1962 Grange

After the 1955 this is the second most successful Grange in Australian wine shows with four trophies and 20 gold, 10 silver and three bronze medals.

This vintage Grange is becoming increasingly rare. Bottles with good levels and appearance are invariably drinking well. One of three Grange vintages (1952 and 1953 are the others) produced in half (375ml) as well as full (750ml) bottles.

Sourced from the Magill Estate (Adelaide), Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley) and Adelaide Hills. Shiraz (87%), Cabernet Sauvignon (13%). A copybook season in the vineyard with ideal warm, fairly dry weather and a warm, dry vintage.

Eighteen months in used American oak hogsheads.

Max Schubert, Penfolds chief winemaker

94/100

A sensational Grange (a blend of 87% and 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, all from the Kalimna sector of the Barossa as well as the Adelaide Hills).

This dark garnet-colored wine shows knock-out aromatics of brown sugar, blackberry and currant fruit, with a hint of eucalyptus in the background.

Some pepper, coffee, and prune add to the complex concoction. The wine is not a blockbuster, but one of purity, harmony, and actually, restraint, an extraordinarily elegant style of Grange that has aged sensationally well because of its equilibrium.

This wine could continue to drink well for at least another 6–7 years.

Robert M. Parker Jr., www.erobertparker.com, February 2002

87/100

Harvey Steiman, www.winespectator.com, 31 January 1997

97/100

Jeremy Oliver, www.jeremyoliver.com