1999 Penfolds Grange Shiraz

100 Points - Andrew Caillard MW, Andrew Caillard MW

“The 1999 Penfolds Grange will inevitably lie in the shadow of the much hyped but beautifully made 1998 vintage. While I admired the 1998 greatly at the recent Rewards of Patience tasting I preferred the 1999 vintage (by a whisker). Indeed it is an astonishingly lovely wine with really fragrant plum/prune/tobacco/aniseed aromas, apricot nuances and meaty complexity. The palate is deeply concentrated with curtains of plum apricot fruit, fine supple tannins, beautifully integrated malty oak and superb flavour length. It is certainly a most seductive wine with plenty of cellaring potential. This is certainly great Grange.”

96 Points - James Halliday, The Weekend Australian

“Only the third Grange to be made with 100 per cent shiraz, all the others having had a touch of cabernet sauvignon. It has also emerged from the shadow of the 1998, as its initial touch of masculine austerity has softened, revealing its lovely amalgam of black fruits, warm spice and gentle vanillan oak. The tannins are not aggressive, but will help the long life ahead. Drink: 2009-2034.”

96 Points - Jeremy Oliver, Jeremy Oliver

“Superbly elegant, reserved and harmonious shiraz, reflecting the intensity and brightness of the pristine small berry flavours so typical of the 1999 South Australian vintage. A briary perfume of violets, raspberries, blueberries, dark plums and cassis is sympathetically matched by assertive nuances of vanilla and chocolate oak aromas. Silky-smooth, beautifully controlled and refined, its long and willowy palate reveals intense and translucent small berry flavours superbly integrated with oak and satiny tannins. A profound change in style from the 1998 release that reflects the very best of its vintage. Drink 2019-2029+.”