This is the first 100% shiraz Grange since 1963, 1998 vintage was a tough act to follow, but the '99 season more than measures up with its hallmark fruit richness and ripe tannins.
Beginning with an explosion of blackberry and blueberry aroma woven with perfectly tuned, malty, savoury oak, with liquorice and anise notes hovering above. The palate is covered with layers of fruit, with blackberry and blueberry. An underlying tarriness and new oak are seamlessly absorbed. A mass of fine grained tannins court a tremendous finish. All the essentials for a keeper.
Combining traditional Australian techniques, inspiration from Europe and precision winemaking practices developed at Penfolds, Max 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.
This is the first 100% shiraz Grange since 1963, 1998 vintage was a tough act to follow, but the '99 season more than measures up with its hallmark fruit richness and ripe tannins.
Beginning with an explosion of blackberry and blueberry aroma woven with perfectly tuned, malty, savoury oak, with liquorice and anise notes hovering above. The palate is covered with layers of fruit, with blackberry and blueberry. An underlying tarriness and new oak are seamlessly absorbed. A mass of fine grained tannins court a tremendous finish. All the essentials for a keeper.
Combining traditional Australian techniques, inspiration from Europe and precision winemaking practices developed at Penfolds, Max 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.
