Tasting Notes for Penfolds Grange 2003

Red Wines	Syrah/Shiraz	Barossa Valley	Australia

My Rating (circle) :

Date Printed: 6/20/2013

Penfolds Grange 2003

(search item no. 95013)

collectible wine

Australian Wine Companion rating: 95 points
Wine Spectator rating: 94 points
PRICE ON 6/20/2013: $325.00

ratings pedigree (past vintages):
2008 Wine Spectator rating: 100 points
2008 The Wine Advocate rating: 100 points
2007 The Wine Advocate rating: 95 points
2007 International Wine Cellar rating: 95 points
2007 Australian Wine Companion rating: 95 points
2007 Wine Spectator rating: 94 points
2007 Wine & Spirits rating: 93 points
2006 The Wine Advocate rating: 98 points
2006 Australian Wine Companion rating: 98 points
2006 Wine & Spirits rating: 96 points
2006 Wine Enthusiast rating: 94 points
2006 International Wine Cellar rating: 94 points
2005 Wine Spectator rating: 97 points
2005 The Wine Advocate rating: 97 points
2005 Australian Wine Companion rating: 96 points
2005 Wine & Spirits rating: 91 points
2004 The Wine Advocate rating: 99 points
2004 Wine Spectator rating: 98 points
2004 Australian Wine Companion rating: 98 points
2004 James Suckling rating: 97 points
2004 Wine Enthusiast rating: 96 points
2004 International Wine Cellar rating: 96 points
2002 The Wine Advocate rating: 98 points
2002 Australian Wine Companion rating: 97 points
2002 Wine Spectator rating: 95 points
2002 Wine Enthusiast rating: 95 points
2002 International Wine Cellar rating: 94 points
2001 The Wine Advocate rating: 98 points
2001 The Wine News rating: 97 points
2001 Wine & Spirits rating: 96 points
2001 Australian Wine Companion rating: 96 points
2001 International Wine Cellar rating: 94 points
2001 Wine Spectator rating: 93 points
2001 Wine Enthusiast rating: 93 points
2000 Australian Wine Companion rating: 97 points
1999 The Wine Advocate rating: 95 points
1999 Australian Wine Companion rating: 95 points
1999 Wine Spectator rating: 94 points
1999 Wine Enthusiast rating: 93 points
1999 Wine & Spirits rating: 93 points
1999 International Wine Cellar rating: 91 points
1998 Wine Spectator rating: 97 points
1998 International Wine Cellar rating: 97 points
1998 The Wine Advocate rating: 96 points
1997 The Wine Advocate rating: 94 points
1997 Australian Wine Companion rating: 94 points
1997 International Wine Cellar rating: 93 points
1997 Wine & Spirits rating: 93 points
1997 Wine Spectator rating: 92 points
1997 Wine Enthusiast rating: 90 points
1996 Wine Spectator rating: 97 points
1996 Wine & Spirits rating: 97 points
1996 Wine Enthusiast rating: 96 points
1996 The Wine Advocate rating: 92 points
1996 International Wine Cellar rating: 92 points
1995 Wine Spectator rating: 97 points
1995 Wine & Spirits rating: 96 points

Winemaker's Notes:

Grange is arguably Australia's most famous wine and is officially listed as a Heritage Icon of South Australia. Grange boasts an unbroken line of vintages from the experimental 1951 and clearly demonstrates the synergy between Shiraz and the soils and climates of South Australia.

Color: Deep red.

Nose: Captivating, complex, complete. Unravelling aromatics unfurl with air - blue fruit notes entwined with barrel ferment and maturation elements; nothing singular, always in tandem. Sweet soy, cola and quince paste high notes escape from an ethereal layer (aniseed, fennel and fresh treacle ginger pudding) wafting above.

Palate: Dark and liqueur chocolate, laced with Moroccan spices. An underlying tar/graphite blackness is lifted by derived fruit/quince pie flavours - a few years earlier they may have been more brashly varietal and elemental. Pronounced tannins sweep across the palate, although they are certainly part of the wine, never obtrusive. Long, layered and compelling, this wine is at the spicier end of the Grange spectrum.

My Notes:

Additional wines from Penfolds Wines:

2007 St. Henri Shiraz (search item no. 110510)
2008 St. Henri Shiraz (search item no. 116956)
2009 Bin 389 Cabernet-Shiraz (search item no. 115525)
2009 Koonunga Hill Shiraz (search item no. 109379)
2009 Koonunga Hill Shiraz-Cabernet (search item no. 110616)
2010 Bin 389 Cabernet-Shiraz (search item no. 122955)
2010 Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon (search item no. 122954)
2010 Thomas Hyland Cabernet Sauvignon (search item no. 117179)
2011 Thomas Hyland Riesling (search item no. 118111)
2011 Thomas Hyland Shiraz (search item no. 123519)

About Penfolds Wines:

Founded by a young, English doctor in 1844, Penfolds has been producing remarkable wines that have changed the landscape of Australian winemaking. Over the past century, Penfolds has indisputably led the development of Australian fine wine in the modern era. The introduction of Penfolds Grange in 1951 forever changed the landscape of Australian fine wine. Since then, a series of standout wines, both white and red, have been released under the Penfolds masthead. Under the direction of master winemaker, Peter Gago, Penfolds is now found in every major wine market in the country. Extraordinary wines such as Block 42 and Bin 60A have also been released during his tenure. Penfolds wines are now widely celebrated for their diversity and quality across many price-points. The strength of Penfolds is that the wine comes first. Penfolds' range of table wines is utterly Australian, evoking a generosity of spirit and the beauty of the Australian landscape.