Penfolds Grange 2017 flash sale

Description

The color is dense and deep, bright and lively crimson-red. Rampant scents derived from kitchen (winery) and garden (vineyard) … A wine-loving forensic sniff or two, rather than an imagined spectrophotometric analysis reveals: Venison carpaccio with a sweet balsamic reduction and freshly-pressed olive oil. Or, uncured pastrami? A salsa verde type-emulsion with an emphasis on the parsley and extra virgin olive oil. Add tomato, omit lemon. Enough of the savoury – wafts of sticky rice pudding, apricot pip, vanillin pod and coconut husk. Subtle sweet and spiced sandalwood, ground cumin and wintergreen notes remind of an eighteen-month sabbatical in oak.On the palate, where to start?! An advancing wave of flavours, understated power and charm. The swell builds and a more persuasive wave follows … and then more, with each sip. In an attempt to unravel and articulate this ‘ingestion’ … The flavours: Laden with shiraz fruits from the Barossa to the North and McLaren to the South – ‘maritime’ and ‘continental’ climatic/varietal diversity. Red and black liquorice, soy and malt, burnt vanilla marshmallow …Dark chocolate, wrapped in a satiny copha/beeswax candle-like coating. Supple oak nuances – dexterously integrated, no doubt compliments of barrel ferment (and our valued long-time Barossa cooper).Mouthfeel is creamy/velvety, rather than blocky/chunky at this youthful stage in bottle. Tannins are tight, creating a dense coating, with a ‘rusty’ edge. Ebullient acidity, whilst lively and racy, is well-managed and protective. To borrow a recently read descriptor – “cherry stone minerality” … The impression: Swamped by a Barossa ferrous dustiness … regionally captured so persuasively with this 2017 vintage.Demands air.

Wine Spectator

• ws98

Memorable, complex, aromatic and explosively deep, with a mix of palo santo, dark chocolate, black olive, espresso and hazelnut butter. The pure fruit at the core is a mix of ripe huckleberry, boysenberry and wild blackberry, with dense but polished tannins. Savory notes of dried rosemary and sage, cigar box, dried apricot and sandalwood linger on the epic finish. Drink now through 2045. 289 cases imported.

MaryAnn Worobiec, September 23, 2021

Vinous

• v97

Opaque, bright-rimmed ruby. Highly pungent, smoke- and mineral- accented aromas of cherry pit, violet candy, cured tobacco, savory herbs, coconut and exotic spices on the kaleidoscopic nose. Shows superb clarity and spicy lift to its spice-laced bitter cherry, cassis, blueberry and floral pastille flavors, which take on black cardamom, menthol and cola nuances as the wine slowly stretches out. Shows superb delineation and spicy thrust on the youthfully tannic finish, which features resonating cherry, blue fruit and floral notes.

Josh Raynolds, July 2021

Wine Advocate

• wa96

Strongly marked-as always-by its 100% American oak elevage, the 2017 Grange backs up the cedar and vanilla notes with ample blackberry and cassis fruit. Full-bodied, ripe and almost decadently creamy in the mouth, it’s loaded with substance, concentrated and rich, yet-in the context of Grange-relatively light and elegant-seeming on the finish. Only the seventh-ever Grange to be exclusively Shiraz, it originates from Barossa Valley (86%) and McLaren Vale (14%); Shiraz from other growing regions in South Australia failed to make the grade this year.

Joe Czerwinski, July 22, 2021