Penfolds ‘Grange’ 2003 (19.0-/20), at 14.5% alc, 97% Shiraz and 3% Cabernet
Sauvignon, fruit from Barossa, Coonawara, McLaren Vale and Magill, aged 15
months in all new American oak hogsheads.
Dark, black-hued ruby red, with purple hues, this was very fine and very
tightly bound on nose, with great density and concentration of black fruits,
mocha and spices, and some hints of secondary savoury showing. On palate, there is no denying the massive
extraction and concentration of black fruits, oak spices and amazing array of
nuances from florals to tar, yet this is supremely tight and elegant. Quite classical in expression. 25-30 years easily. RC Aug 10
The Penfolds ‘Grange’ 2003 (19.0-/20) (97% Shiraz, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, from Barossa, Coonawarra, McLaren Vale and Magill, 15 months in new US oak hogsheads) was dense and amazingly concentrated as expected. Great pepper and plum fruit flavours lifted by beautifully sweet and spicy oak, this was a concentrated, firm and tannic ‘Grange’ that is showing plenty of its breed already. RC July 08
Colour: Deep red.
Nose: Captivating, complex, complete. Unravelling aromatics unfurl with air - blue fruit notes entwined with barrel ferment and maturation elements; nothing singular, always in tandem. Sweet soy, cola and quince paste high notes escape from an ethereal layer (aniseed, fennel and fresh treacle ginger pudding) wafting above.
Palate: Dark and liqueur chocolate, laced with Moroccan spices. An underlying tar/graphite blackness is lifted by derived fruit/quince pie flavours - a few years earlier they may have been more brashly varietal and elemental. Pronounced tannins sweep across the palate, although they are certainly part of the wine, never obtrusive. Long, layered and compelling, this wine is at the spicier end of the Grange spectrum.
source: penfolds.com