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Grange Hermitage 2013

Penfolds , South Australia, Australia

Penfolds
South Australia Australia
  • 97
    Points
  • The 692 best
    of 3 290 954
    wines globally
  • 18 Pros of
    18 recommend
    this wine
887 97
  • Taste
  • Moment

  • Country ranking ?

    48

  • Producer ranking ?

    29

  • Decanting time

    4h

  • When to drink

    from 2025

  • Food Pairing

    Roast lamb served medium-rare

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.

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100 points / Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Remember that old Heinz Ketchup “anticipation” ad from the 1970s? The palate of this 2013 Grange does just that. It makes you wait with so much delicious promise being drip fed into the mouth at first—and then it bursts forth and delivers! 

This vintage is a blend of 96% Shiraz and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, coming from the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra and Magill Estate. Very deep inky p...

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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

“Six decades after the release of OUR favourite Grange, the 60 year-old 1953 Grange, this 2013 flexes, prances, twitches… Pressure is on! What’s the measure of this four and a half year old?”

“2013 – Undoubtedly will soon be universally proclaimed to be a classic ‘Penfolds vintage’ … and indeed over time certified a classic ‘Grange vintage’!”

“Not unlike the 2008 Grange – á la style / weight / disposition / cellarability.”

- Peter Gag...

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Tasting note

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Written Notes

Following the glorious 2012, it would be fair to say that expectations for this vintage of Grange were perhaps not quite as stellar as for some. So what did Penfold's do? They showed us both of them next to each other. Sir Humphrey might have called it “courageous”, but it worked. The audience was divided – not about the fact that we had two stunning wines before us, but rather, which took the gong on the day. For me, it was this vintage, by a mere point, and that was unexpected. Young and very powerful. Glass-staining intensity. Plenty of oak still apparent. Dense fruit. Coffee beans, chocolate, dry herbs and an ever-expanding array of other flavours that kept emerging. On the palate, the immediate impression was of the slipperiest of tannins and the great length. Knife-edge balance. Has many years ahead of it (the ’12 may outlast it, but most of us will be lucky to remember our own names by the time that happens). This is more refined than the 2012. It is hard to recall a Grange so exquisitely balanced on release. Bravo!

Score: 99/100

Best drinking: will drink magnificently for decades.

Alc: 14.5%

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  • 99p

Inky, with purple hues.Complex and vibrant blueberry aromas hit the nose alongside redcurrants, allspice, Szechuan pepper and a touch of fruit. Juicy, bright plum and mulberry flavours are complemented by hints of spice. This full-flavoured wine is richly textured on the palate, balanced by a long and spicy finish.

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  • 97p

An unbroken line of vintages from the experimental 1951. The majority of South Australia had a dry winter reminiscent of 2006, vines were in water deficit at the beginning of spring and became accustomed to dry conditions quite early. The exception was McLaren Vale, where revitalising winter rainfall exceeded the long-term average. Early budburst was noticeable across many regions. Dry and warm spring conditions explained canopy growth and yields, becoming typical of the 2013 growing season. Warm days were dispersed throughout October, November and in early January, contributing to an early start to the 2013 harvest and a condensed vintage. Dry and warm conditions, coupled with lower than average yields resulted in fruit showing strong, structural tannins and wines of great intensity and encouraging flavour. The Magill Estate fruit was harvested in pristine condition, hand-picked on 14 and 15 February 2013. 96% Shiraz, 4% Cabernet from Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, Magill. TA 6.8 g/l, pH 3.65. 20 months in 100% new American oak hogsheads.
Rich, smooth nose with polished mulberry and real lift on the nose. Masses of sweetness – almost bonbons! – and then great rich depth underneath. Red fruits. Bright red powdered spices somehow. Massive chew and weight with the polished fruit struggling to cover the tannins. Something rather ecclesiastical about this. Incense? Certainly spice cabinet. Dry fresh, neat finish. Real kick. Liquorice and lift. Gago maintains the 2013s have grown in the bottle. Dried spices. Brooding.

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  • 93p

Penfolds Grange Hermitage 2014 / 97 points / Deep colour. Beautiful crushed blackberry, mulberry aromas with roasted chestnut, marzipan, mocha oak and liquorice, crème de caramel nuances. Richly flavoured velvety textured wine with dense blackberry, mulberry, dark plum fruits, fine plentiful chocolaty but vigorous tannins, abundant roasted chestnut, mocha, nougat oak. Finishes chocolaty firm with bitter sweet notes, and sustained mineral length. Impressively balanced wine with lovely density, energy and meaty complexity. A classic example of exceptional multi-vineyard sourcing including Wrattonbully for the very first time. Penfolds winemaking philosophy is the ascendant star in this wine. While in the shadow of three successive great years, this “sleeper” Grange vintage has the potential to surprise.

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  • 97p

An indulged aromatic meander:
First in the kitchen – umami expressed primarily via wafts of shiitake mushroom stock, hoisin and XO sauce ...enhancing scents of dry-aged beef and game meats.
Then outside – olive-leaf, cardamom, sage and thyme ... “a stroll through a South Australian olive grove” ...saltbush, acacia, dried and dusty bracken.
To the cellar – fresh and familial lifted formic and barrel-ferment nuances.

Followed by a return to reality:Quite simply, an unmistakable youthful ‘Grange’ nose. Awakened primary fruits and stylish oak interlocked and indistinguishable. As expected.

Savoury, not fruity. Tastes/flavours remind of slow cooked beef ragout, chicken liver game terrine. Red liquorice also apparent.
Integrated oak – spicy, almost ‘non-American’ oak ... but it is. As it always is. A core of 100% new Quercus alba.Poised yet powerful. A balanced, tightly-knit and woven structural ‘tapestry’. Not to be constrained by dimension or frame.

Tannins with attitude! Nonetheless respectful. Type? Slatey tannins ... alluvial, silty (certainly not muddy!).Long and lingering – tactile impressions indistinguishably and slowly fuse/merge into an aftertaste memory.
Until the next sip!
A Grange to create new friends – this 2014 offering a subtly different structural mosaic; different tone and timbre.

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Floral, sweet mint and cassis, with spicy notes of crushed caraway seeds, Earl Grey tea, and licorice. On the palate the wine is smooth and rich with the sweet earthiness of roasted root vegetables, the acidity of rhubarb and the dark lusciousness of black currants. Still, the intense tannins are layered and finish is a bit dry, pulling the tongue in then releasing it keeping the wine feeling reserved and controlled.

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  • 98p
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Information

Origin

Magill, South Australia

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Inside Information

Penfolds Grange 2013 has been released in the UK at £4,000 per 12×75.

Jancis Robinson is the only major critic to have scored the wine so far. She awarded it 18+ points, describing its “Rich, smooth nose with polished mulberry and real lift on the nose. Masses of sweetness – almost bonbons! – and then great rich depth underneath.” She observed “something rather ecclesiastical about [it]”.

John Stimpfig from Decanter also scored the wine 98 points.

Today’s release price pitches the 2013 above a number of recent vintages already available on the market.

Buyers looking for value, therefore, might consider the 2008 vintage. The wine received a perfect score from the Wine Advocate’s Lisa Perrotti-Brown and is available for just £290 more than today’s release.

Yesterday, Penfolds announced the launch of its latest wine, g3. The wine is a multi-vintage blend of Grange from the 2008, 2012 and 2014 vintages.

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