Penfolds : Grange 2020

The 2020 Grange comprises 97% Shiraz and the balance Cabernet Sauvignon from McLaren Vale (48%), Barossa Valley (40%) and Clare Valley (12%), and it matured for 20 months in American oak hogsheads, 100% new. While the metric of regions changes each season and the proportion of Shiraz changes slightly, the élevage and style remain the same. Aromatically, the wine is black and savory, with crushed ant, black peppercorn, blueberry, blackberry and licorice/aniseed. In the mouth, the wine feels lighter than some other vintages on release. There is something like clarity and perhaps a little hole in the mid-palate—it sits like clarity or less density and also features as breathing space. A nice wine, it is lighter than the preceding 2019. Both vintages had their challenges, but this 2020 season has yielded an "easier" feeling wine.

Blackberry, blueberry, graphite and terra cotta aromas. Medium-bodied with clarity, focus and very fine tannins that are polished and caressing. One of the most refined and textural Granges I have had in a long time. The tannins are very resolved. This is mostly Barossa and McLaren Vale with some Clare Valley. 3% cabernet sauvignon. Very drinkable now, but will age beautifully.

The 2020 vintage—harvested at the start of a global pandemic—was a difficult one. But the quality of Australia's most collected wine hasn't slipped. Tightly wound, it's restrained, classic, comfy in its own skin without having to shout. Plump plum, cedar, ground pepper, vanilla and the charred pan scrapings of a roast: it's all there. It's a powerful wine, thanks to a mouth-full of hefty tannins, but they're well-integrated, setting this up for a very long life ahead.