Recommendation: When you win the lottery or want to celebrate a VERY special occasion, including a bottle of Grange will definitely add to the event, whether your a wine drinker or not!!!
Winery/Producer: Penfolds Wines; Magill, South Australia.
Grape Variety: Blend: 96% Syrah and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Geographic Region, Appellation: South Australia.
Vintage: 2005
Price: $550.00
Purchased From: Vintage Cellars; Perth, Australia.
Paired With: Roast leg of lamb, flavored with garlic & rosemary; green beans with caramelized onions & roasted walnuts; Hasselback potatoes and cauliflower salad with roasted red peppers, red onion, black olives celery and parsley.
Tasting:
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He said: Opened and decanted three times for two hours before drinking. Opaque, inky dark purple/red color with a lighter purple rim. Very intense aromas of cherry, leather, plum and spice. Smooth as silk initially, mouth filling and full body; VERY POWERFUL and complex oak & ripe fruit taste, especially raspberry, current and plum; than a finish to behold…delicious fine tannins, powerful fruit flavors beyond belief and an ending that stays flavorful forever!!! No question, it is a very MEMORABLE wine. We tasted it when opened and decided to decant at least twice over two hours, than after tasting it again we decanted it a third time and finally drank it three hours after opening. It improved dramatically after each decanting and still had enough sediment to chew on and flavors that were simply outrageous.
There is a tremendous amount of hype always associated with Penfolds Grange and the question is asked whether the wine is as good as it’s exorbitant price point? No question the wine was spectacular, we blind tasted this side-by-side with Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage and it was easy to identify the Grange with its POWERFUL ripe fruit and oak. The decadent price puts it into a trophy-hunter’s class, but the wine was OUTSTANDING and a very special treat. So, when you win the lottery or want to celebrate a VERY special occasion, including a bottle of Grange will definitely add to the event, whether your a wine drinker or not!!!
She said: Very dark purple/red with a murky-like appearance, lots of well spaced slowly moving legs. With a huge aroma and scents of earthiness, leather and dark fruit, the taste was even more so and filled the mouth with a big body and huge complex flavors that go on forever. The flavor was so intense that I felt I could cut it in half and still have an overwhelming amount. The tannins played a secondary role to the flavors and added a lot without being intrusive. We decanted the wine three times, a very good move as the first and second tastes before decanting were a little rough. The wine went great with the lamb dinner and, believe it or not, I would buy it again…if I could afford it!
Comments: Learn more about Penfolds Grange. See the posts describing our Grange tasting: Comparison Tasting: Penfolds Grange 2000 and Henschke Hill of Grace 2001 and Rhone Blend wine tasting dinner: Another great dinner-party format
Alcohol: 14.5%
UPC Code: 9 310297 001125
Imported by: Purchased in Australia.
Photo from Wine Spectator.