Penfolds Bin 95 Grange Shiraz 2000

The 2000 Penfolds Grange is an excellent example of the Grange style transcending a most challenging South Australian 2000 vintage, the second consecutive year of Grange made of straight Shiraz. Smoky barrel fermented notes hover above a complex base of black liquorice, tobacco, black pepper, exotic spices and plummy, berried fruits. The palate is mouthfilling, generous and expansive. Dark chocolate and plum fruits court a deceptive play of substantial ripe tannins.

Penfolds Chief winemaker Peter Gago at the helm using 100% Shiraz which is aged for 18 months in new American oak hogsheads.

Combining traditional Australian techniques, inspiration from Europe and precision winemaking practices developed at Penfolds, Max Schubert made his first experimental wine in 1951. In 1957, Schubert was asked to show his efforts in Sydney to top management, invited wine identities and personal friends of the board. To his horror, the Grange experiment was universally disliked and Schubert was ordered to shut down the project. Max continued to craft his Grange vintages in secret, hiding three vintages '57, '58 and '59, in the depths of the cellars. Eventually, the Penfolds board ordered production of Grange to restart, just in time for the 1960 vintage. From then on, international acknowledgment and awards were bestowed on Grange, including the 1990 vintage of Grange, which was named Wine Spectator's Red Wine of the Year in 1995.