Product Information:
Grange is arguably Australia’s most celebrated wine and is officially listed as a Heritage Icon of South Australia. A powerful expression of Penfolds multi-vineyard, multi-district blending philosophy. It's 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
Penfold's Grange is Australia's most revered wine, and its creation represents a distillation of Max Schubert's ambition for Australian wine. Schubert joined Penfolds as a messenger boy in 1931 and by 1948, he became Penfolds' first Chief Winemaker. In the latter part of 1950, Schubert was sent to Europe to investigate winemaking practices in Spain and Portugal. On a side trip to Bordeaux, Schubert was inspired and impressed by the French cellared-style wines and dreamed of making 'something different and lasting' of his own.
Combining traditional Australian techniques, inspiration from Europe and precision winemaking practices developed at Penfolds, Schubert made his first experimental wine in 1951. In 1957, Schubert was asked to show his efforts in Sydney to top management, invited wine identities and personal friends of the board. To his horror, the Grange experiment was universally disliked and Schubert was ordered to shut down the project. Max continued to craft his Grange vintages in secret, hiding three vintages '57, '58 and '59, in the depths of the cellars. Eventually, the Penfolds board ordered production of Grange to restart, just in time for the 1960 vintage. From then on, international acknowledgment and awards were bestowed on Grange, including the 1990 vintage of Grange, which was named Wine Spectator's Red Wine of the Year in 1995.
Maker:
Penfolds has been a pioneer in the world of winemaking since its establishment in 1844 by Dr. Christopher and Mary Penfold. The company's success has been driven by a lineage of visionary winemakers who have pushed the development of the company to extraordinary, bold new heights. Mary Penfold's reign at the helm of Penfolds saw years of determination and endeavour, experimenting with new methods in wine production. In 1948, Max Schubert became the company's first Chief Winemaker and he propelled Penfolds onto the global stage with his experimentation of long-lasting wines - the creation of Penfolds Grange in the 1950s. Soon, the medals began flowing, and Grange quickly became one of the most revered wines around the world. In 2012, Penfolds released its most innovative project to date - 12 handcrafted ampoules of the rare 2004 Kalimna Block Cabernet Sauvignon. Today, Penfolds continues to hold dear the philosophies and legends that have driven the company's success since its establishment in 1844.
Vineyards:
Penfolds Grange Shiraz 1981 was made using a blend of 89 percent shiraz and 11 percent cabernet sauvignon. Grapes for this vintage of Grange were grown in the Barossa Valley (Kalimna Vineyard and others), Magill Estate (Adelaide), Modbury Vineyard (Adelaide), Clare Valley and Coonawarra regions. It was a warm, dry, drought vintage.
Nose - White Toast, Blackberry Jam, Leather
Fresh white-toast aromas sit above a sea of blackberry jam and leather – this is a very fragrant wine, with a citrussy lift
Palate - Rustic, Ripe, Bold Currants, Gamey Tannin
Savoury palate that is dry and mellow. Rich and chewy in texture.
Finish - Savoury, Rich Fruit, Tarry Finish
Dry, savoury, lightly tarry finish after all that rich fruit. Very well balanced and lovely now but with lots still to give.
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. Drink 2005-2025 - Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, 94 Points.
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. - Jancis Robinson, 19/20 points.
Fresh white-toast aromas sit above a sea of blackberry jam and leather – this is a very fragrant wine, with a citrussy lift built in and a palate that, while drying out, has complexity to burn. It’s herbal, minty, a bit rustic (gamey), a bit too dry – but all that acknowledged, there’s good structured drinking here, lots of even, ripe, fine-grained tannin, bold curranty flavour, and an overall sense of ‘controlled power’. Others have described this 1981 Grange as a ‘muscular wine’, and rightly so – due to all that drying, gamey tannin. - Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front.
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. - Huon Hooke, The Real Review.
The Finer Details
Style - Red Wine
Varietal - Shiraz
Country - Australia
Region - Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley
Vintage - 1981
Bottle Size - 750ml
ABV - 12.6%
