2001 Grange

Good winter rains and soil moisture levels led to a very good early growing season. Growth was vigorous and flowering was successful however the onset of exceptional heat in January depleted soil moisture, and vineyards without water suffered.

Rain in mid-March provided relief and vineyards produced Shiraz with excellent, ripe fruit flavours. 100% Shiraz. Aged for 17 months in new American oak hogsheads.

John Duval, Penfolds chief winemaker

98+/100

It is always a treat to taste Australia's most famous wine, Penfolds' Grange cuvée (the word Hermitage has been dropped because of legal issues).

The 2001 Grange is one of the few vintages of this cuvée to be composed of 100% Shiraz (the others being 1951, 1952, 1963, 1999, and 2000). Aged 17 months in 100% American oak, and tipping the scales at 14.5% alcohol, the 2001 is undeniably one of the top examples of this wine.

At this stage, it appears to eclipse the 1998 and 1996. Inky/blue/purple to the rim, with a stunning perfume of blueberries, blackberries, chocolate, graphite, and earth, it boasts good acidity, huge tannins, magnificent concentration, and a multilayered, textured mouthfeel.

It is a big, but impeccably well-balanced Shiraz that should shed some of its structure and tannin over the next 4-5 years, and be at its best between 2010–2030+.

Robert M. Parker Jr., Wine Advocate #167, October 2006

93/100

Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator, September 2006

95/100

Jeremy Oliver, www.jeremyoliver.com