Grange, Penfolds 2003

Supple, ripe and generous with its blueberry, plum and mocha flavors,riding easily over finely wrought tannins and extending into the long, expressive finish. Rich, complex and evocative, this has plenty of flavor packed into a beautifully balanced package. Drink now through 2020.

Dark crimson. Heady sweetness on the nose and then very cool on the palate – really tight and fairly tough at this stage. Dry finish. No sign of the obvious syrup and alcohol that usually characterises Grange for me at all! Very introvert at this stage. Presumably quite a deliberate attempt to counteract this vintage’s reputation for extreme head and alcohol. I remember tasting young Grange in the late 1980s and the brilliant pink/purple would stain the inside of the glass the way that it does with young vintage port. Not so this wine. When I went back to it a second time the wine, admittedly in a pretty empty bottle (see notes on St Henri above) had opened out considerably to show a much more complex bouquet than any of the other wines here. Very, very well integrated oak, mellow notes of roast meat (oh no, sorry, that was the St Henri), wonderfully rich, flattering fruit caresses the front palate and then the tarry notes bite on the finish. There’s just the merest hint of heat on the finish. But again, Gago has made this beautifully. Maybe the tannins are a little drying on the finish, and the vintage’s reputation is unlikely to make this one of the saleroom classics, but it’s difficult to see how a better Grange could have been made in 2003. 14.5%