x
  • Country ranking ?

    13
  • Producer ranking ?

    7
  • Decanting time

    4h
  • When to drink

    2020-2035
  • Food Pairing

    Lamb

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

Close

Latest Pro-tasting notes

11 tasting notes

Tasting note

Be the first one to make a 20s tasting note!

Written Notes

There are 2,200 bottles at a price of AUD$3,500 each. This time, the blend constitutes 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018 Granges with both 2016 and 2018 in barrel when selected and the others transversage (taking the wine from full bottles of Grange for blending). 

What I found interesting was that over the three G wines, eight different vintages of Grange were used, with four vintages – 2008, 2012, 2014, and 2016 – appearing twice. And yet, not a single odd year made the cut. It may mean nothing or it might suggest that buying your Penfolds from even years is the go. 

Grange is always heavily dominant Shiraz but usually with a little Cabernet. G5 has three percent Cabernet Sauvignon. Grange is also a multiregional blend with Barossa crucial. G5 is 70 percent Barossa, the rest McLaren Vale and Clare Valley with a splash of Wrattonbully thanks to the 2014. To create G5, many combinations were tried on the tasting bench before Gago’s team settled on the blend (note that we are never told exact percentages as Penfolds is not keen to have someone attempting to recreate the wine on the kitchen table, but each vintage does contribute at least 10 percent). It then spent 12 months in neutral American oak hogsheads originally used for the 2016 and 2018 Granges. G5 was bottled in April 2020. 

The wine is dark maroon, but it really does demand time to open up. Then expect a cornucopia of flavors on the wonderfully complex nose – dark berries, cocoa powder, sage, a slightly dusty sawdust note, cloves, chocolate cake, florals, and cassis. Seamless and powerful, immaculately balanced, this is refined and offering extraordinary length. A new array of flavors emerge on the palate: coffee bean, new leather, beef stock, soy, black fruits, and aniseed. 100. It deserves no less.

  • 100p

Ruby. Rich, intense, dense, blackberries and spices, fruit driven, layered, minty, blueberries, stunning nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, blackberries, spices, liquorice, detailed, nuanced, long, finesse yet rich, goes on and on. 98

  • 98p

Glorious aromas of blackberry, spice, tile and toasted wood that move into sandalwood, violet and rose petal, then cloves and nutmeg, before revealing a cappuccino and cream undertone. Full-bodied yet very tight and compacted with a dense center palate that is still agile and energetic. Tightly wound and compressed. Great complexity. Waiting to open and unravel in the bottle. It builds on the palate with such fine tannins that perfectly integrate. 97% shiraz and 3% cabernet sauvignon, with 70% from Barossa Valley, the rest from McLaren Vale and Claire Valley with small percentages from other sources. Multi-vintage blend: 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018. 2,200 bottles produced. Drink this after 2021 and onwards but already an ethereal wine!

  • 100p

Penfolds G5, Released on 1 November, final one of the 'g' trio. 2,200 bottles made. 2018 and 2016 (blended out of barrel), plus 2014, 2012 and 2010 (blended out of bottle). 70% Barossa. 97% Shiraz, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. Finished in used oak.
Opened ten hours earlier. Intoxicating oak scent – drenched with coconut and vanilla. Lusciously fruited, of course, with a few degrees more subtlety than the Grange 2017. Brambles from start to finish, with not a thorn in sight. It is a marvel of blending, without any peppery character, but all the richness and history of Barossa Shiraz. Finishes with black liquorice.

  • 95.5p

Penfolds G5 / Retaining 100% Grange DNA”, Penfolds G5 takes Max Schubert’s ethereal and buoyant masterpiece into another world of expression. It is not only a multi-district blend, but a composite of multi-district blends from five different vintages (2018,2016, 2014, 2012 & 2010). Although the concept is straightforward, the sequence of numbers and possibilities are infinitesimal. Paraphrasing the Oxford don and mathematician GH Hardy - a winemaker, like a painter or a poet, is a maker of patterns. With exquisite material, the blending process can stretch a wine towards infinity. Few winemakers ever get the chance to make a wine of this type. Only back-blending of reserve vintages and the solera system, used for fortified winemaking, are widely practiced to achieve similar results. But G5 is a blend of extraordinarily high calibre Grange vintages, some already released. For instance, 2010 Grange was described as “the Grange of the Millennium, but 10 years too late”. The 2018 Grange, on the other hand was drawn from barrel. Rather than being the sum of its parts, G5 evokes a rare experience of completeness. It is the full tote odds Grange style with a magical cloak that defies and embraces age. This leads to remarkable freshness, complexity and maturity.

The G5 is released on the 70th anniversary of Penfolds Grange. By coincidence it also comprises 70% Barossa fruit. The addition of 18,16,14, 12 and 10 also make up 70. Chief winemaker Peter Gago AC, a former mathematics teacher, delights in these disappearing numbers and the risks in making a composite Grange. This is the last of a series (G3, G4 & G5) but highlights the remarkable resources and skills of the Penfolds winemaking team.Asides from the technical challenges, G5 tilts at history and invokes reaction. The AUD $3500 price tag may seem steep to many, including myself, but First Growth Bordeaux and Grand Cru Burgundy command hefty outlays as well. G5 is polarising but extraordinary.

Deep crimson. Intense dark chocolate, liquorice, marzipan, blackberry, blackcurrant, grilled-nut aromas with shellac, waxy notes. Extraordinarily smooth, polished and velvety with inky deep blackberry, dark chocolate, espresso flavours, plentiful fine supple/ chocolaty tannins, attractive mid-palate richness, underlying roasted chestnut, marzipan, spicy notes and beautiful mineral length. Everything is perfectly balanced and integrated. Amazingly ready to drink showing “grand reserve” maturity, superb generosity and exuberant freshness. A curiosity, a classic and a conundrum all wrapped in the Grange aesthetic. The Art of the Blend. Drink now until another fifty years at least. Remarkable. 14.5% alc 100 points

  • 100p
Load more notes

Information

Origin

Magill, South Australia

Other wines from this producer

50-Year-Old Rare Tawny Series 3

802-A Superblend

802-B Superblend

Bin 128 Shiraz

Bin 149 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley & South Australia

Bin 150 Marananga Shiraz

Bin 170 Kalimna Shiraz

Bin 19A Reserve Bin Chardonnay

Bin 20A Reserve Bin Chardonnay

Bin 21 Grenache

Bin 23 Pinot Noir

Bin 2 Shiraz Mourvedre

Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz

Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon

Bin 51 Riesling

Bin 62

Bin 620

Bin 798 RWT Shiraz

Bin 7 Coonawarra Cabernet Kalimna Shiraz

Bin 820

Bin 8 Cabernet Shiraz

Bin 90 A

Bin 920 Coonawarra Cabernet Shiraz

Bin 98 Quantum Cabernet Sauvignon

Bin 9 Cabernet Sauvignon

Block 42 Kalimna Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Cellar Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Cellar Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz

Cellar Reserve Fiano

Cellar Reserve Pinot Noir

Cellar Reserve Sangiovese

Cellar Reserve Tempranillo

FWT 585 Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot & Petit Verdot

g3

g4

Grange Hermitage

Koonunga Hill Cabernet Sauvignon

Koonunga Hill Cabernet Shiraz

Koonunga Hill Chardonnay

Magill Estate Shiraz

Max's Shiraz

Penfolds Bin 138 GMS

Penfolds Bin 138 Grenache Mourvèdre Shiraz

Penfolds Bin 169

Penfolds Bin 23 Pinot Noir

Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz

Penfolds Bin 311

Penfolds Bin 407

Penfolds Bin 51 Riesling

Penfolds Bin 600 Cabernet Shiraz, California

Penfolds Bin 60A Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz

Penfolds Bin 704 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

Penfolds Bin 707

Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon

Penfolds Bluestone Grand Tawny

Penfolds Grandfather's Tawny

Penfolds Great Grandfather's Tawny

Penfolds II Dourthe x Penfolds Cabernet Shiraz Merlot

Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon

Penfolds Reserve Bin 09A Chardonnay

Penfolds RWT

Penfolds V

QoN

Rawson's Retreat

Rawson's Retreat Bin 202 Riesling

Rawson's Retreat Merlot

Rawson's Retreat Riesling

Rawson's Retreat Shiraz Cabernet

Reserve Bin 17A Chardonnay

Reserve Bin 5A

Reserve Bin A

Reserve Bin A Adelaide Hills Chardonnay

RWT Shiraz

Special BIN 111A Shiraz

St Henri Shiraz

Thienot x Penfolds Blanc de Blancs Lot 2-175

Thienot x Penfolds Blanc de Noirs Lot 3-175

Thienot x Penfolds Brut Vintage Lot 1-175

Thomas Hyland Adelaide Hills Chardonnay

Thomas Hyland Sauvignon Blanc

'V' Chardonnay

Vintage Fortified

Yattarna Chardonnay

Incorrect Information
If you found some information that is wrong, let us know
Are you sure you want do delete this wine? All information will be lost.
Are you sure you want to recommend this wine?
Are you sure you want hide this written note ?
Are you sure you want show this written note ?
UPGRADE MEMBER PLAN
Upgrade your membership now, it's quick and easy. We use PayPal, the world's largest payment system, it accepts all credit cards. Once you've chosen your membership level, you'll go directly to PayPal. You can cancel your membership at any time.
Thank you for your support!
 

Pro Member

 

Winemerchant Member

 

Winery Member

 

User

 

HOW TO USE TASTINGBOOK?

We recommend you to share few minutes for watching the following video instructions of how to use the Tastingbook. This can provide you a comprehensive understanding of all the features you can find from this unique service platform.

This video will help you get started



Taste wines with the Tastingbook


Create Your wine cellar on 'My Wines'



Explore Your tasted wines library



Administrate Your wine world in Your Profile



Type a message ...
Register to Tastingbook
Sign up now, it's quick and easy.
We use PayPal, the world's largest payment system, it accepts all credit cards.
Once you've chosen your membership level, you'll go directly to PayPal, where you can sign up for a free 7-day trial period. You can cancel your membership at any time. We wish you a rewarding journey to the world of Fine Wines.

Free 7 days Member trial

 

Member

 

Pro Member

 

Winemerchant Member

 

Winery Member

 

User

  Register