Grange 2019
Penfolds
Grange 2019
Overview
Overview
Since the first experimental vintages, the mandate for Grange has remained the same – to craft Australia’s greatest red wine from the best shiraz fruit of the vintage. This ambition drives its impeccable consistency, with each release revealing subtle distinctions.
2019 Grange has been likened by the Penfolds winemaking team to those originally crafted by Max Schubert. It has also been posited as a decennial sequence – set to follow in the footsteps of the now highly revered 2009, 1999 and 1989 vintages. Each a wine of power, precision and immense cellaring capability. 2019 – bounding in its youth, with decades still to unravel.
Crafted utilising fully-ripe, intensely-flavoured and structured shiraz grapes, Grange is recognised as one of the most consistent of the world’s great wines. Explore a pure symphony of fruit with 2019 vintage. Full-bodied, powerful and balanced.
| Varietal | Shiraz |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 2019 |
| Country | Australia |
| Region | Multi-Region Blend |
| Volume | 750 mL |
| Closure | Cork |
| Alc/Vol | 14.5% |
| Peak Drinking | 2029 – 2065 |
Awards and Accolades
Awards and Accolades
| 98+ Points | Andrew Caillard MW |
| 98+ Points | Colin Hay |
| 98 Points | Ken Gargett |
| 98 Points | Jeni Port |
| 98 Points | Tyson Stelzer |
| 19+/20 Points Points | Matthew Jukes |
| 19/20 Points | Jancis Robinson |
| 97 Points | Huon Hooke |
| 97 Points | Dave Brookes |
| 97 Points | Ray Jordan |
| 97 Points | Tina Gellie |
| 96 Points | Ned Goodwin |
| 96 Points | Campbell Mattinson |
| 96 Points | Jamie Goode |
Andrew Caillard MW
"Superbly balanced wine with plentiful dark chocolate, blackberry fruits, fine graphite firm tannins, lovely mid plate richness and well-balanced mocha, espresso oak notes. Finishes chocolaty firm and long. Elemental, expressive and expansive with lovely fruit complexity oak integration, density and torque. A brilliant follow up to the 2018 vintage. Drink 2028 – 2060. 98+ points."
Tyson Stelzer
"All the layers of dark chocolate, liquorice and dark fruit cake that we love of Grange are here in bountiful exuberance, filling a palate with a sense of perfect polish and full completeness from start to long finish. For all of its structural confidence, there is an intricately crafted, fine-grained seamlessness to the tannins that carries a tail of uninterrupted drive and carry. This is a brilliant Grange which makes a tremendous declaration of the power of blending in carefully singling out the very finest sites to produce a wine of incredible poise and purity even in a season as hot and dry as this."
Jancis Robinson
"Very dark purple. Heady and concentrated but too young to be very expressive. Massive! So concentrated it’s almost bursting at the seams of its attempt at a corset. There’s a certain framework that’s desperately trying to contain that exuberant fruit. It’s a marvel that they manage to make the selection but this is pretty impressive and exciting. Drink 2028 – 2050. 14.5% alc – 19 points+
Food Pairing
Food Pairing
Beef
Lamb
Cheese
Cured Meat
Veg
Taste Description
Taste Description
Nose
Benchmark. Automatically recognisable - formic and glacial higher notes. Beneath, a more familial oaked nuttiness recedes to reveal aromas of black licorice/anise/black olive. A shroud of condensed glazed fruits surrenders to reveal a fresher disposition … a coulis of berries and stone fruits; boiled beetroot. Upon sitting, a sprinkle of lavender and exotic spices almost completes the aromatic package – well, at least for another minute or two. Early days.
Flavours and Palate
Cohesion, vigour, sheen, poise. Fresh and balanced. Neither exaggerated nor over-ripe – lively blueberry and other youthful blue/black fruits bely the maturation timeline of this alluring blend. Certainly befitting this style, unmistakable barrel-ferment characters are undoubtedly more pronounced on palate than nose. If the mid-palate is somewhat formidable (ably supporting a thick/dense core), by contrast the back-palate is creamy and caressingly endearing. Expansive and full – washing away all ahead of it. Texturally, chewy/grainy tannins and just-right acidity. All CV mandates of this 2019 Grange vintage are now accredited.
Viticulture Vintage & Winemaking
Viticulture Vintage & Winemaking
Vintage Conditions
The Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale regions both recorded well below long-term average winter rainfall. Conversely, the vineyards in Coonawarra enjoyed 22% above average winter rainfall, providing the vines with excellent moisture profiles leading into spring. Irrigation was crucial to keep vines in good health. The proximity of the Southern Ocean played an important role in moderating temperatures in Coonawarra, allowing for a high-quality harvest, albeit with a smaller crop than average. Although yields were down, the quality was outstanding with excellent colours, firm tannin profiles and intense flavours.
The Penfolds Team
Key to the success of Penfolds has been a lineage of visionary winemakers. There have only ever been four Chief Winemakers at the helm of Penfolds – Max Schubert, Don Ditter, John Duval and Peter Gago, each a custodian of a rich winemaking tradition that goes back for more than 170 years.
Our current Penfolds winemaking team has more than 100 years between them as Penfolds winemakers. They are constantly refining and improving their work, whilst honouring the winemaking techniques of their predecessors.