2008 Grange
Vintage reviews
The wine is somewhat intimidating, one to rival the landmark vintages of 1976 – the last Grange to be awarded 100 points – as well as the 1990.
It was the 1990 vintage that made Grange an international icon after Wine Advocate founder and then editor Robert Parker described it as the greatest red in the world.
The 100-point score is an enormous accolade for Australian winemaking, demonstrating that our wines are equal to the best in the world.
Other wines that get scores like this are tiny in production, they're almost impossible to find, but we make 7000 to 9000 cases of Grange; it's really a commercial wine.
Peter Gago, Penfolds chief winemaker, The Australian 5 March 2013
100/100
Very deep garnet-purple in color the 2008 Grange reveals a truly decadent nose with tons of spices, fruit cake and black & blue fruit compote notes along with nuances of chocolate and potpourri.
The full and rich, multi-layered palate has a little oak still showing, it is going through a little bit of a structural stand-out stage, but it doesn't detract on the long and complex finish. It still needs a good few years to develop, though this very opulent, expressive Grange shows the very best of this vintage and the vineyards it hails from.
A very complex nose packed with aromas of mulberries, layers of baking spices, cloves and cinnamon with nuances of minced meat, anise, potpourri and whiffs of dried mint and chocolate. This is clearly a wonderfully opulent and a magic vintage for this label.
Cellar for at least 5 and as many as 22 years.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown, www.erobertparker.com, March 2013
100/100
Harvey Steiman, www.winespectator.com
94/100
Jeremy Oliver, www.jeremyoliver.com