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Penfolds
2017 Penfolds Grange
This wine is imported from Australia. State import laws allow us to ship this wine to the following states: AK, CA, DC, FL, MA, MN, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NM, NV, OR, SC, TN, WV, and WI.
Description
Description
The most powerful expression of Penfolds multi-vineyard, multi-district blending philosophy, Grange is arguably Australia’s most celebrated wine and is officially listed as a Heritage Icon of South Australia. Crafted utilising fully-ripe, intensely-flavoured and structured shiraz grapes, the result is a unique Australian style that is now recognised as one of the most consistent of the world’s great wines. With an unbroken line of vintages from the experimental 1951, Grange clearly demonstrates the synergy between shiraz and the soils and climates of South Australia.
The Story of Grange
The development of Max Schubert’s Grange is a modern tale of imagination, a battle against the odds and redemption. It began with a side trip to Bordeaux in 1949, where a wine ‘capable of staying alive for a minimum of twenty years’, first entered Schubert’s mind. His first experimental vintage in 1951 began a new way of thinking that would eventually lead to a signature wine style, but not before Grange was discredited and Max Schubert forced to make the wine in secrecy.
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Awards & Accolades
Awards & Accolades
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98
Wine Spectator
“Memorable, complex, aromatic and explosively deep, with a mix of palo santo, dark chocolate, black olive, espresso and hazelnut butter. The pure fruit at the core is a mix of ripe huckleberry, boysenberry and wild blackberry, with dense but polished tannins. Savory notes of dried rosemary and sage, cigar box, dried apricot and sandalwood linger on the epic finish. Drink now through 2045. ” - MaryAnn Worobiec, September 2021
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98
Huon Hooke
“Very deep, dark, dense colour with plenty of purple in the rim. The bouquet is classic Grange, loaded with toasty-smoky-oaky scents of smoked-meats and toasted barrels, dried herbs adding an extra fragrance, and hints of five-spice, especially star anise. It's very full-bodied and concentrated, powerful and long-lasting, but the tannins are beautifully crafted and supple, harmonious, and avoid any suggestion of astringency. The core of the wine is lusciously fruit-sweet and delicious, the robe of tannin complementary rather than domineering. The finish is tremendously long and satisfying. I can enjoy drinking this now: not usual with a new Grange release. A quite magnificent wine and a great Grange.”
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96
Wine Advocate
“Strongly marked—as always—by its 100% American oak elevage, the 2017 Grange backs up the cedar and vanilla notes with ample blackberry and cassis fruit. Full-bodied, ripe and almost decadently creamy in the mouth, it's loaded with substance, concentrated and rich, yet—in the context of Grange—relatively light and elegant-seeming on the finish. Only the seventh-ever Grange to be exclusively Shiraz, it originates from Barossa Valley (86%) and McLaren Vale (14%); Shiraz from other growing regions in South Australia failed to make the grade this year.” - Joe Czerwinski, July 2021
Wine & Vintage Details
Wine & Vintage Details
Tasting Note
Color
Dense and deep, bright and lively crimson-red
Nose
Rampant scents derived from kitchen (winery) and garden (vineyard) ...
A wine-loving forensic sniff or two, rather than an imagined spectrophotometric analysis reveals:
• Venison carpaccio with a sweet balsamic reduction and freshly-pressed olive oil. Or, uncured pastrami?
• A salsa verde type-emulsion with an emphasis on the parsley and extra virgin olive oil. Add tomato, omit lemon.
• Enough of the savoury - wafts of sticky rice pudding, apricot pip, vanillin pod and coconut husk.
• Subtle sweet and spiced sandalwood, ground cumin and wintergreen notes remind of an eighteen-month sabbatical in oak.
Verified: 2017 Grange.
Palate
Where to start?! An advancing wave of flavours, understated power and charm. The swell builds and a more persuasive wave follows ... and then more, with each sip.
In an attempt to unravel and articulate this 'ingestion' ...
The flavours:
Laden with shiraz fruits from the Barossa to the North and McLaren to the South - 'maritime' and 'continental' climatic/varietal diversity. Red and black liquorice, soy and malt, burnt vanilla marshmallow ...
Dark chocolate, wrapped in a satiny copha/beeswax candle-like coating.
Supple oak nuances - dexterously integrated, no doubt compliments of barrel ferment (and our valued long-time Barossa cooper).
The texture:
Mouthfeel is creamy/velvety, rather than blocky/chunky at this youthful stage in bottle.
Tannins are tight, creating a dense coating, with a 'rusty' edge.
Ebullient acidity, whilst lively and racy, is well-managed and protective. To borrow a recently read descriptor - 0cherry stone minerality0 The impression:
Swamped by a Barossa ferrous dustiness ... regionally captured so persuasively with this 2017 vintage.
Demands air.
2017 Vintage
South Australia's wine regions experienced a cool and relatively wet winter and spring. Growers rejoiced as rainfall records were broken across parts of the state, Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale were well above winter long-term averages (122mm and 81mm respectively). This set the vines up with plentiful soil moisture profiles for the growing season and mitigated the need for irrigation. October was breezy, which challenged fruit-set, however the wind held off any potential frost events in the Barossa Valley vineyards. Cool conditions extended the growing season with flowering and veraison both later than expected. No heatwaves were recorded during summer and only a handful of days surpassed 40°C. Summer rainfall was above the long-term average, which helped to delay harvest. Drier and warmer weather prevailed in March, optimal conditions for grapes to finish ripening, develop deep colour and present strong varietal character. Harvest for shiraz grapes commence mid-March, a month later than the previous year.
Vineyard & Winemaking Details
Vineyard & Winemaking Details
Peter Gago - Chief Winemaker
Peter joined the winemaking team in 1989, initially in the craftsmanship of sparkling wines, before moving on to reds as Penfolds Red Wine Maker. In 2002 Peter became the fourth ever Chief Winemaker for Penfolds. Together with his fellow winemakers, Peter’s careful custodianship has ensured that Grange and the other ‘older’ members of the Penfolds family, have continued to set the benchmark for their style and quality, while new additions to the range push the boundaries ever wider.
| Alcohol % | 14.5% |
|---|---|
| Enclosure Type | Cork |
| Oak Treatment | 18 months in American oak hogsheads (100% new) |
| pH | 3.61 |
| Blend | Shiraz |