Red Wines

wines

The 1981 stood out as slightly superior. Winemaker John Duval always felt this was a tannic style of Grange, but the wine has shed its tannins, and this is one of the few vintages where the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon was above 10%. Sweet notes of creme de cassis, cedarwood, charcoal, and barbecue spices are followed by a full-bodied, opulent wine displaying heady amounts of alcohol, glycerin, and density in its full-bodied, skyscraper-like texture. I was drinking this wine with great pleasure in the mid-nineties, yet here it is nearly 15 years later, and the wine does not appear to have budged much from its evolutionary state. This is a testament to how remarkably well these wines hold up, and age at such a glacial pace.Grange, Penfolds’ flagship wine, is, by many accounts, the most renowned and world-famous wine produced in Australia, and these six vintages from my cellar all acquitted themselves well. These wines are almost always Shiraz, but many vintages include less than 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and there are cross-appellations blends from vineyards in the Barossa and McLaren Vale.Robert Parker | 97 RP

The 2021 The Standish Shiraz was made with fruit from the Laycock family vineyard, Greenock, with 30% whole bunches in the ferment. The Standish Shiraz was the first cuvée launched by Dan Standish in 1999, and the wine is routinely typified by its muscular tannin shape and earthy, savory fruit. The most attractive part of this wine is the splay of exotic market spice (namely sumac, black pepper, star anise and fresh cardamom) that sails in on the coattails of the red/purple fruit. It has all the exoticism and romance of a hike through the mountains of Morocco, yet it, perhaps more than any other wine in the collection, speaks of the Barossa in a clear enunciated voice. So, where does it fit in 2021? The 2021 The Standish Shiraz is finer, prettier and lighter than I have ever seen it at this stage of its life. It has all the spice and Barossan identity that is expected; however, it misses the dense baritone of fruit that is present in earlier iterations. Whether you think that is a positive or not is up to you—I am fond of this wine throughout all its incarnations. Vintage variation is responsible for the spark of curiosity and joy that I experience every year during this release, and the real triumph in 2021 is the ability of the vineyard (this vineyard) to shine through the season that shaped it. 14.9% alcohol.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RP