1965 «««« Drink soon.
Medium-deep brick crimson. Intense roasted walnut panforte and hazelnut aromas with apricot, stone fruit, cedar and floral notes. Generous developed panforte and apricot flavours, sweet and plentiful tannins and underlying roasted walnut, grilled nut, vanilla oak complexity with integrated acidity. Finishes slightly leathery but chalky firm with attractive espresso and ground coffee notes. Just past its peak of development, although the elements are still aligned. Rare.
95 percent shiraz, 5 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate and Morphett Vale (Adelaide), McLaren Vale. Jimmy Watson Trophy Winner. Released as Bin 95 (also as Bins 69, 70 and 71).
Dried leaves, faded roses, liquorice and ecclesiastical smoke. Muscular firm in structure with the fruit fading away. (NR)
Spice box, cedar and sandalwood. Tertiary on entry but the finish still carries delicate sweet fruit. Graceful and elegant. (FW)
1966 «««« Drink now to 2028.
Medium-deep brick crimson. Intense redcurrant, walnut, polished mahogany and leather aromas with liquorice notes. A touch of VA. Well-concentrated curranty wine with roasted walnut, liquorice allsorts, sweet fruit, leather and sage flavours, fine silky tannins and underlying sweet vanilla oak notes. Finishes chewy firm. Beginning to fade. Rare.
88 percent shiraz, 12 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate and Morphett Vale (Adelaide). Released as Bin 95 (also as Bins 71 and 72).
Refined and elegant in structure with silken intricacy at first and then builds up surprisingly grippy firm at the finish. Still intact but becalmed. (NB)
Sweet blue fruits with sappy pipe tobacco, earthy notes and velvety smooth tannins. Still holding on. (JR)
1967 «««« Drink soon.
Deep crimson. Intense dark chocolate, dark cherry, roasted walnut and vanilla aromas with nutmeg and polished leather notes. Inky and supple with roasted walnut, redcurrant, dried mushroom, leather and nutty crème brûlée flavours, fine sinewy tannins, attractive mid-palate richness and long and integrated mineral acidity. Finishes chalky/al dente firm with a long graphite plume.
94 percent shiraz, 6 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Magill Estate (Adelaide). Won the Jimmy Watson Trophy in 1968, the second time in three years. Released as Bin 95 (also Bin 74).
In remarkably fresh condition with a fragrant bouquet, good dark berry dark chocolate flavours and still active supple tannins; nothing drying or rasping. (JH)
Tapenade, meaty, Dutch liquorice and dark spices with riding boots still carrying the faint scent of the last ride. (NR)
1968 «« Past.
Some bottles holding but mainly past. Drink up.
94 percent shiraz, 6 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate (Adelaide), Clare Valley, Adelaide Hills, Coonawarra. Released as Bin 95 (also as Bin 826).
1969 « Past.
A wine that has held up remarkably well given it was such a wet year. However, fading now. Drink up.
95 percent shiraz, 5 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate (Adelaide), Clare Valley, Morphett Valle (Adelaide), Coonawarra. Released as Bin 95 (also as Bin 826).
1970 «« Past.
Lives in the shadow of the 1971 vintage and never achieved a big reputation. Starting to fade and lose freshness. Drink up.
90 percent shiraz, 10 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley and Magill Estate (Adelaide). Penfolds standardises Grange bottlings to the single designation of Bin 95.
1971 ««««« Drink now to 2030.
Deep crimson. Fresh roasted walnut, praline and earthy, waxy leather aromas with nutty vanilla espresso, spicy oak and salted liquorice notes. Beautifully concentrated inky deep wine with deep-set dark chocolate espresso, roasted walnut, vanilla spice and waxy leather flavours, fine persistent chalky but supple tannins, superb sweet fruit/oak complexity and long fresh integrated acidity. Finishes chalky firm. Wonderful complexity, richness and vigour. Will probably last quite a while longer.
87 percent shiraz, 13 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate (Adelaide), Clare Valley and Coonawarra. If you had to point to a wine which fulfilled the ambitions of Grange it would have to be the 1971. Max Schubert, 1993. Topped the Gault-Millau Wine Olympics in Paris in 1979 beating some of the best Rhône wines and creating a sensation. This vintage was used as an alternative investment indicator by Australia s Access Economics during the 1990s.
Gloriously opulent and exhilarating with richly silky textures, marvellously complex flavours and morning-has-broken freshness. (NB)
Supple, layered and finely fleshy with fine-grained complexity. Everything mature Grange from great years should be. A beautifully framed legend that has done nothing to diminish that reputation today. (NR)
1972 ««« Drink now.
Some bottles still holding, but most past their best.
90 percent shiraz, 10 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate and Modbury Vineyard (Adelaide) and Coonawarra. A very good Grange vintage. It is believed that a batch was unintentionally oxidised during bottling, resulting in significant bottle variation.
1973 «« Past.
Mostly past now with the structure overtaking the fruit. Drink up.
98 percent shiraz, 2 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate and Modbury Vineyard (Adelaide). The last vintage entirely vinified in open wax-lined concrete fermenters (before barrel fermentation) at Magill Estate.
1974 «« Drink now to past.
The wine has mostly faded now with only a few bottles still drinking moderately well.
93 percent shiraz, 7 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley and Magill Estate (Adelaide). Winemaking is transferred to Nuriootpa. Now typically vinified in small stainless steel fermenters and fermentation completed in new oak hogsheads.
1975 «««« Drink soon.
A sturdy Grange with surprising richness and muscular frame. Barnyard notes are now beginning to dominate but some good bottles around.
90 percent shiraz, 10 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley and Coonawarra.
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