1979 Grange

Sourced from the Barossa Valley (including Kalimna Vineyard), Clare Valley, Magill Estate (Adelaide) and McLaren Vale.

An unusual season with a hotter than average summer followed by a mild but wet vintage. Shiraz (87%), Cabernet Sauvignon (13%).

Eighteen months in new American oak hogsheads.

Don Ditter, Penfolds chief winemaker

92/100

The 1979's black/purple color is followed by a subdued nose revealing scents of mint, blackcurrant, licorice, and earth.

This huge, full-bodied, moderately tannic Grange is extremely youthful and backward. Although not as thick or massive as either the 1978 or 1980, this is a large-scaled, mouth filling heavyweight from Down Under.

It can be drunk now, but 2-4 more years of cellaring will result in more complexity.

Robert M. Parker Jr., Wine Advocate #100, August 1995

94/100

Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator, 31 January 1997

87/100

Jeremy Oliver, www.jeremyoliver.com