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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

Only the third Grange to be produced from 100% Shiraz, the 1999 Grange is superb. It boasts an inky purple color as well as unformed but gorgeously sweet notes of blackberries intermixed with smoke, licorice, and roasted meats. A wine of great intensity, sweet tannin, voluptuous texture, and a spectacularly long finish, it will be at its finest between 2007-2025.Robert Parker | 94-96 RPNot quite as broad and generous as riper vintages, but tremendously classy, offering smoky, earthy blackberry, plum and currant fruit that compete effectively against cedary oak on the long finish. The flavors gain with each sip, fanning out impressively. It’s tight now, but it could age beautifully. Best after 2009. 8,000 cases made. — HSWine Spectator | 94 WSAn excellent wine as it always is, but this vintage of Grange is one that isn’t just built for aging, it requires it. Its flavors and aromas require a good 20 minutes in the glass to show themselves, but with time, pretty eucalyptus/mint and anise aromas come through. In the mouth, this vintage feels more feminine than other recent vintages. It’s very tightly wound, with tea, biscuit and plum notes peeking through; its tannins are powdery and pretty, and its finish long and juicy. Drink 2012+.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEFull ruby-red. Sexy aromas of raspberry, cola, root beer and coconut. Thick, dense and concentrated, with exotic, slightly candied dark fruit, caramel, toasted coconut and mineral flavors nicely shaped by firm acids. Shows strong fruit and a major dose of oak on the powerful, backward finish. This can’t quite match the 1998 for sheer depth of fruit, but it’s built to age.Vinous Media | 91+ VM

Containing just a dollop of 4.1% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2005 Grange is about 85%+ Barossa fruit with the remaining proportions coming from McLaren vale and Coonawarra. It was aged for 18 months in 100% new American oak hogsheads. The nose begins a bit animal with some smoked game, mincemeat and bacon notes emerging over the freshly crushed, sun-warmed blackberries, black currant cordial, earth, black truffles, anise and allspice. Rich and full with very firm very fine tannins and very crisp acid, it gives a long finish layered with coffee, mincemeat and toast. Drink it 2013 to 2025+.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPSupple, refined and focused, this is generous with its ripe currant, blackberry jam and fresh cherry flavors playing against grace notes of coffee, tar, white pepper and molasses. The finish keeps hovering and gets richer with each sip. Lip-smackingly good. Best after 2014. 2,000 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 97 WSThis vintage of the famed wine is perhaps its most approachable to date. The nose is open and expressive, with waves of aromas ranging from licorice, currant and plum to baking spice, furniture polish, freshly picked olive, mushroom and vanilla. The mouthfeel is satiny in texture, awash with fruit and spices of all shapes and sizes, all wound by fine tannins. Drink through 2040. Wine Enthusiast | 97 WE2005 South Australia Grange Bin 95 Shiraz There’s fresh fruit at the core of this wine, bringing Maine blueberries to mind. But there’s also a lot of hyperripe character and new oak, along with the Penfolds touch of volatility. It seems Porty when first opened, and it isn’t until a day later that the wine opens up and sails. The thickness dissipates and the space between the tannins widens, allowing fennel, fresh blackberry and blueberry flavors to come to the fore. The iron-mineral tannin seems interchangeable with the wine’s meaty impression, slowly revealing the soils of Barossa. This will take ten years or more to show its strengths.Wine & Spirits Magazine | 91 W&S

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.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPA 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.Wine Spectator | 98 WSSuch open-hearted approachability has never been so pronounced in Grange. The even-footed balance comes from a smooth, silky palate that glides on a sleek acid line to complement rather than override the robust flavours. There’s spice, aniseed and sage lifting above blackberry, redcurrant and earthy forest floor notes, all integrated effortlessly through a lengthy profile. No longer trying to be the loudest or most pious Shiraz in the market, this vintage is surprisingly well behaved. Released at A$1,000/bottle. Drinking Window: 2022 - 2062Decanter | 95 DEC

Despite being only 2% Viognier, in its current state, Standish’s 2018 The Relic Shiraz-Viognier shows prominent notes of stone fruit and spice, plus the blackberries and blueberries of the Shiraz. Full-bodied, lush and creamy-textured, with a long, silky finish, this beauty should drink well for a couple of decades after its release next year.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96-99 RPShiraz co-fermented with 2% Viognier, from the Hongell Vineyard in Krondorf, planted 1991. A cascade of aromas: cassis, blackberry, bilberry, creamy Black Forest gateau, black pepper and cardamom, then more savoury kelp, creosote and bloody undertones. Concentrated yet buoyant, with juicy persistence and fine, mouthcoating tannins. Controlled opulence. Drinking Window: 2020 - 2038Decanter | 97 DECFrom an east-facing slope with ridges of quartz, offering very attractive blackberries and plums and some dark violet florals, too. This has a really expressive feel. The palate has plush, fleshy, deep-set fruit flavors and a gently spicy thread. Deep black-fruit finish with rich dark plums and blackberries. Smooth, plush tannin. Full-bodied, but approachable. A 2% co-ferment of viognier. Long, blackberry finish. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JS

It’s a hard act to follow the monumental 2018 Grange, which – priced at AU$1000 for the first time on release – earned a slew of perfect scores. Chief winemaker Peter Gago regards the 1989, 1999 and 2009 as ’sleeper vintages’ so urges against any rash prejudgement on this 2019. Sure, it is not as showy as the 2018 was on release, but if it is anything like the 1999 when it hits its stride in 20 years’ time, then patience will be rewarded. The imposing structure, concentration and sheen of new American oak remains the trademark style, but the most powerful wine in the Penfolds stable – officially Bin 95 – is nevertheless becoming increasingly more approachable in recent vintages, and this 2019 is no exception (although approachable remains a relative term for a wine with 40 to 50 years ahead of it). Initial high-toned aromas of chinotto and kirsch lead to spicy liquorice, cedar freshness and more savoury, earthy tones. The palate is mighty: bold, chewy espresso oak char overlaying ripe black berries, plum pudding, rosemary, cured meat and balancing acidity. A blend of Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra and Clare Valley fruit, aged 19 months in new American oak hogsheads. Released at £670.Decanter | 97 DECThe bold, expansive 2019 Grange (97% Shiraz, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon) spent 19 months in larger new American Oak and is powerful and expressive as it delivers a dense core of coca, blackberry and baked terracotta aromas, all well backed by toasted coconut oak. Mouth-filing, expansive and seriously tannic, it then delivers waves of dark berry flavor laced with touches of spice, leading to a rich, muscular finish. It’s built for the long haul, so don’t even think of opening for at least a decade.Vinous Media | 96 VMThe 2019 Grange is 97% Shiraz and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s the pinnacle of the Penfolds release (although if you ask me, the Chardonnays are my favorite part) and a wine that takes some understanding prior to scoring. The key to Grange is the old wines; it is a style of wine heavily fortified with oak (100% new, AP Johns American oak), tannin, fruit (multi-regional) and everything else. In the mouth it can be an almost impossible constellation of flavor and texture to wrap the mind around. But in time, yes, in time, this wine shows its capacity for grace and majesty. Ten years is too young to open a bottle. 20 years is about right. 30 and beyond, not a problem. It is a cellaring proposition of the highest order, but in youth it can feel impenetrable. So, this wine in front of me now has toasted coconut, dusted licorice, roasted meat, violets, burnt toffee, pastrami, coffee grounds, crushed ants/formic, roasted pecans ... all of these dark and broody (and chunky) things. 2019 was a hot year and one marred by low yields due to some inclement weather during flowering. This has meant that, as a whole, the wines have felt big, dark and compressed. This is no exception. It’s a product of the year and the state from whence it has come and in the mold and style of Grange, typical. It will be even better. For now, ne touche pas. 14.5% alcohol sealed under natural cork.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPA blend of 97% Shiraz with a 3% splash of Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2019 Penfolds Grange was sourced with 82% of the fruit from Barossa Valley and the rest from McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, and Clare Valley. It was aged for 19 months in 100% new American oak hogsheads (slightly larger than the classic Bordeaux barriques) and is deep garnet-purple in color. It needs a swirl or two to bring out fragrant scents of garrigue, tilled soil, black olives, and fallen leaves, over a core of blackberry preserves, baked plums, and boysenberries, with emerging wafts of cast-iron pan and star anise. The full-bodied palate is super-tight knit with a firm, grainy texture and a crisp backbone supporting the muscular black fruit and savory layers, finishing long and minerally with a touch of star anise.The Wine Independent | 95 TWI

Such expressive and fragrant aromas of fresh lemons, sliced pears and apples, as well as wet stones. Lots to like here. The palate has a very intense, mouthwatering core of citrus and white peach, driven by intense acidity. Low-yielding vintage with high-quality grapes. Will age very well. Drink or hold. Screw cap.James Suckling | 96 JSThis historic estate in western Victoria consistently produces well-structured, balanced Riesling. Tightly knit at first, let it warm in the glass to fully enjoy the waxy lemon-lime, floral and subtler mineral aromas. The palate is a tightrope walk of acidity, texture and fruit weight. A classy Riesling that doesn’t need to scream to be seen. Pair with anything from the sea, from oysters to fish and chips, or for more honeyed complexity, cellar until 2030, at least.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WE

The 2021 The Schubert Theorem Shiraz was made with fruit from the Roennenfeldt Road vineyard, in Marananga, with 70% whole bunches in the ferment. The northeastern corner of this vineyard is matured in concrete egg to preserve the blue-fruited core that defines the style of this wine; it is the only cuvée that features an alternate maturation vessel. I knew (before and) when I tasted the 2019 and 2020 vintages what I was going to get, by and large. When I was in the Barossa in June 2021, I was already thinking about what the Schubert would look like from this year, as the perceived fit of season and style had the potential to dovetail in a most titillating fashion—a "stars aligning" kind of thing. A cool season overlays a warm site capable of producing dark, dense, sometimes brooding, always pure Shiraz. The combination of concrete egg (and, in this case, a slightly shorter maturation in this vessel) and cooler year has produced a wine of scintillating precision and fruit sweetness. It glows with its own black light. It shimmers and oscillates between fruit luminescence and plush tannic texture, and in doing so, it barely contains its own energy and abundance. The distinction between this profusion of fruit and the old "fruit bombs" of yore is the precision of acid and pliable fruit tannin that defines the middle palate and the ability of the fruit (courtesy of the winemaking) to shine through the vessels in which it matured. The tannin that shapes the wine is plentiful, make no mistake, yet it is ductile and fine and threads through every aspect of the palate. A thrilling Schubert this year, it’s like a strike of lightning on a dark night. This wine appeals most fervently to my penchant for freshness, energy and resonant bass line. 14.9% alcohol.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RP

The 2021 The Relic Shiraz-Viognier is made with fruit from the Hongell family vineyard, Krondorf. It was made with 1% Viognier co-fermented, with 25% whole bunches in the ferment this year, up from 15% to 20% in 2020. The Relic is one of Australia’s greatest Shiraz Viognier wines, and it’s a sure thing each year for quality and execution of style. In 2020, it was my preferred wine of the collection for its savory, meaty/bacon fat/bloody character. All elements were in balance, and it managed a savory and floral drive within the same glass. Super cool. This year, I love the wine for all the opposite reasons. The 2021 is creamy, plush and almost sybaritic in its outlay of fruit and tannin. At 15.5% alcohol, it’s the highest alcohol wine in the 2021 release, yet it doesn’t show that via warmth or harshness in the wine. The whole-bunch component is up slightly this year from last, and honestly, it feels completely invisible in the wine. This is undoubtedly the biggest, most plush wine in the collection, but true to form for Standish, it is balanced and fresh, with a long future in front of it.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 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

This is the benchmark for (tank fermented, pure) Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc. The 2022 Sauvignon Blanc has sweet green pea, green apple skins, juniper, rosemary, a hint of nashi pear and layers of jasmine tea and spice. This is, as usual, very fine and spicy, with purity and textural complexity side by side. Pear skin. Pretty.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPVery fresh nose with a wide spectrum of aromas, ranging from forthrightly grassy and fresh-basil notes to gooseberry, grapefruit and passion fruit, this is a juicy and elegant Adelaide Hills sauvignon blanc. Long, racy finish. Drink now. Screw cap.James Suckling | 93 JS