1991 Grange
Vintage reviews
Sourced from the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale. Shiraz (95%), Cabernet Sauvignon (5%).
Matured in new American oak hogsheads for 18 months.
John Duval, Penfolds chief winemaker
95/100
The 1991 Grange shocked me with its sweet, forward display of jammy black fruits, smoke, roasted coffee, and copious toasty oak scents and flavors.
It is seemingly more forward than other recent vintages, but that could be because this viscous, low acid, massively endowed wine's structural components (acidity and tannin) are buried beneath a cascade of sweet, unctuously-textured fruit.
This mouthfilling Grange, a humongous example of a dry red wine, is nearly impossible to match with food, but these wines inevitably become more complex and civilized with 10 or more years of cellaring.
Look for the 1991 Grange to compete with, but never eclipse the great 1990, 1986, and 1982. It will last and evolve for 20-25 years.
Robert M. Parker Jr., Wine Advocate #110, April 1997
95/100
Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator, 31 January 1997
97/100
Jeremy Oliver, www.jeremyoliver.com