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  • Country ranking ?

    108
  • Producer ranking ?

    68
  • Decanting time

    1h
  • When to drink

    Now
  • Food Pairing

    Lamb

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The Story

Grange is arguably Australia’s most celebrated 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. Grange utilises fully-ripe, intensely-flavoured and textured Shiraz grapes. The result is a unique Australian style that is now recognised as one of the most cons...

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Wine Information

Penfolds Grange Hermitage


It took 10 years from the time the first experimental Grange was made before the wine gained general acceptance and the prejudices were overcome.

In 1949 a young Australian wine maker from Penfolds, Max Schubert, was sent to Jerez, Spain to learn the art of making sherry. At the time the voyage between continents was made without haste by ocean liners. On his way back home, as the ship stopped in the harbor o...

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Vintage 1978

Australian Vintage Report: A drier than average vintage followed by a wet April produced average yields and 'good, solid' reds with exceptional quality Eden Valley Rieslings. In 1978 there were 8,057 hectares of vines in the Barossa and 40,980 tonnes of wine grapes were crushed in that vintage.

The Barossa was now facing a serious glut of red grapes. In fact, a surplus of 21,400 tonnes of Shiraz, Grenache, Mataro and Cabernet Sauvignon exis...

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Tasting note

color

Mature and Brick red

ending

Long

flavors

Mint, Smoky, Blackcurrant, Licorice, Toasty and Meaty

nose

Intense, Complex and Seductive

recommend

Yes

taste

Medium tannin, Well-Integrated, Well-structured, Complex, Developing, Medium-bodied, Vigor, Ripe, Elegant, Dry and Hard tannins

Written Notes

To compare with the newly released 2008, Penfold's trotted out their 1978. I'm not completely sure why, as it didn't seem to have any obvious links, but was certainly a lovely wine on its own. 90% Shiraz and 10% Cabernet. 18 months in new American hogsheads. The fruit was sourced from Kalimna, Magill, McLaren Vale, the Clare Valley and Coonawarra. There is some confusion over the exact level of alcohol. The bottle suggests 12.9% while the records listed 13.3%. No matter. Colour was of mature reds, brighter on the rim. Dried herbs, earthy notes, game, tobacco leaf notes, meaty characters. This is a mature, complex and lovely wine. A soft, gentle red with plenty of character. It still has good persistence though it is surely a drink now, or at least reasonably soon, proposition. It has sailed through thirty years and could go further, if one wished. As an aside, it is the only Grange with the year “wrapped around the cork”.
  • 94p

Medium red. Complex, cedar/tobacco/gamey with plenty of sweet fruit.Highly concentrated and beautifully textured wine with lovely, sweet, blackberry/smoky/ earthy fruit and liquorice, fine grainy tannins and dry finish. Softening out well, but should continue to develop.

Deep brick red. Mocha/ blackberry aromas with some demi-glace/ vellum/ menthol nuances. Lovely concentrated wine with plenty of sweet fruit/ mocha/ blackberry/ camomile/ graphite flavours and chocolaty fine tannins. Builds up dense and chalky but possesses lovely minerality and flavour length. This is a very good Grange year. Probably drinking at its very best now. 90% Shiraz 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate (Adelaide), McLaren Vale, Clare Valley, Coonawarra Blend. A warm dry growing season followed by mild vintage conditions.
  • 94p
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Information

Origin

Magill, South Australia

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