Penfolds Grange 2004

Winery: Penfolds

Style: GRANGE

Vintage: 2004

Peak Drinking: 2014-2024

Wine Area: BAROSSA VALLEY - SA

Variety:  Shiraz blends

Retail Price: AUD$ 600.00

	Our Price
Bottle	540.00	Qty
Dozen	6,480.00

All prices in Australian Dollars

 Wine Maker Review:

"COLOUR Dark, deep red (at 5 years of age).
NOSE Enticingly fragrant, yet at once 'Grange' -
elements of cola, bay-leaf, malt, Indian spices &
nougat. An ethereal oriental lift of glazed Peking
Duck is interspersed with fermented black
Chinese tea. Oak at one with the wine, other
aromatics unite to create a continuum of spice &
fruit. Impressive.
PALATE Seamless redefined. Classic Grange structure -
tight, defined & balanced, with 'slatey' / sandy
tannins. Saturated fruits - blackberry and
concentrated Satsuma plum skin. A darkened
flavour theme of chocolate, liquorice and
fermented black Chinese tea mask any overt
presence of new oak, courting a long, effortless
finish.
Intense, powerful vs. composed, polished - an
enviable counter-balance."

 James Halliday Review:

"Penfolds Grange: the verdict
April 28, 2009
Article from: The Australian

James Halliday tastes the latest vintage - and compares it with a selection from the past 50 years.

Sometimes there’s an offer too good to refuse – like an exclusive preview of 2004 Penfolds Grange plus a tasting of one Grange from each of the preceding five decades.

However, there was a hidden problem. Penfolds’ Peter Gago knew, and those who attended the company’s last Rewards of Patience tasting (an event for those cellaring Penfolds’ wines) in September 2007 half-knew, that the 2004 is a superb Grange, destined to take its place alongside the greats of the modern era, such as ’86, ’90 and ’96. Half-knew, because the wine is even better now than it was in 2007.

Instead of lining up the best wine of each decade, and having an unending litany of praise, Gago, defender of the Grange faith, suggested a selection from the least wines from each decade: ’59, ’69, ’73, ’84 and ’92. By sheer chance, I had opened a bottle of ‘92 only a week earlier to share with two young Swiss visitors, and even my sometimes-hard-to-please wife shared the view that it was quite a wonderful wine.

So I had no problems with the idea, which was, quite simply, to underline both the sublime quality and the 50-year future – if properly cellared and the cork gods permit – of the 2004.

1959 Deep brick-red. The third of three vintages from the dark ages when Max Schubert was forbidden to make Grange and had no access to new oak. The wine has good colour, and the firmest palate of those three vintages. Echoes of primary fruit are to be found, along with some supporting tannins. Still holding, the best bottles are a pleasure to drink. 90% shiraz, 10% cabernet sauvignon; primarily Magill Estate and Kalimna Vineyard.

1969 Unconvincing colour; quite fragrant and unexpectedly fresh on the bouquet, but it doesn’t have the depth and structure of the best. From a wet vintage, but still (just) holding. 95% shiraz, 5% cabernet sauvignon; a complex blend extending from the Clare Valley to Coonawarra, the best from Magill Estate and Kalimna Vineyard.

1973 Deep brick-red; a mediumbodied wine with some freshness, though not so much depth; by any other standards, very good (but not by that of Grange). Is starting to fade so drink ASAP. 98% shiraz, 2% cabernet sauvignon; dry and cool vintage from Kalimna Vineyard, Magill Estate and Modbury.

1984 Deep red, with some crimson; almost crisp red and black fruit aromas introduce a palate with considerable length and refined acidity; oak and tannins do no more than complete the structure. Drink until 2015 to 2019. Cool, dry vintage. 95% shiraz, 5% cabernet sauvignon; from Kalimna Vineyard, Magill Estate, Barossa and Clare valleys, and Coonawarra.

1992 Bright, clear crimson red; charming and seductive, with silky red and black fruits, fine tannins running through a bell-clear palate, with considerable length and aftertaste. Will cruise past 2020. A cool to mild vintage with intermittent rain. 90% shiraz, 10% cabernet sauvignon; from Kalimna Vineyard, Barossa Valley, Coonawarra and McLaren Vale.

2004 Saturated purple-crimson colour; has an amazing depth to the bouquet, with the oak and black fruits already seamlessly woven. The longer you spend inhaling the aromas, the more you learn about the wine within, in much the same way as a Grand Cru red burgundy. Here, the palate delivers all that the bouquet promises, and then some; it has absolutely perfect proportions to the river of flavours running through blackberry, Satsuma plum, licorice and spice. The tannins are quite active, but totally balanced and ripe. Drink until 2054. Cool to mild summer, then a glorious autumn to ripen the generally large crops. 96% shiraz, 4% cabernet sauvignon; the latter from Block 42 of the Kalimna Vineyard; the shiraz is from Kalimna Vineyard, Magill Estate, Barossa and McLaren Vale. For the record, the alcohol is 14.3%, pH 3.61 and the acidity 7g per litre.



"

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