Grange, Penfolds 1980

The least impressive, but still a very great wine, is the dark garnet-hued 1980. Still a young wine at age 29, it exhibits massive earthy, meaty, bacon fat notes intermixed with notions of scorched earth, blackberries, currants, pepper, and spice. Full and rich with slightly rustic tannins, it has a good 20 years of life ahead of it. Grange, Penfolds' flagship wine, is, by many accounts, the most renowned and world-famous wine produced in Australia, and these six vintages from my cellar all acquitted themselves well. These wines are almost always Shiraz, but many vintages include less than 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and there are cross-appellations blends from vineyards in the Barossa and McLaren Vale

A fabulous Grange, this was a light harvest, and the blend ended up being 96% Shiraz and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine still seems very youthful, made in a very voluptuous, blockbuster Grange style. The wine has a dense ruby/purple color with no amber. A nose of melted asphalt, pepper, creme de cassis, and blackberries changes little in the glass, but with airing, some sweeter plum, prune, and chocolate emerge in a very full-bodied, powerful, seamlessly constructed wine with perfect levels of glycerin and extract. It is just now reaching its plateau of drinkability. Anticipated maturity: now-2016.

Blend: 96%Shiraz, 4%Cabernet Sauvignon

Another great Grange, this opaque purple-colored wine reveals little evolution in its color. The huge nose of peppery blackcurrants, roasted herbs, tar, sweet oak, and lavish quantities of fruit is followed by a full-bodied, expansive, thick, chewy wine with extraordinary falvor density. The finish lasts for 40+ seconds, revealing Olympic-sized quantities of glycerin and fruit, as well as considerable ripe, sweet tannin. The low acidity and extraordinary ripeness and voluptuousness make this youthfull wine deceptively easy to drink. However, it requires another 3-4 years of cellaring to develop more complexity.

Production: 8,620 cases.