1954 Penfolds Bin 12 Grange Hermitage – South Australia ★★★★ Bottled 11/11/54
G 95
Medium-deep brick crimson. Superb old mature wine with tertiary miso- soup, orange rind, demi-glace, meaty apricot aromas with fragrant star anise notes. Well concentrated supple and sinuous wine with beautiful developed demi-glace, cola, gamey flavours with orange cola, espresso notes, integrated soft minerally acidity and superb long flavourful finish. Complete, complex and composed with lovely flowing and harmonious structure; note the early bottling date. From the cellars of Chris Aarons. A curio now. Very rare. 98% Shiraz, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now– soon, 13.2% alc Magill Estate (Adelaide)/Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley). Internal criticism of Grange led Max Schubert to lighten the style slightly. Only nine months in oak. Released as Bin 11 and Bin 12.
1955 Penfolds Bin 14 Grange Hermitage – South Australia ★★★★★ Bottled 20/11/55
G 92
Medium crimson. Fresh polished leather herb garden roasted parsnip gamey aniseed slightly soupy miso demi-glace notes with a touch of VA crushed ant. Well concentrated slightly soupy wine with gamey, roasted walnut, roasted parsnip, dark chocolaty leathery flavours, fine loose- knit but slightly sinewy tannins and long fresh acidity, some dried roses, vellum notes. Has lost its freshness but better bottles should be lying around. A very famous Australian red wine, but many examples past their prime now. Rare. 90% Shiraz, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now- soon, 12.6% alc Magill Estate (Adelaide)/Morphett Vale (Adelaide)/Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley)/McLaren Vale. The most decorated Grange: winner of 12 trophies and 52 gold medals during its relatively short career on the Australian wine show circuit. Spent only nine months in oak. A favourite of Max Schubert’s, partly because it won a gold medal in the Open Claret Class at the 1962 Sydney Wine Show when some members of the judging panel had previously been vocally critical of the style. Chosen by US magazine Wine Spectator as one of the 12 ‘Wines of the Millennium’. Bin 95 is the most common bottling and commercially available following great show success. Also released as Bins 13, 14, 53, 54 and 148A).
Penfolds Grange
15
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