Penfolds 75th Anniversary 'Grange' 4 Year (2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021) Vertical 4-Pack in OWC

Winemaker Notes: This vertical four-pack includes one bottle each of Penfolds Grange 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 The 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 utilizing fully-ripe, intensely-flavored and structured shiraz grapes, the result is a unique Australian style that is now recognized 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.

• 1 Bottle of 2018 Penfolds Grange
  • The 2018 Grange has familial flavors of a deconstructed black forest cake – chocolate, custard, bright wild raspberry along with a beefy accompaniment and notes of sarsaparilla whirled into the mix. Mouthcoating - a confluence of tannin, acidity, oak, and fruit – all joyously meshed together. There is a convex mid-palate that generously supports upfront palate grip and a continuum of delight all the way to lengthy, lingering finish.
• 1 Bottle of 2019 Penfolds Grange
  • Crafted utilizing fully-ripe, intensely-flavored and structured shiraz grapes, Grange is recognized as one of the most consistent of the world’s great wines. Explore a pure symphony of fruit with 2019 vintage. Full-bodied, powerful and balanced. 2019 Grange has been likened by the Penfolds winemaking team to those originally crafted by Max Schubert. It has also been posited as a decennial sequence – set to follow in the footsteps of the now highly revered 2009, 1999 and 1989 vintages."
• 1 Bottle of 2020 Penfolds Grange
  • No Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon released in 2020. No Bin 169 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon. Redeemingly, Grange will convincingly justify the dexterity of South Australian Shiraz in this 2020 vintage. Two decades into the new millennium. Penfolds 180th Anniversary year. Following stellar Grange vintages of 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2016, 2018. No pressure.
• 1 Bottle of 2021 Penfolds Grange
  • An instant cornucopia of Grange markers, this 2021 vintage is certainly expansive across the palate. Three sources and three dimensions induce 'blackness' via selective Barossa/McLaren Vale/Clare Valley fruit sourcing and thereafter formidable structural length/width/depth stature. A vortex of mid-palate sumptuousness, framed by sleek, dusty tannins, and chocolatey, brûléed-suggestive oak. Less blurred are the Clare Valley sourcing descriptor giveaways of Dutch licorice and menthol. Barossa fruit offers soaked dark satsuma plum, star anise, and roast quince. The wine shows a nexus of fruits/oak/barrel-ferment as one. Grange. A valiant attempt to untangle this aromatic Shiraz assault, initially scents of grated dark chocolate and Copha revealed – propelled by tell-tale V.A. and formics coupled with barrel-ferment nuances. Then an elution of marbled meats, beef fat, and marrow. Pan juices follow, laced with a balsamic glaze, soy and spice (poppy/ sesame seed mix, frankincense). Youthful. Expectantly, at this early stage, little attempt to immediately charm/gratify.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM

2018:
Robert Parker's 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." (7.22)

2019:
Robert Parker's 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. 95+" (7.23) 

2020:
Robert Parker's 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. " (7.24) 

2021:
Robert Parker's 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." (7.25)