Penfolds Grange Gift Box 750ml

Ripe blackberries/blackcurrant reduction, laced with spices - notably fennel and aniseed. Dark chocolate and cola. Familial flavours of deconstructed Black Forest cake - chocolate, custard, wild raspberry. An assortment of fresh red and black liquorice, omnipresent and even tannins. A confluence of tannin/acidity/oak/fruit  - all joyously meshed together. Turly 'alive', upon sitting and with air, all transforms. Can definitely wait. There will be ample opportunity over the next half-century. 

Color: Deep, dark and bright

Nose: Benchmark. Automatically recognisable - formic and glacial higher notes – not quite as audacious as a fleeting perception of heady 

spirit (á la Cognac), and yet not just simple V.A. Beneath, a more familial oaked nuttiness (hazelnut?) recedes to reveal aromas of black licorice/anise/black olive. A shroud of condensed glazed fruits surrenders to reveal a fresher disposition … a coulis of berries and stone fruits; boiled beetroot. Unsurprisingly wafts of coffee-grind, pan-scrapings/jus also ascend, hovering over a persistent base of cold lamb fat and marrow. Upon sitting, a sprinkle of lavender and exotic spices almost completes the aromatic package – well, at least for another minute or 

two. And then … Early days

Palate: Cohesion, vigour, sheen, poise – four borders of a frame that structurally binds the lofty palate ambitions of this South Australian 

blend. Fresh and balanced. Neither exaggerated nor over-ripe – lively blueberry and other youthful blue/black fruits bely the maturation timeline of this alluring blend. Certainly befitting this style, unmistakable barrel-ferment characters are undoubtedly more pronounced on palate than nose. If the mid-palate is somewhat formidable (ably supporting a thick/dense core), by contrast the back-palate is creamy and caressingly endearing. Indeed, expansive and full – washing away all ahead of it. Certainly persistent. Texturally, chewy/grainy tannins and just-right acidity abet succulence and mouthfeel. Effortlessly handles 19 months in 100% new oak.

Alcohol: 14.5%