Penfolds - Grange 2015 (750ml)
Price: $750.00
Sale Price: $699.00
| Producer | Penfolds |
| Country | Australia |
| Region | Barossa Valley |
| Varietal | Shiraz |
| Vintage | 2015 |
| Size | 750ml |
James Suckling: 100 Points
Much anticipated vintage for Grange and it is a powerhouse of concentration and complexity. Aromas of orange and lemon peel to start, then graphite, blackberries, plum paste, black cherries, boundless sweet oak spice, fresh cedar, tar, mahogany, roasted coffee and chocolate - the list goes on. Such complexity. Classic Grange, offering such deep, dark intensity. The palate has immense richness and depth with a super succulent and very long, fleshy, deeply weighted array of dense, velvet-wrapped tannins that run so long. The fruit flavors sit in the blackberry, blood-plum and blueberry zone with succulent, long and assertive structure, carrying through in an utterly seamless mode. The finish is tightly wrenched, in spectacularly powerful style, locking this wine in for a very long haul. Best from 2030.
Wine Independent Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW: 100 Points
Composed of 97% Shiraz with a 3% splash of Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2018 Grange was sourced from the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, and Clare Valley. It was aged for 18 months in 100% new American oak hogsheads (slightly larger than the classic Bordeaux barriques). It sports an opaque purple-black color, while the nose begins as an impenetrable wall of blueberry pie and blackberry preserves. Patience and vigorous swirling eventually unlock an underlying perfume of Indian spices, cedar chest, sassafras, fragrant soil, and cracked black peppercorns, with slowly emerging wafts of licorice, charcuterie, and rose oil. The assertive, full-bodied palate is taut and muscular, featuring very firm, super tight-knit tannins and seamless acidity, finishing long, long, long. Undoubtedly one of the great modern era Granges, this 2018 is like a hypothetical blend of the concentrated, powerful 2013, albeit with the latent expressiveness of the fabulously opulent, flamboyant 2008. Try to keep your hands off this multifaceted powerhouse for 10-15 years and then drink it over the next 50 years+ or bequeath it to your favored next of kin.
Wine Advocate: 99 Points
This wine comes with high expectations—as does the vintage. The 2018 vintage across South Australia (and cheekily, we could probably extend the accolade to all of Australia) was excellent. It was warm, but without incident, and responsible for powerfully ripe, serious wines. Many producers made some of their best wines in this vintage. So here, to the 2018 Grange: there is spiced raspberry, lashings of salted licorice, red curry paste, layers of forest berries, rendered lamb fat and crushed pink peppercorns to start. In the mouth, the tannins close around the fruit with the same polish and seamlessness as the 2008, possibly the 2004? Very different vintages, but there is a textural similarity for me. This is polished and glossy and so very pretty. It contains 3% Cabernet Sauvignon this year, and 69% Barossa, 18% McLaren Vale and the balance from Clare Valley. Each of the regions brings with it its own characteristics. Barossa brings the red dirt, blood, deli meat and rust. McLaren Vale brings the plush purple fruits with a side of meat and licorice. Clare brings the polish, the opulence and the velvet texture. With their powers combined, this is an extraordinary Grange. One of the true greats, which will only get better as it ages.
Jeb Dunnuck: 99 Points
The flagship 2015 Grange is a monster of wine and one of those rare wines that blends power and elegance perfectly. Revealing a saturated purple color, it’s seemingly more forward and seductive than past great vintages, which I suspect is due to the incredible purity of fruit as well as the wine’s flawless balance than any change in winemaking or stylistic shifts. I also think the acidity is healthy, and the 2015 tips the scales at 14.5% alcohol, which is certainly in the sweet spot, if not tame, for beautifully ripe Syrah these days. A blend of 98% Shiraz and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon that spent 20 months in new American oak hogsheads, it offers an extraordinary perfume of sweet crème de cassis, lead pencil shavings, camphor, Asian spices, licorice, and wildflowers. This is followed by a full-bodied, powerful yet incredibly seamless and elegant Shiraz that has no hard edges, a big, dense mid-palate, ripe tannins, and a great finish. Coming close to rivaling the 1986, which has always been a benchmark vintage of Grange for me, the 2015 offers a more polished, elegant, approachable style. Vintage comparisons aside, this is a legendary example of Grange in the making. The savvy wine lovers out there will give this 7-8 years of bottle age (I’ll probably be out of bottles by then) and enjoy over the following 2-3 decades.
Wine Enthusiast: 98 Points
The latest release, from the warm '18 vintage, of Penfolds's most iconic wine delivers on all it promises. Even sans decanting, it promptly fills the nose with a multitude of aromas, from black cherry and lightly grilled plums to dark chocolate and cracked black pepper; from roasting herbs and spices (think bay leaf, rosemary, thyme and dried mint), to a polished glean of well-integrated oak. The palate is powerful, in a dignified way, with a sculpted shape, fine, chalky tannins and persistent flavor. Decades of age await, but if well decanted and well paired, it's drinking remarkably beautifully now.
Vinous: 98 Points
Inky, bright-rimmed violet. A kaleidoscopic, penetrating bouquet evokes ripe black and blue fruit preserves, espresso, cola, incense, coconut and Moroccan spices, along with a smoky mineral topnote. Shows superb clarity and mineral lift to the sweet, deeply concentrated black currant, bitter cherry, dark chocolate, fruitcake and mocha flavors, which are sharpened by a spicy element. A vein of juicy acidity adds support and drives a wonderfully long, smoky finish that leaves a suave floral note behind.
Wine Spectator: 98 Points
A remarkable wine, bursting with complexity and intensity but on a polished, mouthcoating and juicy frame, which makes this easy to enjoy now. Features chicory, sarsaparilla, dark chocolate and salted caramel notes that mingle with ripe black cherry, framboise and huckleberry flavors, backed by hints of almond paste and savory details of cured meat and fresh-crushed rosemary that linger on the epic finish. Drink now through 2045. 426 cases imported.
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