Grange is arguably Australia’s most celebrated wine and is officially listed as a Heritage Icon of South Australia. Grange boasts an unbroken line of vintages from the experimental 1951 and clearly demonstrates the synergy between Shiraz and the soils and climates of South Australia. Grange utilises fully-ripe, intensely-flavoured and textured Shiraz grapes. The result is a unique Australian style that is now recognised as one of the most consistent of the world’s great wines. The Grange style is the original and most powerful expression of Penfolds multi-vineyard, multi-district, blending philosophy.

My daughter loves baking cakes and as a result I love crushing ants. One sniff and I was in my kitchen with my daughter. There you go. It’s archetypal Grange, smooth, svelte, aristocractic, bright and dense at once, the pride of South Australia and the entire Penfolds red wine line-up all rolled and synergised into one. I see soy and I see spice, I see vanilla and various things nice, but mostly I just see quality nipped and tucked, gathered and applied in such a way that it’s perfect. I didn’t spit it out and I don’t regret it. For a second I was a better man. I read recently that the Richmond football club, on winning the 2017 AFL grand final, went to Rockpool in Melbourne and drank Grange. In fact it was the tattooed-head-to-toe-bad-boy Dustin Martin who related this story. Bay Boy Dustin Martin drinks Grange. I thought of this as I put my glass down. The cliched elite are in for a treat. 2014 Grange will not let anyone down.  Tasted: Oct 18; Alcohol: 14.5%; Price: $900; Closure: Cork; Drink: 2024-2044+; Rated: 96 Points; Campbell Mattinson; The Wine Front 

Deep colour. Beautiful crushed blackberry, mulberry aromas with roasted chestnut, marzipan, mocha oak and liquorice, crème de caramel nuances. Richly flavoured velvety textured wine with dense blackberry, mulberry, dark plum fruits, fine plentiful chocolaty but vigorous tannins, abundant roasted chestnut, mocha, nougat oak. Finishes chocolaty firm with bitter sweet notes, and sustained mineral length. Impressively balanced wine with lovely density, energy and meaty complexity. A classic example of exceptional multi-vineyard sourcing including Wrattonbully for the very first time. Penfolds winemaking philosophy is the ascendant star in this wine. While in the shadow of three successive great years, this “sleeper” Grange vintage has the potential to surprise. Drink 2025-2060; Rating: 97 Points; Andrew Caillard MW

Deep, dense youthful red/purple colour. The bouquet is a riot of preserved plums, mocha, smoky toasty oak - less obvious than the Granges of yore - with hints of tar and graphite. The wine is full-bodied but it's not a blockbuster. It's dense and concentrated, but not overpowering. Indeed, the wine is superbly balanced and has even a touch of elegance. The tannins are certainly abundant, with a touch of traditional Grange firmness, but it's a very easy Grange to understand and enjoy. Less likely to intimidate! (2% cabernet sauvignon). Rating: 98 Points; Huon Hooke

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