Penfolds Grange 2015
100 POINT RATED JAMES SUCLKING & ANDREW CAILLARD PENFOLDS GRANGE AT AUSTRALIA'S BEST PRICE
- 100 POINT RATED JAMES SUCKLING
- 100 POINT RATED ANDREW CAILLARD
- 99 POINT RATED JAMES HALLIDAY & CALLED "FAULTLESS"
- 98 POINT RATED ROBERT PARKER
Vintage: | 2015 |
Source/Region: | Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley, Magill Estate, South Australia |
Grape Variety: | Shiraz |
Cellaring: | Peak drinking 2022 cellar up to 2050 |
Bottle Top: | Foil over cork |
Alcohol Content: | 14.50 |
Standard Drinks: | 8.60 |
Rating: | 100 |
On the nose, an eruption of fruits. Dark coffee grind, malt and tapenade merge with black earths, almost verging on peat. On the palate, initially the 'enlivened' dark fruits of a Christmas pudding or boiled fruitcake mix demand attention. But there's much more to complement these fruits - impressions of ironstone, graphite, iodine, black ink and a black pudding viscosity. Formidable meshed tannins, the oak has entwined itself invisible. Certainly a wine of its vintage.
The original and most powerful expression of Penfolds multi-vineyard, multi-district blending philosophy, Grange is arguably Australia’s most celebrated wine and is officially listed as a Heritage Icon of South Australia.
Crafted utilising fully-ripe, intensely-flavoured and structured Shiraz grapes, the result is a unique Australian style that is now recognised as one of the most consistent of the world’s great wines. With an unbroken line of vintages from the experimental 1951, Grange clearly demonstrates the synergy between Shiraz and the soils and climates of South Australia.
Across South Australia’s premium growing regions, winter and early spring rainfall were close to the long-term average. From August, conditions became significantly drier with only a few light spring showers recorded. Record low rainfall was recorded from September to March stretching water supplies.
Warm and dry conditions encouraged early flowering and fruit-set, with rapid canopy growth. Early summer temperatures dropped below average with no major heat waves recorded.
Once harvest commenced, it progressed rapidly with most blocks of shiraz picked earlier than previous years. Although the prevailing conditions resulted in lower than anticipated yields, the quality of fruit was exceptional.
100 Points - Andrew Caillard MW
"Deep crimson. Intense blackberry, mulberry aromas with meaty roasted chestnut, vanilla malt notes. Classic Grange with inky blackberry mulberry fruits, dense chocolaty tannins, roasted chestnut, vanilla mocha oak complexity, a touch of crème brulée, superb mid palate richness, velvety tannins building to a firm chocolaty plume at the finish. All the elements are perfectly aligned. A Classic Great Grange with superb colour, density and tannin quality. A wonderful wine of huge presence and palate impact. Should outlive us all. A collector’s vintage."
100 Points - Nick Stock 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."
99 Points - James Halliday
"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."
98 Points - Angus Hughson
98 Points - Joe Czerwinski Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
"The 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."
Campbell Mattinson
"Don’t mind if I do. There are clear notes of coconut here, indeed more than I can ever remember in a young Grange. That will ring alarm bells for some but, in my opinion, it can mention coconut all that it likes; it still manages to get away with it. The combination of richness, length, tannin spread and balance places this straight in the realms of the elite. Individual descriptors: who cares. It’s deep, bold, muscular and dark, and it delivers all this in svelte, satiny, seductive fashion. This 2015 release of Grange is no disappointment. Indeed it’s as good as you’d hope and/or expect. The finish: it soars."
97 Points - Mary-Ann Worobiec Wine Spectator
"Distinctive and powerful, yet elegant, showing restraint despite the dense and generous flavors. Precise notes of dark chocolate, maraschino cherry and toasted coconut complement the core of wild blackberry and blueberry fruit. The tannins are smooth, and the finish persists as hints of dried lavender and white pepper linger."
96 Points - Huon Hooke
"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."
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