Penfolds Grange Shiraz 2016

This is as good a young Grange as I can recall. It will comfortably sit with wines like the 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010, and 2012. And in time may surpass the lot, though it will be years before we can make a final determination on that. The 2016 spent 18 months in new American oak hogsheads. It is a blend of 97 percent Shiraz and just 3 percent Cabernet with the fruit sourced from the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, the Clare Valley, and Magill Estate. Gago has described it as "an old-fashioned Grange made modernly.” At the moment, it is obviously young. The color is effectively opaque. Edges of deep purple. Notes of nutty oak do emerge early, but integration is proceeding as one would wish. Extremely complex, even at this early stage. Balanced, coiled with endless power to be released over the decades. New leather, coffee beans, chocolate, spices, black fruits, aniseed, and a touch of garden compost adding to the complexity. The wine has the length one might find with a great fortified, and the intensity remained throughout. The 2016 Grange surely has a good 50 years ahead of it, for anyone planning their grandkids' cellar. Giving this wine 100 points is one of the easiest things I have had to do in ages. Every day of the week. And yet, the day after, the wine seemed even better. Outstanding. 100PTS Ken Gargett, World of Fine Wine

The 2016 Grange includes 3% Cabernet Sauvignon and was sourced from Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Clare Valley, with a little bit from Magill Estate, in the suburbs of Adelaide. Aged in 100% new American oak (as always), it offers up trademark lifted aromas plus scents of vanilla, toasted coconut, cedar, raspberries and blackberries. Impressively concentrated and full-bodied, with an extraordinarily long, velvety finish, it's nevertheless reasonably fresh and tight, with decades of cellaring potential if properly stored. Certainly at least on a par with such vintages as 2010 and 2012, the big question is whether it will ultimately reach triple digits. 99PTS Joe Czerwinski, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate