange shows the very best of this vintage and the vineyards it hails from. Published: Oct 31, 2014

18++/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Sweet and broad on the nose. Then minerally on the palate. A really nice combo! Still youthful but very promising and long. Really exciting. I may be under-scoring it. Tasted Oct 2024

98 Points, James Halliday. The wine contains 98/2% shiraz and cabernet sauvignon, and spent 19 months in new American oak hogsheads in which it finished its fermentation. Densely coloured, it has an ultra-complex bouquet, with black fruits/anise/licorice, easily dealing with the oak; a remarkable wine in every way. The balance, texture and structure are faultless, so much so that the wine achieves elegance now, many years before you would expect that quality to be commented on.

96 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Announces itself in the mouth. No mistaking the wine, its style. Smells of toast, pan juices, Asian spice, honey and soy. Tastes of black coal, sweet plums, seaweed, black tea and old dry earth. As old school as it always is but tamed, controlled, an old school character on its best behaviour. Australians love Grange because it’s a straight shooter; there’s nothing effete about it. It’s a wine of conviction. It knows its game and it plays to its strengths. This 2008 is a release that illustrates perfectly what Grange is, and does. Importantly, style aside, it is a wine of enormous tannic power and quite remarkable length, and while we all might disagree on style we all agree that great wine is characterised by its length and, usually, by its ability to perform in the cellar. This wine has length in spades, and cellarability guaranteed. We know this because of its track record, but also because of its performance in the glass in front of us today; it tastes of the past, and will perform in the future.

2009 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE

Origin & Varietal:

98 percent shiraz, 2 percent cabernet sauvignon. Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley and Magill Estate (Adelaide).

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): ***

Drink 2030 to 2060. A dense and robust maturing Grange.

Reviews & Score:

19/20 Points Jancis Robinson. Bottle 1: Buttery, heady nose. Such a big mouthful! But already composed and at such a different stage in its evolution than the much more youthful 2008. Such concentration! So rich!! Yes, tasty and so long. Glorious. Bottle 2: If anything, a bit drier than the first bottle! On second tasting, just slightly more voluptuous, but it’s a close-run thing. Tasted Oct 2024

97 Points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown. Wine Advocate. The 2009 Grange Shiraz is a comprised of 84% Barossa, 8% McLaren, and a little Clare Valley and a little Magill fruit with a small 2% of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. At this youthful stage, this deep garnet-purple colored wine puts forward a vivid expression of blackberry preserve aromas amid underlying cassis, black cherry, spice box, char-grilled meat and chocolate box notes. Surprisingly medium to full-

bodied (it smells much fuller!) with taut flavors that are very closed in the mouth, it has firm, chewy tannins to structure through the long and earthy finish. 406 cases imported to the US. Drink it 2018 to 2035+.

96 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review. Deep brick-red to ruby colour; the bouquet reflecting that 14 years of age with roasted meats, toasted nuts and mocha aromas, nicely developed and very complex. Full bodied, dense and concentrated with stacks of soft earthy/dusty tannins. There's a lot of toastiness that suggests generous oak use. It's a mellow wine that is now showing classic matured Grange character. 21 Jun 2023

97 Points, James Haliday. From the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley and Magill Estate, 98% shiraz and 2% cabernet sauvignon; it finished its fermentation in 100% new American oak hogsheads and was matured therein for 18 months. Peter Gago has commented it is not as 'Barossa-ish' as the '08, and it's true the bouquet has fragrant sweet and savoury spices, the palate with licorice and black fruits, oak riding high, but guaranteed to be relegated to second place as the wine comes into balance around '30.

94 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Clear orange peel notes. Intense fruit. A melt of tannin. Oak makes an impression but is tremendously well integrated. Vanilla, soy, orange, saturated plum, licorice and leather. Super seductive. A sweetfruited delicacy. Indeed for pure or indeed young-ish drinking pleasure I prefer it over the 2008. I like the highlights, the pillowy softness, the remarkable integration of fruit, oak, and tannin. This is a less caricatured Grange, less obvious, less “heavy”, and more approachable as a result.

2010 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE

Origin & Varietal:

96 percent shiraz, 4 percent cabernet sauvignon. Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale and Magill Estate (Adelaide).

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): *****

Drink 2030 to 2060. Classical, powerful and expressive Grange with superb density, richness and balance. Still needs time to unfold.

Reviews & Score:

96 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Deep, rich red colour with purple tints. The bouquet starts off very oaky, and with a lot of swirling becomes richly mocha-like, peppery and dark chocolaty. Lindt dark chocolate with raspberries, to be precise. The wine is dense and fleshy in the mouth, with plenty of extract. It seems a shade lighter in body than usual, but still powerful. It's nicely balanced and smoothly-textured. The richness, density and harmony are very good

indeed. Not a great Grange but superb, and surprisingly so for the disastrously wet year. And it can be enjoyed already. (Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale & Magill. No cabernet this year; it's 100% shiraz) 28 Aug 2015

19/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Complex but unshowy nose. Quite a cool plate entry and some real freshness. Lipsmacking tannins. Very powerful towards the end in fact. Sweet liquorice. Charcoal finish. Very vibrant. Lots packed in here. Lovely already! Tasted Oct 2024

99 Points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown. Wine AdvocateThe 2010 Grange is a 4% Cabernet Sauvignon and 96% Shiraz blend made from Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale and Magill Estate fruit that was aged 17 months in 100% new American oak hogsheads. Very deep purple-black in color, this is classic Grange - amongst the finest producedreplete with fresh, vibrant and youthful black fruit notes showing some blueberry aromas and accents of camphor, anise and the slightest floral hint plus a whiff of oak in the background to lend a cedar-laced lift to this textbook Shiraz nose. Medium to full-bodied in the mouth, it is very taut and finely constructed showing typically firm, grainy, uniform tannins, great concentration and wonderful persistence on the finish. If I have any very slight complaint of this near perfect wine it is that it seems a little too clinical and appears to speak less of the land and the heart of South Australia and more of the very skilled winemaking than did the Grange from the magical 2008 vintage.

96 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Powerful. Perfect. Origami shiraz. A large sheet of flavour folded into the precise design of its maker. Dark chocolate, blackberry, porty plum, cloves. Flavours of various seeds and nuts. Asphalt and malt. The tannin feels robust and tough as old boots but the fruit is drastically smooth and polished; the Grange way. Served alongside the 2008 and 2009 Granges and it certainly put the 2009 well into the shade, but faced stiff competition from the 2008. It’s a more seamless wine than the 2008. Perhaps a more perfect one too.

99 Points, James Halliday. The core of this wine is shiraz, 85% from the Barossa Valley, the remainder (and 4% cabernet sauvignon) from the Clare Valley, Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale and Magill Estate. In time honoured fashion, it finished its fermentation in 100% new American oak hogsheads, where it spent the next 17 months. It has exceptional hue and depth to the colour; the smoky complexity to the black fruits (no red or blue) of the bouquet also offers licorice and earth aromas; only a great Burgundy could have more nuances defined each time you revert to the bouquet. You could lose yourself, Narcissus-like, looking endlessly into the reflection of the palate; for all its power, there is not a hair out of place, the tannins outstanding. There is not the slightest question this will be one of the greatest Granges in the pantheon of '52, '55, '71, '96 and '06

100 Points, James Suckling Shows super fresh and vivid blue and black berries and a defiantly primary feel to the wine. Plenty of spice and tarry elements, too. There’s a lot to like here, barely getting started. Similar to 1990, but a notch or two superior. There’s an attractive, crisp-cut edge to the tannins, immense richness and impressive resolve. A great Grange. Drink or hold.

2011 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE

Origin & Varietal:

100 percent shiraz. Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Magill Estate (Adelaide).

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): ***

Drink 2025 to 2060. An attractive and elegantly styled Grange transcending the reputation of the vintage.

Bottle Condition:

Very minor label damage

Reviews & Score:

93 Points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown. Win Advocate. 2011 was of course a difficult, uncharacteristically rainy vintage in South Australia and particularly Barossa, but thanks to Penfolds’ privileged position with access to some of the region’s best fruit, they have nonetheless been able to blend an impressive Grange. Still sourced mainly from Barossa Valley, there’s a good dollop of McLaren Vale fruit (21%) – a region less affected by the rains in 2011 - contributing to this vintage. Interestingly, it is the 6th vintage ever to consist of 100% Shiraz, mainly because the Cabernet Sauvignon didn't make the grade this year. (Note that no Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon was produced in 2011.) Deep purple colored, in typical fashion the nose of the 2011 Grange is still closed at this youthful stage with broody tar and pepper laced notes over a core of blackberries, black plums, licorice and loam. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is taut and muscular with pepper and baking spice flavors supported by firm, grainy tannins. The finish has great length, contributing a refreshing lift.

Published: Sep 30, 2015

18/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Cool, minty and fresh, with lots of dry chewiness. Austere and rather hard work at present, though there is a lot packed in. Inkissimo! Tasted Oct 2024

96 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review. Deep, rich red colour with purple tints. The bouquet starts off very oaky, and with a lot of swirling becomes richly mocha-like, peppery and dark chocolaty. Lindt dark chocolate with raspberries, to be precise. The wine is dense and fleshy in the mouth, with plenty of extract. It seems a shade lighter in body than

usual, but still powerful. It's nicely balanced and smoothly-textured. The richness, density and harmony are very good indeed. Not a great Grange but superb, and surprisingly so for the disastrously wet year. And it can be enjoyed already.

93 points, James Halliday. From the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Magill Estate, 17 months in 100% new American hogsheads. It is balanced, supple and pretty, against all odds at peace with its oak. But Penfolds' suggested drinking span of 2018-2045? Not in my book. Published November 2021

2012 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE

Origin & Varietal:

98 percent shiraz, 2 percent cabernet sauvignon. Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): *****

Drink 2035 to 2060. A great Grange vintage “Full bodied, intense and unrelenting. Masterly management of tannins, oak and high-quality fruit make this an outstanding Grange.” (James Halliday)

Bottle Condition:

Very minor rear label damage

Reviews & Score:

98 Ppoints, James Suckling. A simple split between the Barossa Valley (81%) and McLaren Vale (19%), this has all the hallmarks of a great Grange. Deep and ripe dark-plum and black-cherry aromas lead the nose, and there's plum cake here too that's really ripe and deeply spicy. The 100% new American oak has been thoroughly subsumed below tarry and savory brooding notes of black licorice and olive tapenade. The palate's incredibly poised and has richness with composure driven by tight-knit tannins and plenty of ripe dark-plum and cherry-fruit flavors. It is neatly crafted, powerful yet contained and smoothly rendered into the finish. This is a powerful vintage that has been cleverly polished and tamed in the winery; it will live long. Best from 2025 and for two decades after that.

98 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Deep, dark red with a tinge of brick, the bouquet tremendously oaky and rich, loaded with mocha and dark chocolate, espresso coffee and the palate is very tannic, oaky and slightly bitter. Very typical Grange, very massive and still too young to really enjoy at its best. 01 Mar 2019

17.5/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Very deep blackish crimson. Spicy camphor nose. Sweet start with candied blackcurrant fruit, with a bit of char on the end. Slightly dry on the end. Tasted Octoer 2024

99 Points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate. Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2012 Grange sports an earthy/meaty nose with notes of tree bark, dusty earth, underbrush and chargrill over a core of dried mulberries and Christmas cake,

plus hints of pepper and baking spices. Rich, medium to full-bodied and seductive, it has spicy layers and a long meaty/savory finish. Published: Nov 01, 2017

96 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Across the board the Penfolds supers ooze confidence this year and none more so than the mother of them all, Penfolds Grange Shiraz. Some releases are ripped with tannin and bulging with fruit, their skin so paper-thin that every ripple is highlighted. This release maintains a cuddliness, a softness; it’s not so eager to strut. It’s all there anyway; no need to try too hard. Sweet fruit, black and bright; musky vanillin oak and plenty of it. Blossomy notes. Studs of tannin, impressed into suede. A dry spiciness, set into the face of the waterfall of sweet soysplashed berries. The seduction here has an inevitability to it. You know you’re being worked over but you succumb anyway. Certainly a top-tier Grange with an easy-as-you like air.

2013 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE

Origin & Varietal:

96 percent shiraz, 4 percent cabernet sauvignon. Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra and Magill Estate (Adelaide).

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): ****

Drink 2035 to 2060. “Hugely expansive with blackberries and blueberry compote, rich opulent chocolate flavours, layers of vanilla and smoke and a mass of coating tannins.” (Fongyee Walker MW)

Reviews & Score:

19/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Heady and luscious on the nose. Graceful and seamless, with fabulous tannin management. Already such a great drink – so long as you don’t mind the slightly burnt edge on the finish. Very long.

96 Points, Campbell Mattinson. The Wine Front. Served alongside the 2012 and it proved a keen competitor. Indeed it has classic Grange written all over it. Bold and brooding, formic, blackberried, vanillin, smoky. Sheeted with tannin. This is something of a return to the Grange-like tannin of yore. It gives the wine an extra impression of grunt; there’s more iron behind the velvet. Length here does its best to reach into tomorrow. It’s smooth, Grange always is, it’s made as shiraz taken to the nth degree; but there’s some buckle to this release, some swash. Quality put to one side for the moment and personal preference ushered in: I would take this over the 2012. It’s not so gushy, not so plump; it’s a Grange of muscle and rib.

100 Points, Lisa Perrotti -Brown. The Wine Advocate. Very deep inky purple-black colored, the 2013 Grange has a profoundly scented nose of crème de cassis, preserved black plums, blueberry pie and licorice over nuances of baker’s chocolate, smoky bacon and fragrant earth, plus exotic spice wafts of cumin seed, cardamom, fenugreek and star anise. Unfurling and slowly building in the medium to full-bodied mouth with wonderful grace and depth, it reveals an incredible array of ripe black fruit, spice, meat and earth-inspired flavors, with a rock-solid frame to support this beauty (it should easily cellar for 40+ years!), while previously latent flavors emerge fully on the epically long finish, culminating in that ultimate Grange experience. Oh, yes. 2024 - 2057

98 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Very deep, dark, dense colour still with purple tints: it stains the glass. The bouquet is very oaky, mocha, coconut and vanilla, and the wine is a massive powerhouse of a wine. The tannins are mouth-coating and emphatic, concluding with a major grip. This is a very big Grange and quite chewy in texture. The finish is resoundingly long. An impressive, very long-term red wine. 01 Mar 2019

Origin & Varietal:

98 percent shiraz, 2 percent cabernet sauvignon. Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Wrattonbully, Coonawarra, Clare Valley and Magill Estate (Adelaide).

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021): *****

Drink 2035 to 2070. A substantial and multi-layered wine with extraordinary density and balance. Many decades ahead of it.

Reviews & Score:

98 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Deep, dense youthful red/purple colour. The bouquet is a riot of preserved plums, mocha, smoky toasty oak - less obvious than the Granges of yore - with hints of tar and graphite. The wine is full-bodied but it's not a blockbuster. It's dense and concentrated, but not overpowering. Indeed, the wine is superbly balanced and has even a touch of elegance. The tannins are certainly abundant, with a touch of traditional Grange firmness, but it's a very easy Grange to understand and enjoy. Less likely to intimidate! (2% cabernet sauvignon) Drink 2021–2049 Tasted 28 Aug 2018

97 Points, James Halliday. 98% shiraz, 2% cabernet sauvignon from the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Wrattonbully, Coonawarra, Clare Valley and Magill Estate, matured for 20 months in new American hogsheads. Excellent colour for age; the ultra-fragrant and expressive bouquet implacably draws you in; a great deal of work must have gone into the blending of the components and drawing them seamlessly. An aristocratic Grange with all its components in utter harmony.

18.5/20 points, Jancis Robinson. Smoky barbecue notes. Great grip and intensity and drama. Round and very exciting. Throbs forever. Great top note of dried herbs. Sweetness isn’t the dominant character. Different! Peter Gago is very proud of how distinctive this is and says you can maybe compare it with 2004. Very vibrant.

96 Points, Campbell Mattinson. My daughter loves baking cakes and as a result I love crushing ants. One sniff and I was in my kitchen with my daughter. There you go. It’s archetypal Grange, smooth, svelte, aristocractic, bright and dense at once, the pride of South Australia and the entire Penfolds red wine line-up all rolled and synergised into one. I see soy and I see spice, I see vanilla and various things nice, but mostly I just see quality nipped and tucked, gathered and applied in such a way that it’s perfect. I didn’t spit it out and I don’t regret it. For a second I was a better man. I read recently that the Richmond football club, on winning the 2017 AFL grand final, went to Rockpool in Melbourne and drank Grange. In fact it was the tattooed-head-to-toe-bad-boy Dustin Martin who related this story. Bay Boy Dustin Martin drinks Grange. I thought of this as I put my glass down. The cliched elite are in for a treat. 2014 Grange will not let anyone down.

2015 Penfolds Bin 95 Grange

Origin & Varietal:

98 percent shiraz, 2 percent cabernet sauvignon. Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley and Magill Estate (Adelaide).

Awards:

Voted Wine of the Year by US lifestyle magazine Robb Report in June 2020.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

Drink 2030 to 2080. Not as substantial as 2014 but more classic in structure like the Claret style first envisaged. Is it 1963 all over again?

Reviews & Score:

18.5/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Very deep, blackish purplish crimson. Heady black fruits on the nose. Lots of sweetness on the nose – quite a different animal from the other wines in this Collection. More like Ye Olde Australia. Now heading for vintage rather than Grange recipe. This is rich and medicinal. Chewy end. Dry finish but almost overwhelmed by the sheer volume beforehand.

98+ Points, Joe Czerwinski, The Wine AdvocateThe nose of the 2015 Grange features the wine's characteristic lifted aromas, joined by pronounced American oak influence and bold blackberry fruit, plus hints of red meat, raspberries, asphalt and vanilla. It's dense and concentrated on the palate, full-bodied yet balanced and firm, with a rich, velvety texture and long, plush finish. Don't expect great complexity at this stage it's much too young to show much more than the primary fruit and oak elements but this is a Grange that should easily go three or four decades.

96 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Deep, glass-staining red/purple colour with a very walnutty oak-driven aroma, coconutty too. It's raw and singular, with almonds and various types of nuts leading the way. Cinnamon and nutmeg, blueberries and violets, too. It's an elegant Grange, very full-bodied but not the blockbuster we have seen in recent vintages. Tannins are abundant but soft and quite fine-grained, the finish long-lasting and harmonious. A very smart Grange.

99 Points, James Halliday. Includes 2% cabernet sauvignon, matured for 20 months in new American hogsheads. Bang. The first whiff cries Grange. A lifted, fragrant, harmonious blend of fruit, oak (American, of course) and finely pitched tannins. Faultless. It's all relative, but this is starting to relax its grip. And the length is very, very special.

100 Points, James Suckling. Much anticipated vintage for Grange and it is a powerhouse of concentration and complexity. Aromas of orange and lemon peel to start, then graphite, blackberries, plum paste, black cherries, boundless sweet oak spice, fresh cedar, tar, mahogany, roasted coffee and chocolate - the list goes on. Such complexity. Classic Grange, offering such deep, dark intensity. The palate has immense richness and depth with a super succulent and very long, fleshy, deeply weighted array of dense, velvet-wrapped tannins that run so long. The fruit flavors sit in the blackberry, blood-plum and blueberry zone with succulent, long and assertive structure, carrying through in an utterly seamless mode. The finish is tightly wrenched, in spectacularly powerful style, locking this wine in for a very long haul. Best from 2030.

2016 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE

Origin & Varietal:

97 percent shiraz, 3 percent cabernet sauvignon. Barossa Valley (including Kalimna Vineyard), McLaren Vale and Clare Valley with a 1 percent contribution from Magill Estate.

Rewards of Patience 8th edition (2021):

Drink 2030 to 2070. “Lovely crushed blueberries and cocoa with seamless new oak. Very beautiful and harmonious with a deep-seated elegance.” (Fongyee Walker MW)

Reviews & Score:

99 Points, James Halliday. Penfolds nailed the great 2016 vintage, making a wine that is perfect in every way. The blend of 97% shiraz and 3% cabernet sauvignon comes from the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley and Magill Estate in Adelaide, in that order, and as usual spent 18 months in new American hogsheads. Its detail is superb, with light and shade allowing blackberry and plum fruit pride of place, but there's also flashes of spice and licorice. It's as mouthwatering with the last taste as the first, and 7.3g/L of acidity leaves the mouth fresh. Tasted 7th July 2020

98 Points Campbell Mattinson. The Wine Front. Classic Grange. Absolute classic. Aflame with fruit, tempered by oak, no bumps whatsoever but ample grind to the tannin. Grange has remained true to this style since the start of the 1950s and so every release now tends to evoke a previous one; this release has 1996 written all over it. Those long unmistakable chains of tannin melted so effortlessly into the wine; fruit that has ridden straight over the oak as if it was barely there; a finish that stares next week in the eye. It’s a brilliant release in anyone’s language. Tasted July 2020

18.5++/ 20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Very, very dark, concentrated, blackish purple. Almost more of a decongestant than a wine. Goes straight up the nose rather than offering a complex array of different aromas. Very sweet, round and gently textured initially so that only after a while do you become aware of the massive tannins underneath – really massive! But clearly a great deal of work has been done on smoothing the tannins. Concentrated but not exaggerated. Sweet and smooth with a hint of camphor. Salt and spice, and drier than some Granges at this early stage. But such a baby!!! Though if you were really in a hurry, you could decant this into a young-wine decanter and leave it overnight. It is too strong to harm. Drinking range 2024 - 2050. Tasted 3rd June 2020

97 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real Review. Very deep, concentrated red/purple hue, the aromas coconutty at first, with traces of graphite and espresso coffee. The bouquet is a mixture of ironstone and graphite mineral nuances allied with charred oak and richly-concentrated almond and chocolate shiraz fruit. There are concentrated fruitcake, dried-fruit and bitter dark chocolate flavours that are very intense and hugely concentrated. Formidable density and persistence,

with a touch of elegance - within the Grange paradigm. It's big and powerful but relatively light on its feet for a Grange. It needs several years before broaching. A superb Grange. (Includes 3% cabernet sauvignon) 10 Jul 2020

97 Points, James Suckling. A blend of 97% shiraz and 3% cabernet sauvignon from Barossa, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley and Magill Estate. This is a very intense Grange with such rich black-fruit, tar and coal-smoke aromas together with iodine and black-olive notes and an array of wild dark herbs. Almost impenetrable dark plums and licorice, as well as bacon fat. The palate has such seamless delivery of intense blackberry and plum flavors with some redder tones emerging, too. The power here is countered by such freshness and an almost elegant feel. This has such impressive, vibrant, long and seamless fruit power. Really is exceptionally complete, but tight, needs time to open. Very enjoyable now, but better after 2023.

2017 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE

Origin & Varietal:

100% shiraz. 86% Barossa, 14% McLaren Vale.

Reviews & Score:

20/20 Points, Richard Hemming MW. Jancis Robinson.com. Delivers absolutely everything you want from Grange: the fruit is knee-weakeningly gorgeous, the oak fits in beautifully, and there's endless length that gives a thoughtful, engaging aftertaste.

99 Points, Bob Campbell. The Real Review. Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale. Only the 7th Grange to be made from 100% shiraz (on its 70th anniversary). (other 100% vintages were 1951, 1952, 1963, 1999, 2000 and 2011). Intense, youthful shiraz with layers of dark berry, smoky oak, savoury, baked earth, exotic spices, cedar, tobacco and cacao powder plus much more. It has an impeccable balance of alcohol sweetness, with assertive tannins and fruit versus savoury characters. This wine has the X-factor. It promises to age magnificently. 10 Nov 2021

96 Points, Joe Czerwinski. The Wine Advocate. Strongly marked as always by its 100% American oak elevage, the 2017 Grange backs up the cedar and vanilla notes with ample blackberry and cassis fruit. Full-bodied, ripe and almost decadently creamy in the mouth, it's loaded with substance, concentrated and rich, yet in the context of Grange relatively light and elegant-seeming on the finish. Only the seventh-ever Grange to be exclusively Shiraz, it originates from Barossa Valley (86%) and McLaren Vale (14%); Shiraz from other growing regions in South Australia failed to make the grade this year.

96 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Cuddly doesn’t quite conjure the command of Grange but it was the first word to spring to mind. It was only later that I realised that it’s 100% shiraz. It feels it. It’s a grand display of this most come-hither of varieties. Big fruit, big texture, big arms of tannin and soaring length. It tastes like ants squashed in a rolling wave of super-saturated plum, roasted vanilla riding the wave, soy and rust slipped within. It’s as complete an Australian shiraz as you ever will taste.

97 Points, Tyson Stelzer, Halliday Wine Companion. Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale fruit. Matured 18 months in 100% new American oak hogsheads. The inky density and impenetrable presence that proclaim Grange are irrefutable, even in the cooler 2017 season, in which sourcing has been pulled back to the strongholds of the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale. It’s all here: black fruits of every kind, licorice, dark chocolate, coffee bean, coal dust, even a suggestion of fruit-mince spice. A wall of Grange tannins hold back its immense force, as finely engineered as ever. The finish holds motionless for minutes, with a stature and presence possessed only by Grange, yet at every moment upholding statuesque poise, integrity, even tang in this cooler season.

96 Points, James Suckling. This starts with a deeply spicy and brooding nose that packs plenty of (100% new) American oak, some smoked vanilla and ripe dark plums and berries. The palate has a youthful, astringent feel with sinewy oak tannin and deep plum and dark-berry flavors, carrying a big frame of fruit extract. Big, round berries strive towards boldness. A blend of Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale. 100% shiraz. Drink over the next two decades.

PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

97% shiraz, 3% cabernet sauvignon.

Penfolds Website: Drink 2028 – 2068

Reviews & Score:

99 Points, Bob Campbell. The Real review. Intense, powerful red with cassis, Christmas cake, chocolate/mocha, liquorice, dark berry/cherry, dried fruits, vanilla and spicy oak flavours. Surprisingly accessible with a welcome core of sweet fruit balancing ripe and generous tannins. There is no question about its ability to age, which has not been compromised by being approachable now. Everything I expect from Grange ... and more. Remarkable wine from a top vintage 25 Oct 2022

19+/20 Points, Richard Hemming MW. Like the great wines of the world, there is something instantly impressive about the nose. It's the extra degree of purity and clarity of aroma, and the seamlessness of the palate. Uncannily soft tannins, a temptress to drink now. Layers and layers of flavour. Long, long persistence and development. (RH)

99 Points, Erin Larkin. The Wine Advocate.This wine comes with high expectations as does the vintage. The 2018 vintage across South Australia (and cheekily, we could probably extend the accolade to all of Australia) was excellent. It was warm, but without incident, and responsible for powerfully ripe, serious wines. Many producers made some of their best wines in this vintage. So here, to the 2018 Grange: there is spiced raspberry, lashings of salted licorice, red curry paste, layers of forest berries, rendered lamb fat and crushed pink peppercorns to start. In the mouth, the tannins close around the fruit with the same polish and seamlessness as the 2008, possibly the 2004? Very different vintages, but there is a textural similarity for me. This is polished and glossy and so very pretty. It contains 3% Cabernet Sauvignon this year, and 69% Barossa, 18% McLaren Vale and the balance from Clare Valley. Each of the regions brings with it its own characteristics. Barossa brings the red dirt, blood, deli meat and rust. McLaren Vale brings the plush purple fruits with a side of meat and licorice. Clare brings the polish, the opulence and the velvet texture. With their powers combined, this is an extraordinary Grange. One of the true greats, which will only get better as it ages.

98 Points, Campbell Mattinson.A substantial Grange release, poised, creamy, saturated with dark berried flavour, vanillin but appropriately so. Rarely does tannin come, when it’s as robust as it is here, so saturated in flavour, start to finish, sun up to sun down. Pan juices flow, fruit commands, tannin blows the roof off things. This is a big release, bigger (in memory at least) than the previous few releases – it has a CMYK blacker-than-black density to it – but its

quality is ballistic. Take the stereotype of new world red wine, push its quality to its outer limits and then push it out yet further again, and you have this wine. Grange for the true believers, maybe not, but one for the new believers, definitively.

100 Points, James Suckling. A robust Grange from a lauded vintage, this wields sheer power with such compelling prowess. Uncompromising Grange. There are rich blackberries and plums on offer, together with brazen oak and abundant notes of blackcurrants, black cherries, charcoal, cola and hard brown spices. So fleshy and intense. Darkchocolate and cocoa-powder aromas and flavors here, too. The tannins are polished and long, extruding deep into the finish and holding endlessly. Dark chocolate, black cherry, dark plum and more. Impressive. Brazen. One of the great Granges that will drink magnificently for decades to come.

Origin & Varietal:

97% Shiraz, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, Clare Valley

Reviews & Score:

98 Points, Bob Campbell. The Real Review. Deep-tinted, rich, almost chewy red that initially overwhelms the senses with cacao powder, liquorice, charcuterie, blackberry compote, new leather, mixed spices, and toasted hazelnut. Initially slightly closed but after 30 minutes in the glass the wine revealed great complexity and, although still intense, was a delight to taste. Clearly a long-distance runner. 13 Sep 2023

19/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Cassis-liqueur nose. Really fresh palate entry and, actually, a little richer and more seductive than the 2018. My teeth feel as though they have been doused in magic liquid. Really full of (very slightly salty) life.

95+ Points, Erin Larkin. The Wine Advocate.. The 2019 Grange is 97% Shiraz and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. It's the pinnacle of the Penfolds release (although if you ask me, the Chardonnays are my favorite part) and a wine that takes some understanding prior to scoring. The key to Grange is the old wines; it is a style of wine heavily fortified with oak (100% new, AP Johns American oak), tannin, fruit (multi-regional) and everything else. In the mouth it can be an almost impossible constellation of flavor and texture to wrap the mind around. But in time, yes, in time, this wine shows its capacity for grace and majesty. Ten years is too young to open a bottle. 20 years is about right. 30 and beyond, not a problem. It is a cellaring proposition of the highest order, but in youth it can feel impenetrable. So, this wine in front of me now has toasted coconut, dusted licorice, roasted meat, violets, burnt toffee, pastrami, coffee grounds, crushed ants/formic, roasted pecans ... all of these dark and broody (and chunky) things. 2019 was a hot year and one marred by low yields due to some inclement weather during flowering. This has meant that, as a whole, the wines have felt big, dark and compressed. This is no exception. It's a product of the year and the state from whence it has come and in the mold and style of Grange, typical. It will be even better. For now, ne touche pas. 14.5% alcohol sealed under natural cork.

96 Points, Campbell Mattinson. This has its customary fruit, oak, tannin and length but I was struck by the ease of this release, the comfort. It does, I hasten to add, not lack power, or impact. Mocha, saturated plum and blackcurrant characters make sure of that. Indeed there’s some booziness to the fruit, despite its ease, but the wealth and spread of the tannin, in lockstep with excellent fruit/oak flavour, makes this release another sensation to behold.

97 Points, Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion. 97/3% shiraz/cabernet sauvignon; matured in new American oak for 19 months. A quieter release for the 2019 rendition of Penfolds' world-famous icon. A little less of the formic and

VA heft of youth in this showing and a bit more approachable as a result. Deep crimson in the glass with familiar characters of deep black berry fruits, plum compote and black cherry underscored with hints of baking spices, Calvados, espresso grounds, black olive tapenade, roasting meats, creamy oak, purple flowers and earth. Weighty and concentrated with classic Grange density of fruit and tannin; persistent, texturally flexing and long of finish. As per usual will cellar like a dream, but I think it will hit its drinking window a bit earlier than usual.

96 Points, James Suckling. Dark, dank and immaculate. The oak handling and tannic precision boast ample class. Beneath lurks a latent, molten beauty that will unravel eventually. I like this Grange. I feel that the decadent style, molten and fleshy, is well suited to the drought vintage and its thick grape skin tannic scour. Mercifully, the tannins are pliant and despite it all, plenty juicy. Firework aromas of raspberry liqueur, camphor and gunpowder, with a smear of black olive, licorella and hung meat wafting across the long finish. Best from 2030.

2020 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

7% Shiraz, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. 8% McLaren Vale, 40% Barossa Valley, 12% Clare Valley.

Reviews & Score:

97 Points, James Suckling. Blackberry, blueberry, graphite and terra cotta aromas. Medium-bodied with clarity, focus and very fine tannins that are polished and caressing. One of the most refined and textural Granges I have had in a long time. The tannins are very resolved. This is mostly Barossa and McLaren Vale with some Claire Valley. 3% cabernet sauvignon. Very drinkable now, but will age beautifully.

97 Points, Huon Hooke. The Real review. Very deep, dense red-purple colour; aromas of earthy terracotta, dried meats, blackberry/plum jam and mocha/coffee grounds. The wine is massively full-bodied and dense in the mouth, rich and robust, extremely concentrated and the chewy tannins stick the tongue to the roof of the mouth. The finish lingers for a very long time. It's an assault on the senses and demands a lot of cellar time. (McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley & Clare Valley. 20 months in 100% new American oak hogsheads) 03 Jul 2024

95 Points, Erin Larkin. The Wine Advocate. The 2020 Grange comprises 97% Shiraz and the balance Cabernet Sauvignon from McLaren Vale (48%), Barossa Valley (40%) and Clare Valley (12%), and it matured for 20 months in American oak hogsheads, 100% new. While the metric of regions changes each season and the proportion of Shiraz changes slightly, the élevage and style remain the same. Aromatically, the wine is black and savory, with crushed ant, black peppercorn, blueberry, blackberry and licorice/aniseed. In the mouth, the wine feels lighter than some other vintages on release. There is something like clarity and perhaps a little hole in the mid-palate it sits like clarity or less density and also features as breathing space. A nice wine, it is lighter than the preceding 2019. Both vintages had their challenges, but this 2020 season has yielded an "easier" feeling wine.

97 Points, Campbell Mattinson. Mint and crushed ants up front. Saturated plums, meat, woodsmoke, more ants, more crushed woodsy spices, a rusty seaweed character in among the vanilla and cedar. The tannin is a broad, powerful, commanding brush, full throttle, fully integrated. It’s not a heralded vintage necessarily but it turns out to have been a good thing; it’s not a show pony, it’s not a wall of sound, it’s Grange being Grange, authoritative, settled, the ants served crushed, the fruit deep. This release of Penfolds Grange feels true to itself; and as a result it’s seriously good.

98 Points, Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion. A blend of 97/3% shiraz/cabernet sauvignon; matured for 20 months in 100% new American oak. As Peter Gago says, "Penfolds' 180th anniversary year, following a series of stellar Grange vintages in 2002, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 ... No pressure." He needn't have worried. The 2020 release is stunning. Its heady concentration and initial rush of formic herald its arrival. There's a singularity of aroma and flavour

in strong Grange releases and that is certainly the case here. Deep-set blackberry, black plum and black cherry fruits of great intensity. Hints of brandied fruits, blackforest cake, dark chocolate, licorice, graphite, roasting meats, fruitcake spice, sandalwood, oak spice and turned earth. Densely packed and strong of character with a cascade of fine tannin and plenty of muscular swagger as the wine slowly tapers off with a vapour trail of black fruits, baking spices and earth. A great Grange release.

18++/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Blackish dense purple. Lightly muted nose promising something pretty exciting underneath. Very rich and heady. But lower key than many vintages. Blackcurrant and quite a bit of dry tannin on the end. Still very tight and cough-medicinal. Extremely youthful. Retasted after a couple of days in a stoppered decanter: heady nose recalls creosote and top notes of luscious mulberries. The palate has opened out to something almost fat, finishing with an appetisingly saline edge. Very persistent. After five days in a stoppered decanter: this was a supple pleasure to drink. Aeration recommended for at least the first two decades of this exceptional wine’s life. (JR)

2021 PENFOLDS BIN 95 GRANGE HERMITAGE

Origin & Varietal:

94% Shiraz, 6% cabernet sauvignon. Barossa, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley.

Reviews & Score:

98 Points, James Suckling. Wow. What a release of this famed Australian wine, made from 94% shiraz and 6% cabernet sauvignon. Aromas of blackcurrants, cured meat, cedar, iodine, blackberry compote and lilacs. The palate is full-bodied with seamlessly integrated tannins and a powerful yet silken mouthfeel that persists in a long-lasting finish. You can taste the prestige and history, tied in with the expression of the warm 2021 vintage. As always, a wine for aging but drinking well now. Drink or hold.

98 pointd, Huon Hooke. The Real Review.Deep, dark dense colour; a classic Grange bouquet of mocha, dark chocolate, black fruits, tar/bitumen, espresso coffee and even a trace of licorice. A very concentrated and very tannic wine: Black Forest cake, rum-and-raisin chocolate. It has it all. Masses of mouth-coating tannins, drying the finish off cleanly. Long carry. A very good Grange indeed, and long term. (Barossa, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley. 6% cabernet sauvignon) 17 Jun 2025

18.5++/20 Points, Jancis Robinson. Black! Sweet and rich and polished. No heat! Just purple satin impressions in terms of texture. Very intense nose. Sweet and salt. Macerated purple berries with dry hickory sticks on the end. Long. Extremely youthful with a lot of ripe tannin on the end, even in a glass kept for several hours after the bottle was opened. This should eventually be very rewarding but it would be mad to open a bottle before 2030.

98 Points, Erin Larkin. The Wine Advocate. 2021 was a magnificent season in South Australia, one blessed with good yields (a change from the previous several years of low yields and drought conditions), healthy rainfall leading into the season and dry, mild conditions during ripening. Vignerons could not have hoped for better conditions. So here, the 2021 Grange is powerful, ripe, structural yet balanced, long and complex. There is a softness to the middle palate, which speaks to the mildness of the conditions, potentially positioning this as one of the best modern-era Granges. The fruit (94% Shiraz, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon) was sourced from Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Clare Valley. For critics of this style, my only wish to assist with clarification could be teleportation, together, into a future 30 or 40 years from now. We would drink this wine, where it would still appear fresh and yet would have settled into its finesse and grace as well. It matured for 18 months in American oak, 100% new. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.

97 Points, Campbell Mattinson Sometimes Grange fits in with its stablemate releases; sometimes it stands out. This release stands out – particularly on the nose – as quite different. It smells of sweet balsamic, chocolate-coated raisins, plums, meats, grates of citrus rind, a march of crushed ants, cigar smoke and toasted rye. It’s a dramatic introduction if

ever there was one. The palate itself is defined by its tannin, which presents as a firm, solid sheet, pulled tight but ushering cushions of fruit along with it. There’s an element too on the palate of development, not a lot but it’s there, which – even though it’s released as a four-year-old – I don’t often note with Grange. There’s leather, and mint, and plum, and a toasty-toffeed note. This 2021 release lays down Grange law but it also piques your interest. It has quirks but it remains definitive of the “fully ripe shiraz Heritage Icon” style. Grange always matures for eons and no doubt this release will too, but this 2021 Grange will enter its drinking peak slightly ahead of usual programming. It yet still presents as the most polished and powerful of wines.

99 Points, Dave Brookes. Halliday Wine Companion. We've been waiting patiently for the Grange release from the stellar '21 vintage and it certainly lives up to the hype. An impenetrable magenta/crimson in the glass, with the telltale aromatic clout and the light V.A. lift of an embryonic Grange clearly evident as you place your nose in the glass. There's an incredible depth of fruit here. Deep blackberry, blackcurrant and plum compote with hints of graphite, coal dust, violets, wood spice, olive tapenade, oak, blackforest cake, pan juices, panforte, Dutch licorice and earth. The tannins –strong yet powdery – provide ample structure to the wine as it finishes long and deep, resonating perfectly. There is no doubt that this will be considered one of the great Grange releases.

100 Points, Ken Gargett, World of Fine Wines. Maroon-black in hue, one simply gets lost in the nose, just endlessly sniffing the most glorious cassis notes, along with black fruits, blueberries, coffee beans, aniseed, mulberries, delicatessen meats, tobacco leaves, plums, and graphite. The wine is seamless, intense, and immaculate, with knifeedge balance. It simply dances with joy. The oak is there, undeniably, but it is so well handled that you almost have to think twice. So complex already, and yet so harmonious and decadent. Silky tannins, bright acidity, the intensity never wavers for an instant, and there is incredible length Rutherglen Muscat length. This is as close to a perfect Grange as I can imagine. Fifty years, if you think you can last that long (or want very grateful grandkids). A Lord-take-me-now wine, if ever there were one. | 100

96 Points , Tom Kline. Wine Pilot. Marking 70 years since its first release, the 2021 Grange is a benchmark blend of 94% Shiraz and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon from Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Clare Valley. Matured for 18 months in 100% new American oak hogsheads, this wine carries the weight of its legacy with both power and precision. The bouquet is dense and brooding, unfolding layers of plum compote, prune, espresso and forest cake, complemented by blackberry pastille and a delicate waft of vanilla bean. With gentle aeration, more savoury notes emerge earth, grilled meat and olive tapenade bringing balance and complexity to the rich fruit core. On the palate, the wine is coiled and focused, delivering black cherry, dark chocolate and mocha flavors wrapped in a sinewy structure of finely grained tannins and refreshing acidity. This is a Grange of impressive power and poise, commanding attention with its structured depth and lingering finish. A magnificent expression of Australia’s most iconic Shiraz.