At the end of the festivities I finally managed an evening to relax and
enjoy a bottle of "be selfish and indulge myself wines"
This being Penfolds Grange 1991.
The meal was extremely simple, namely fillet steak pan fried with
chips.....yes I am english lol.
Having tried the 1988 and 1989 granges previously, I was a little concerned
about infanticide but considering that I have 6 of the 1991 I thought I
could spare one for an indulgent treat.
This was by far the finest shiraz I have ever tasted.
The depth and darkness of the fruit is outstanding and although tannins are
hugely evident, they are ripe and fine grained and enhance the complexity of
the wine.
Although the wine is very youthful, it is approachable now with a multi
layered complexity that demands attention of every sip.
I'm planning to open one a year for the next 5 to see how the wine develops,
will power permitting.
If pressed I would say that although approachable, I imagine that the best
results will be in years 4 and 5.

Best wishes and Happy New Year,


Alex

Alex Hayne wrote:
> This being Penfolds Grange 1991.
> Having tried the 1988 and 1989 granges previously, I was a little concerned
> about infanticide but considering that I have 6 of the 1991 I thought I
> could spare one for an indulgent treat.
> This was by far the finest shiraz I have ever tasted.
> The depth and darkness of the fruit is outstanding and although tannins are
> hugely evident, they are ripe and fine grained and enhance the complexity of
> the wine.
> Although the wine is very youthful, it is approachable now with a multi
> layered complexity that demands attention of every sip.

I am a long time Grange Hermitage fan too. On Christmas eve night I had
the misfortune to be seated at a table beside one of the most
conspicuous mass consumers that I have ever seen. He was in a party of
six and did all the wine ordering. After ordering a couple of Pulignys,
he switched to Grange and insisted on a 90 and then a 91. The other
people at the table hardly even knew it was wine. The guy destroyed 5 or
6 bottles of great wine for no reason except to show off. And he never
invited me to have a taste.

On Wed, 5 Jan 2005 18:46:09 -0000, "Alex Hayne"
> wrote:

>At the end of the festivities I finally managed an evening to relax and
>enjoy a bottle of "be selfish and indulge myself wines"
>This being Penfolds Grange 1991.
>The meal was extremely simple, namely fillet steak pan fried with
>chips.....yes I am english lol.
>Having tried the 1988 and 1989 granges previously, I was a little concerned
>about infanticide but considering that I have 6 of the 1991 I thought I
>could spare one for an indulgent treat.
>This was by far the finest shiraz I have ever tasted.
>The depth and darkness of the fruit is outstanding and although tannins are
>hugely evident, they are ripe and fine grained and enhance the complexity of
>the wine.
>Although the wine is very youthful, it is approachable now with a multi
>layered complexity that demands attention of every sip.
>I'm planning to open one a year for the next 5 to see how the wine develops,
>will power permitting.
>If pressed I would say that although approachable, I imagine that the best
>results will be in years 4 and 5.
>
>Best wishes and Happy New Year,
>
>
>Alex
>
Glad you enjoyed Alex.. :>)

Are you aware the Grange is a Shiraz - Cab blend? IIRC, only 2 Grange
Shiraz only have been released, one recently, and one some time ago I
think.

The 1990 was considered the ultimate recent Grange, (until 1998
strolled by).

By rule of thumb, Grange is considered at best around the 20 y.o mark
(generalisation of course..:>)). My math says, 1 per year will see
05,06,07,08 and 09 covered, but then it WILL be a 20 y.o. Looks like
your patience and willpower needs to be extended a tad, to enjoy some
at peak....:>)

Hooroo......

On 6/1/05 3:48 PM, in article ,
"Swooper" > wrote:


> Are you aware the Grange is a Shiraz - Cab blend? IIRC, only 2 Grange
> Shiraz only have been released, one recently, and one some time ago I
> think.
>
Just back from the break, checked Penfolds' cellaring guide,
The Rewards of Patience:
"A portion of Cabernet is used in some years to further enhance aromatics
and palate structure. The 1999, 2000 and 2001 vintages, however, are all
100% Shiraz."

Cheers

wn