PENFOLDS GRANGE 2012

Penfolds Grange 2012

COLOUR: Dense and imposing. Dark… RED!

NOSE Unmistakably, it is what it is. In a word, Grange. (Almost) all unleashed immediately upon the first splash into the glass – exuberant, lifted, flamboyant. An aromatic ‘multi-cultural’ chromatogram brazenly unfolds: First, enticing barrel ferment formics and balsamics, spliced with soy, tomato puree, black olive
and liquorice (Dutch?). Then, the exotics – wafts of tiramisu/mascarpone/zabaglione (Italy?), replete with freshly roasted hazelnut and ground coffee beans (Kenya?) 30 seconds later…

PALATE: Fresh and refined. Nervy. Red liquorice, gravy reduction flavours and black olive tapenade to the fore. And then, just so much more! Where to start? Compelling depth – weighty/voluminous/fleshy – structurally complete and even throughout. A radiant inner sheen, yet still assertive – a film encrusted with dusty, softened tannins that coat tongue. Great length. A loss of innocence, as sculptured oak (purity/clean) and a boundless array of red fruits, congeal into
a darkened pool of (un)known and (un)savoury delights! Unashamedly and quite blatantly THE wine of this year’s Penfolds 2016 new releases! Enough said.

VARIETIES: 98% Shiraz, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon
REGION: Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale – Australia
AGEING: 18 months in 100% new American oak hogsheads
GUARDING POTENTIAL: 20 years ±
SERVE: Serve at 16ºC – 18ºC
CRITICS SCORES: 99/RP, 98/JS, 97/WS

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Grange | Range | Penfolds

The development of Max Schubert’s Grange is a modern tale of imagination, a battle against the odds and redemption. It began with a side trip to Bordeaux in 1949, where a wine ‘capable of staying alive for a minimum of twenty years’, first entered Schubert’s mind. His first experimental vintage in 1951 began a new way of thinking that would eventually lead to a signature wine style, but not before Grange was discredited and Max Schubert forced to make the wine in secrecy.

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.