Grape
Shiraz
Ratings
*Penfolds – Icon & Luxury Range
Exceptional – by Langton’s Classification Australian Wine
Robert Parker 92
Jeremy Oliver 94
James Halliday 95
Wine Spectator 94
Tasting Notes
Colour : Impenetrable deep red/purple.
Nose : Blackberry and blueberry fruit interwoven with
perfectly tuned, malty, savoury oak, with
liquorice and anise notes hovering above. Upon
sitting there is a whirling aromatic shift, the wine
becoming more complex, deeper, richer and
darker.
Palate : Layers of fruit, with blackberry and blueberry to
the fore, as suggested by the nose. An underlying
tarriness and new oak are seamlessly absorbed. A
mass of fine grained tannins court a firm tight
finish of great length. The wine possesses the
essential.
-by Official Website
The 1999 Grange does not come close to such great Granges as the 1998,
1996, 1991, and 1990. Dense ruby/purple to the edge, with a bouquet of
blackberries, mulberries, and floral-like aromas, and medium to full
body, the 1999 has an acid punch, but also tremendous layers of fruit
and extract. Not massive, but elegant and nicely layered, it requires
another 2-3 years of cellaring, and should last for 12-15 years.
-by Robert Parker
Superbly elegant and harmonious wine, with a deep red ruby hue. Perfumed
with violets and raspberries, cassis and redcurrants, it is lifted by
hints of briar and blueberries, plus some assertive, but integrated
vanilla/coconut oak. Smooth and silky, a beautifully complete and
controlled wine of fineness and tightness; whose pristine small black
and red berry fruit and integration present this refined vintage at its
absolute best. Drink 2019-2029+.
-by Jeremy Oliver
Concentrated blackberry and licorice fruit, the oak perfectly
integrated. A powerful, masculine style, a touch more austere than the
’98.
-by James Halliday
Not quite as broad and generous as riper vintages, but tremendously
classy, offering smoky, earthy blackberry, plum and currant fruit that
compete effectively against cedary oak on the long finish. The flavors
gain with each sip, fanning out impressively. It’s tight now, but it
could age beautifully. Best after 2009. 8,000 cases made.
-by Wine Spectator