2018 Penfolds Grange South Australia 750 ml

Limited Time Offer

Ships 06/09

Retail: $850
$645	24% off	1-5 bottles
$625	26% off	6+ bottles

quantity: 1

Shipping included.

100 pts

James Suckling

A robust Grange from a lauded vintage, this wields sheer power with such compelling prowess. Uncompromising Grange. There are rich blackberries and plums on offer, together with brazen oak and abundant notes of blackcurrants, black cherries, charcoal, cola and hard brown spices. So fleshy and intense. Dark-chocolate and cocoa-powder aromas and flavors here, too. The tannins are polished and long, extruding deep into the finish and holding endlessly. Dark chocolate, black cherry, dark plum and more. Impressive. Brazen. One of the great Granges that will drink magnificently for decades to come.

100 pts

The Wine Independent

Composed of 97% Shiraz with a 3% splash of Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2018 Grange was sourced from the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, and Clare Valley. It was aged for 18 months in 100% new American oak hogsheads (slightly larger than the classic Bordeaux barriques). It sports an opaque purple-black color, while the nose begins as an impenetrable wall of blueberry pie and blackberry preserves. Patience and vigorous swirling eventually unlock an underlying perfume of Indian spices, cedar chest, sassafras, fragrant soil, and cracked black peppercorns, with slowly emerging wafts of licorice, charcuterie, and rose oil. The assertive, full-bodied palate is taut and muscular, featuring very firm, super tight-knit tannins and seamless acidity, finishing long, long, long. Undoubtedly one of the great modern era Granges, this 2018 is like a hypothetical blend of the concentrated, powerful 2013, albeit with the latent expressiveness of the fabulously opulent, flamboyant 2008. Try to keep your hands off this multifaceted powerhouse for 10-15 years and then drink it over the next 50 years+ or bequeath it to your favored next of kin.

99 pts

Wine Advocate

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.

Curated by unrivaled experts
Choose your delivery date
Temperature controlled shipping options
Get credited back if a wine fails to impress

Suckling: “One of the Great Granges”

Unlike most of the world’s finest wines, which tend to be site-specific, Grange is almost always a multi-district blend—crafted with every tool Penfolds has in its vast arsenal, with the sole goal of being Australia’s greatest wine.

The 2018 is one of the greatest editions they’ve ever made: It boasts two separate 100-point scores, plus 99 points from the tough-grading Wine Advocate. They declared it “an extraordinary Grange. One of the true greats, which will only get better as it ages.”

Grange is the brainchild of Max Schubert, the ambitious vintner who wanted so badly to be a part of Australia’s legendary Penfold’s winery that he started his career there as teenage messenger. His ambition served him well: By 1948—seventeen years after first joining Penfold’s—Schubert had risen to head winemaker.

In 1950, on a trip to Bordeaux Schubert got the idea to make “something different and lasting,” and became dedicated to making a wine of long cellaring potential. In 1951, after settling on Shiraz as the primary grape, he made his first vintage of Grange Hermitage. But the wine was not well-received upon release, and Schubert hit a bit of a wall in 1957 when he received instructions from the Penfold’s head office to halt production of Grange. The company brass was concerned that they were accumulating too much “unsaleable” wine, and they believed that “the adverse criticism directed at the wine was harmful to the company image.”

Fortunately for the wine world, Max’s resolve was as stout as ever. He responded to the board’s demand by moving the Grange project to a deep part of the cellar, where he made the 1957, ‘58, and ‘59 vintages in secret. Only after the board came around in 1960 and ordered Max to restart the project did they learn that he had never heeded their order to stop.

Almost seven decades after the first vintage of Grange, the board’s original fears about Grange read like absurdist comedy: Grange has become one of the most iconic, revered, and collectible bottlings on earth. The wine has graced the cover of Wine Spectator, and been named a South Australian heritage icon. Grange is also the only Australian wine listed in Liv-Ex’s Fine Wine 100 index.