PENFOLDS GRANGE SHIRAZ 2021

Winery notes (2021 Vintage)
"The most powerful expression of Penfolds multi-vineyard, multi-district blending philosophy, Grange is one of the world’s most celebrated wines and is officially listed as a Heritage Icon of South Australia. Crafted utilising fully ripe, intensely flavoured, and structured Shiraz grapes, the result is a unique Australian style that is now recognised as one of the most consistent of the world’s great wines. With an unbroken line of vintages from the experimental 1951, Grange clearly demonstrates the synergy between Shiraz and the soils and climates of South Australia.

Umm – no algorithm to unfold the threads of this aromatic quilt. A nexus of fruits/oak/barrel-ferment. As one. Grange. A valiant attempt to untangle this aromatic Shiraz assault… initially scents of grated dark chocolate and Copha revealed – propelled by tell-tale V.A. and formics coupled with barrel ferment nuances. Then an elution of marbled meats, beef fat, and marrow. Pan juices follow… laced with a balsamic glaze, soy and spice (poppy/ sesame seed mix, frankincense). In the glass there’s no need to wait, no need to swirl – black briquette dust and sooty resins stubbornly are unleashed/ unfurled. Youthful. Expectantly, at this early stage, little attempt to immediately charm/gratify. Patience. Later…

An instant cornucopia of Grange markers – where to begin?! This 2021 vintage is certainly expansive across the palate. Three sources and three dimensions induce ‘blackness’ via selective Barossa/McLaren Vale/Clare Valley fruit sourcing and thereafter formidable structural length/width/depth stature. And weight. Very Penfolds. A vortex of mid-palate sumptuousness, framed by sleek, dusty tannins, and chocolatey/brûléed-suggestive oak. Or is it?! Less blurred are the Clare Valley sourcing descriptor giveaways – Dutch liquorice and menthol. Forensically, from maritime McLaren Vale – perhaps the Worcestershire sauce and squid ink, cold corned beef with peppercorn? Maybe, from Barossa – soaked dark satsuma plum, star anise, and roast quince? If only it were that easy… Tomorrow, a different reveal. Indeed, a multi-decade sensory disrobing/redressing continuum now underway. Can’t wait!"

20+/20 Matthew Jukes (2021 Vintage)
"This is a spectacular Grange. This will go down as another landmark Grange… I have never tasted a Grange with this individuality and presence."

100/100 Ken Gargett, WinePilot.com, July 2025 (2021 Vintage)
"Always the focus of the Collection, especially so when it hails from what has become a legendary vintage. The expectations for the 2021 Grange were simply that this had to be a great Grange. Anything short of that might even be deemed a failure and this is indeed an extraordinary Grange. Quite simply, a wow wine. Maroon/black in hue, one simply gets lost in the nose, just endlessly sniffing the most glorious cassis notes, along with black fruits, blueberries, coffee beans, aniseed, mulberries, delicatessen meats, tobacco leaves, plums and graphite. The wine is seamless, intense and immaculate with knife-edge balance. It simply dances with joy. The oak is there, undeniably, but it is so well handled that you almost have to think twice. So complex already, and yet so harmonious and decadent. Silky tannins, bright acidity, the intensity never wavers for an instant and there is incredible length – Rutherglen muscat length. This is as close to a perfect Grange as I can imagine. Fifty years, if you think you can last that long (or want very grateful grandkids). A Lord-take-me-now wine, if ever there was one."

99/100 Tyson Stelzer (2021 Vintage)
"The dream combination of a cool spring, average summer and mild autumn furnished slow and even ripening. The wizardry of Peter Gago and his team have juggled this juxtaposition with masterful skill. A core of black fruits of all kinds reverberates with dramatic power, accented with liquorice straps, sarsaparilla and high cocoa dark chocolate. The signature volatile acidity of Grange has been impeccably judged. The tannin profile is a wonder to behold, a captivating splay of fine-grained fruit and oak structure that envelops the mouth, wonderfully elevated and interlocked with cool season acidity. This is a vintage that demands at least 30 years before approaching and will confidently continue to marvel for half a century and perhaps beyond. Drink: 2051-2071."

97/100 Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front, July 2024 (2020 Vintage)
"Sometimes Grange fits in with its stablemate releases; sometimes it stands out. This release stands out – particularly on the nose – as quite different. It smells of sweet balsamic, chocolate-coated raisins, plums, meats, grates of citrus rind, a march of crushed ants, cigar smoke and toasted rye. It’s a dramatic introduction if ever there was one. The palate itself is defined by its tannin, which presents as a firm, solid sheet, pulled tight but ushering cushions of fruit along with it. There’s an element too on the palate of development, not a lot but it’s there, which – even though it’s released as a four-year-old – I don’t often note with Grange. There’s leather, and mint, and plum, and a toasty-toffeed note. This 2021 release lays down Grange law but it also piques your interest. It has quirks but it remains definitive of the “fully ripe shiraz Heritage Icon” style."