Winemaker Notes
Penfolds Grange utilizes fully-ripe, intensely-flavored and textured 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. The Grange style is the original and most powerful expression of Penfolds multi-vineyard, multi-district, blending philosophy.
Youthful at rim. Dense magenta. At once Grange – formic, assertive, powerful… with overt barrel-ferment markers. Bright, and noticeably fragrant/perfumed at this time of tasting, in its fifth year immediately prior to release. Racy red fruits clasp onto red licorice, aniseed aromatics. Red meats with pepper and spice, rumtopf. Patiently, panforte/mascarpone/malt/dried fig aromatics appear in a second wave. No hurry – the curtain is up, the stage reserved for decades!
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2009 Grange Shiraz is a comprised of 84% Barossa, 8% McLaren, and a little Clare Valley and a little Magill fruit with a small 2% of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. At this youthful stage, this deep garnet-purple colored wine puts forward a vivid expression of blackberry preserve aromas amid underlying cassis, black cherry, spice box, char-grilled meat and chocolate box notes. Surprisingly medium to full-bodied (it smells much fuller!) with taut flavors that are very closed in the mouth, it has firm, chewy tannins to structure through the long and earthy finish. 406 cases imported to the US. Drink it 2018 to 2035+.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
You can count Grange as one of the world's top 10 wines nearly every year. The 2009 is super good; devilish in its own ways, this sleek powerhouse has only one sin- it is housed between to incredible vintages! Both the 2008 and 2010 are out-of-this-world. Yet, this baby is soooh good! Red and black fruit, with suggestion of earth and barrel, this wine was so well made. Yes, this is a Wow! wine that battles the finest from Bordeaux, Piedmont, Tuscany, Burgundy, the Napa Valley and other such famous places. (Best Served 2017-2035)
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James Suckling
A tiny 2% Cabernet component in 2009, this is sourced from the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley and Magill Estate and has spent 18 months in exclusively new American oak hogsheads. The depth and complexity on offer is straight up impressive, blue and black fruit aromas unwind, meaty at times, some dark green herbal notes and a cedary layer of oak lurking below. The palate has a core of essence-like flavour with plenty of oak-derived spice framed around blackberry, blood plum and cola. Tannins are smooth and even, flavours are gently glazed around the dark fruit spectrum, some blue fruits too. This is a wistful Grange that, as always, faithfully reflects the vintage.
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Wine Enthusiast
Huge dill and vanilla aromas wrap around intense mixed-berry fruit, ending on notes of espresso and dark chocolate. It’s full bodied and richly textured, but perhaps a bit coarse as well. This may not be the biggest, baddest or longest-lived Grange, but it maintains the Grange standard of excellence.
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Wine Spectator
Aromatically pure, with beautiful focus to the blueberry, black currant, espresso and cream character. In the mouth this sprouts prickly tannins and picks up a distinct tomato leaf note that sends the wine in a different direction. This has depth, length and plenty of ripeness without excess weight, but lacks the complete harmony of the best vintages.
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Wine & Spirits
This vintage is predominantly shiraz, with two percent cabernet sauvignon; the fruit comes from estate vineyards and Grange growers in Barossa, McLaren Vale, Clare and Penfolds’ original site at Magill. It has the blast of intensity in the initial scent that announces Grange, its explosive power continuing in the mouth, where the wine feels centered, the fruit finely ripened, the grape skin tannins integrating new oak into a scent of Indian spice. Dynamic and balanced to age for decades.
Since 1844, Penfolds has been grounded in experimentation, curiosity and uncompromising quality. Their success has been driven by a lineage of visionary winemakers. It began with Dr. Christopher and Mary Penfold, the pioneers who dreamed big, inventing tonics, brandies, and fortified wines made from grapes and Australian sunshine. It continued with celebrated winemaking legends including Max Schubert, who pushed the development to extraordinary, bold new heights. It is this pioneering spirit and curiosity that still rings true after nearly two centuries, it is what has helped Penfolds become one of the most celebrated winemakers in the world today.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
South Australia is the historic heart of Australian wine, a great wine capital of the world, and home to some of the most famous regions. It produces more than 80% of Australia’s premium wine from some of the oldest vines in the world. There is an abundance of varieties and wide spectrum of styles to explore. From the rogue to refined, discover Australian wines that are far from ordinary.