1999 ««««« Drink now to 2065.
Deep crimson. Lifted black cherry, blackberry and black olive aromas with grilled nut, mocha spice and oak notes. Well-concentrated blackberry, dark cherry, mulberry, black olive, liquorice flavours, vigorous dense chalky tannins, lovely mid-palate viscosity and underlying grilled nut, mocha, vanilla, marzipan oak complexity. Finishes chocolaty firm with plentiful sweet fruit. A substantial Grange beautifully framed by strong persistent tannins. Will it overhaul the 1998 in 20 years time?
100 percent shiraz. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate (Adelaide), McLaren Vale and Padthaway.
Deep and powerful wine with plentiful luscious dark fruits, sappy textures and round velvety tannins. (JR)
Intense blackberry dark chocolate aromas with layers of vanilla, coffee and some tobacco, richly flavoured with fresh secondary oak derived flavours and very upfront tannins. (FW)
2000 ««« Drink now to 2028+.
Medium-deep crimson. Fresh redcurrant, mocha and tobacco leaf notes and fine bittersweet tannins. Still has viscosity but only medium weighted. Atypical rather than classic but still showing Grange resilience. Controversial when released due to the difficult growing season, but illustrates the strength of Penfolds sourcing and classification of fruit.
100 percent shiraz. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley) and Barossa Valley.
We had such lofty ambitions for the millennial vintage. Mother Nature aside, the Barossa Valley came to our rescue. Over two decades later we re just so pleased. (PG)
2001 ««« Drink now to 2050.
Deep crimson. Intense and complex blackberry, charcuterie, redcurrant and red cherry aromas with chinotto, cola, mint and sage notes. Generously proportioned with redcurrant, red cherry and cola flavours, fine vigorous leafy bittersweet tannins, mocha oak complexity and pronounced acidity. Finishes muscular firm but long and sweet. A hefty Grange with strong firm/sappy tannins.
99 percent shiraz, 1 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley) and Barossa Valley. One of the hottest growing seasons since the 1920s McLaren Vale recorded its highest Mean January Temperature since 1915. The Sydney Morning Herald named Max Schubert in its top 100 most influential Australians of the 20th century.
Sweetly herbal wine with almost pine-like freshness. Beautifully silky entry with elegant fine tannins and excellent velvety persistence. Elegant and sapid in structure. (NB)
Spearmint, plum, liquorice and spice. Supple framing, lithe and sinewy. (NR)
2002 ««««« Drink now to 2050.
Deep crimson. Fresh dark cherry, blackberry and graphite aromas with dark chocolate, herb garden and chinotto notes with a hint of sage and violet. Inky sweet with supple dark cherry, mulberry, blackberry and praline espresso flavours, fine persistent chalky velvet tannins, roasted meat, chinotto and dried herb notes with attractive mid-palate richness and persistent long slinky al dente finish. Superb fruit complexity and mineral length. Elegance and power.
98.5 percent shiraz, 1.5 percent cabernet sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley) and Barossa Valley.
Rich energetic wine with juicy red fruits, bitter chocolate spice flavours and fine grippy tannins. (JR)
Fresh and youthful with vibrant black fruits, dark chocolate/cocoa notes. Some cedar and sandalwood on the palate with remarkable linear acidity and fine tannins. (FW)
2003 ««« Drink now to 2035.
Deep crimson. Dark fruits and earthy, forest floor aromas with graphite, dark chocolate and nutty notes. Robust with ample black cherry fruits, dark chocolate, espresso and sous bois flavours, fine soupy firm textures, mocha roasted nut oak and integrated long acidity. Finishes powdery/cocoa firm but minerally. Moderate year for Grange.
97 percent shiraz, 3 percent cabernet sauvignon. Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek, Coonawarra and Magill Estate (Adelaide).
Dark fruited and a little dusty with vice-like tannins. Very hard to read but could improve if the tannins ever resolve. (NB)
The palate is encased with tannins, but the fruit is within. It s far from a lost cause, but the wine needs more than usual patience. (JH)
2004 ««««« Drink 2028 to 2060.
Deep crimson. Attractive blackberry, boysenberry and mulberry aromas with dark chocolate, mocha, grilled nut and slight camphor notes. Rich and ripe blackberry, boysenberry and liquorice flavours, fine dense chocolaty tannins and underlying espresso vanilla oak notes. Finishes chocolaty gravelly firm with superb flavour and length. Developing lovely apricot notes. A perfectly symmetrical Grange. Keep!
96 percent shiraz, 4 percent cabernet sauvignon (significant contribution from Block 42). Barossa Valley (including a substantial proportion of Kalimna Vineyard shiraz), McLaren Vale and Magill Estate (Adelaide).
Classical style with superb cassis, dark cherry, candied violet and liquorice aromas and flavours. The palate is sappy and taut with very long fine tannins. (JR)
Massively concentrated, elemental and strongly structured with rich dark fruit, vanilla, cocoa and mint notes. (FW)
2005 «««« Drink 2028 to 2050.
Deep crimson. Intense ripe blackberry, quince, dark chocolate, liquorice and panforte aromas with roasted nut and star anise complexity. Generously proportioned wine with dark chocolate, blackberry, roasted coffee and meaty flavours, fine dense chocolaty tannins and underlying savoury roasted chestnut oak notes. Finishes chocolaty/grainy firm with kirsch-like notes. Still seems to be in its elemental stage.
96 percent shiraz, 4 percent cabernet sauvignon. Barossa Valley (including a substantial proportion of Kalimna shiraz), McLaren Vale and Coonawarra.
Very black fruited wine with coal tar bitumen notes. Finely focussed and compact in structure. Not as deep or as richly concentrated by comparison to other Grange vintages but still has potential. (NB)
A wine that flits between the ethereal and the visceral. Richness and density are foiled against firm, granular tannins. (NR)
2006 ««««« Drink 2025 to 2065.
Deep crimson. Deep blackberry, mulberry, dark chocolate, liquorice and herb garden notes. Beautifully concentrated blackberry, mulberry and liquorice flavours with fine plentiful rich persistent chalky tannins, attractive inky complexity and buoyancy on the mid-palate. Fresh roasted walnut, mocha and vanilla oak notes. Finishes chalky firm with a long graphite tannin plume. A superb vintage.
100 percent shiraz. Barossa Valley (including significant contributions from Kalimna and Koonunga Hill vineyards) and Magill Estate (Adelaide).
Fabulously dark fruited and opulent with plush velvety tannins. A seamless tannic mass but nothing at all abrasive. Glorious future ahead. (NB)
Powerful smoky cherry aromas with floral exotic spices. Rich and dense with bitter cherry, pipe tobacco flavours, roasted coffee oak complexity and fine supple tannins. (JR)
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