x
  • Country ranking ?

    153
  • Producer ranking ?

    101
  • Decanting time

    3h
  • When to drink

    now to 2030
  • Food Pairing

    Roasted Turkey

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

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate / The 1997 Grange (a blend of 96% Shiraz and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon) looks to be a classic Grange, although slightly softer and more forward than the backward 1996. The saturated purple-colored 1997 offers a gorgeously sweet nose of blackberry liqueur, cherries, camphor, chocolate, plums, and mocha. The wine is opulently-textured, extremely soft, layered, and seductive, with Grange's tell-tale personality well-disp...

Close

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...

Close

Wine Information

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 of Bordeaux, Max decided to take ...

Close

Tasting note

color

Brick red and Clear

ending

Long and Lingering

flavors

Cherry, Blackcurrant, Blueberry, Mint, Toasty and Cigar-box

nose

Youthful

taste

Medium tannin, Well-Integrated, Youthful, Medium-bodied, One-dimensional, Fresh and Dry

Written Notes

Medium to full red-purple, still bright after five years, vibrant cherry and plum fruit aromas more than handle the oak on the bouquet; the palate is sumptuous, but not heavy, the cherry and plum flavours tracking the bouquet. The wine has a very long finish, with fine, integrated tannins. Destined to become one of the great Granges.

  • 97p

Mostly Shiraz plus a dash of Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in new American oak. It's very hard to be completely objective when assessing an iconic wine like this. A legend that still sits at the pinnacle of the Australian wine scene, I'd say that Grange is probably worthy of its exalted reputation, and one of several regrets I have is that when I first got bitten by the wine bug in 1993, I didn't buy a couple of cases of the current release (1985, I believe), because I found the £35 price tag prohibitive. Now it's selling at three times this on release, and it can be a problem getting allocations in good vintages -- and it seems that this remarkable 1996 is one of those good vintages. An opaque red/black colour, the exotic nose displays a range of complex aromas, including spice, coffee, olives and menthol. Hugely concentrated and tannic on the palate, with complex berry fruit and spice flavours. There's plenty of oak here, but I wouldn't call this unbalanced. One for the long haul: you could drink this now, but it's quite challenging. Excellent

A deep, crimson red with a dense ruby core.  Immediately engaging, with wafts of nutmeg and ginger amongst notes of blueberry and blackcurrant and a background of well-seasoned savoury oak. The fruit gains in the glass with aeration, when more subtle perfume and chestnut complexities emerge.

Already showing excellent balance within the frame of a beautifully interwoven mesh of dark plum and blackberry fruits with fig and liquorice. Complex fruit and spice flavours sit against a finely focused backdrop of firm but rounded tannins.

Deep crimson. Liquorice/ blueberry/ dark chocolate/ herb garden aromas with some smoky notes. The palate is fruit sweet and concentrated with dark chocolate/ liquorice flavours and fine slinky/ chalky dry tannins. Malty oak characters pervade at the finish. 96% Shiraz 4% Cabernet Sauvignon Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Bordertown Blend. Late spring rains followed a generally wet winter. Generally dry cool conditions prevailed during October and November. A hot burst of weather arrived during summer but cooler temperatures and a week of rain during February slowed down ripening. A warm dry period followed over vintage.
  • 84p
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

CWT Cabernet Sauvignon Marselan, Shangri-La & Ningxia

FWT 585 Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot & Petit Verdot

g3

g4

g5

Howell Mountain, Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc

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!
 

Member

 

Pro Member

 

Winemerchant Member

 

Winery Member

 

User

 

Insight Member

 
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

 

Insight Member

  Register