2013 Penfolds Grange Hermitage

Saturated ruby. Displays highly perfumed aromas of dark berry preserves, cherry-cola, pipe tobacco, smoky oak and vanilla, along with exotic spice and floral topnotes. Smooth, broad and appealingly sweet, intense, spice-laced blackcurrant, cherry, candied violet and mocha flavors show outstanding depth and energy. The dark fruit and floral notes resonate on a strikingly long, seamless finish that features well-integrated tannins and building spiciness.

Tasted blind. Deep blueish crimson. Lots of cough-medicine aromas. Thick and medicinal. This is obviously the Grange but it's less dramatic than the 2012. Slightly too sweet for comfort. Grainy. Edgy. Lighter bodied than the 2012 Grange. (JR)

This vintage is a blend of 96% Shiraz and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, coming from the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra and Magill Estate. Very deep inky purple-black colored, the 2013 Grange has a profoundly scented nose of crème de cassis, preserved black plums, blueberry pie and licorice over nuances of baker’s chocolate, smoky bacon and fragrant earth, plus exotic spice wafts of cumin seed, cardamom, fenugreek and star anise. Unfurling and slowly building in the medium to full-bodied mouth with wonderful grace and depth, it reveals an incredible array of ripe black fruit, spice, meat and earth-inspired flavors, with a rock-solid frame to support this beauty (it should easily cellar for 40+ years!), while previously latent flavors emerge fully on the epically long finish, culminating in that ultimate Grange experience. Oh, yes.<br /> <br />