[SOLD-OUT] Penfolds Grange 2005

Click above to listen to Penfolds winemakers talk about the 2005 vintage of Grange. Video by Penfolds Wines Australia.

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eRobertParker.com 96 Points!
'The Grange '05 is a blend of 88% Barossa fruit with 4.2% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from the Block 42. It has a dense nose with blackberry, boysenberry, a touch of dark chocolate and steaming espresso. The palate is beautiful, less powerful but more elegant than the 2004, much more classical in style although it has the same weight distribution and intensity across the mouth. Caressing, velvety smooth finish with great harmony. This errs towards my style of Grange over the '04, which has more bombastic ambitions.'
Neal Martin, Wine Journal Sep 2010

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Tyson Stelzer 97 Points!
'2005 may not be the most profound Grange, nor will it be the most long-lived, but, oh my goodness, is there some complexity tucked into its crevasses! It is not the blockbuster of 2002 and doesn't have the stamina and hidden secrets of 2004 (which took hours to reveal itself) but there is no question that this is a great vintage for Grange, as exuberant and expressive as any young Grange I have seen. In no way precocious or simplistic, this is a wine with a plethora of layers. The bouquet is particularly lifted and spicy this year, with violets and mixed spice hovering over fruit mince and dark chocolate oak. In time, coal, black olive and Satsuma plum aromas unravel. The palate is powerful, even by Grange dimensions, with lifted violets and exotic spice ushering in a cavalcade of stewed plum, rhubarb and plum pudding fruit in the wake of a wave of signature Grange tannins. A Grange that is both seductive and brooding, 2005 is the vintage to drink while you await your 2002s and 2004s to come back down to earth.'
Tyson Stelzer, April 2010

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Campbell Mattinson 95 Points!
'It's beautiful. Showy vanillin, coffeed, toasty oak is the first impression ' as you'd expect of a Grange - though it's neither syrupy nor malty. The big surprise with this release though is that it doesn't have the bigness of tannin that some (or most) Grange releases boast. Is this a bad thing? In this case, no - because the balance of this 2005 is brilliant. So too is the dark fruit power motoring through the finish. Grange is renowned for its 'formula', but this vintage changes the tune according to the wants of the season - less muscle, more finesse. A vote for the craft of the winemakers involved. It's persistent and seductive and awash with flavours of sweet, dense, meaty, smoky, leathery blackberry and blackcurrant. It does the Grange name proud.'
Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front, 2010

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Tony Love 95 points!
'Brooding, underlying power defines this c urrent Grange, a little reserved but obviously set to be a stayer wit hsublime weight, fine tannins, dark chocolate and beef stock richness. Decant it, let it breathe and rest.'
Tony Love, Top 100 Wines 2010

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Lisa Perrotti-Brown 97 Points!
'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+.'
Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate # 192 Dec 2010

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Country:

Australia

Region:

SA-(Other)

Variety:

Wine Red - Shiraz

Size:

750mL