Penfolds Grange Collectors tasting with Special Guest Global Ambassador Ewan Proctor

"You have only so many bottles in your life, never drink a bad one."

Len Evans

We don’t waste time here at the Wine Watch as every day above ground should be special and celebrated with great wines.  You never know when your last bottle will go down but we are trying to take down as many great wines as we can before our time runs out!

One of the reasons that I get out of bed in the morning is to drink wines like Penfolds Grange. Grange is a symbol of the best that Australia has to offer, the pinnacle of quality and the epitome of what a Shiraz from southeast Australia is and standard bearer should be. That is why we host an annual event to showcase the newest release of this iconic wine.  

Over the years we have had both John Duvall and Peter Gago, the last two winemakers for Grange along with other Penfolds’ personalities and this year we have the star of the movie “Somm” D Lynn Proctor on hand to tell the story of the iconic Grange.  This year he turns the baton over to our new host a brother from another mother Ewan Proctor will be on hand to tell the story of the iconic Grange.  

Our "Collector Series" tasting event is where we ask you, our wine drinking people, to come up with some wine from your wine collection to add to the party. If you don’t have any Grange in your cellar don’t worry we have an incredible collection of Grange to choose from and I have included everything that we have in the store from Penfolds on this e-mail offering.

Penfolds Grange Collectors Cellar Tasting with Ewan Proctor
Friday, July 27th
7:30pm

Let me explain further- this is a two part event:

The first part of the evening begins at 7:30pm, this is where we will be tasting through a vertical selection of 10+ vintages of Penfolds Grange. The price of admission is one bottle of Penfolds Grange from your cellar, but here is the catch- we only need 1 bottles of each wine, so the longer you wait to respond the harder it will be to get a seat as you will have to go further back in time because the youngest vintages will be filled up by the first collectors who respond. 

If you do not have a bottle of Grange in the cellar that is a different vintage than those below we may be able to help.  We just happen to have one of the largest collections of Penfolds Grange in Florida so I have included a list of all the Grange that we have in the store below. 

If you would like to attend the vertical tasting just respond to this email with the vintage of Penfolds Grange that you would like to trade for your seat.

**There are only 14 spaces available for this event.

Here are the vintages that we have already:

Penfolds Grange South Australia 2013
Price: $849.00    Sale $747.12

(100 Points) Remember that old Heinz Ketchup “anticipation” ad from the 1970s? The palate of this 2013 Grange does just that. It makes you wait with so much delicious promise being drip fed into the mouth at first—and then it bursts forth and delivers!

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.  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Penfolds Grange South Australia 2011

Penfolds Grange South Australia 2003

Penfolds Grange South Australia 2000

Penfolds Grange South Australia 1999

Penfolds Grange South Australia 1998

Penfolds Grange South Australia 1997

Penfolds Grange South Australia 1985

Penfolds Grange South Australia 1981

The Dinner is $75 + tax and we will be pairing a course and you can drink the rest of your bottle of Grange with dinner!

Dinner Menu

Blue cheese Gouchons with blackberry drizzle

Foie gras Tourchon with currant jam and brioche toast

Baby Octapus Carpaccio with grilled Shallot and elderflower Aioli

Australian Lamb Chops with Jalapeno Mint Jam and Blistered baby Yukon Potato

Dark Chocolate Creme Brulee

Wines that will be served at the tasting in addition to the vertical of Penfolds Grange:

Penfolds Bin 51 Riesling 2015    
Price: $37.50       Sale $33.00

(96 Points) "Highly floral; has a definite touch of lavender on the bouquet along with notes of herb and the more usual citrus. Fascinating - the low pH gives the palate the minerally structure to carry the apple skin and lemon/citrus zest and pith. A vibrantly fresh wine bred to stay. And to think there was a time not so long ago when Penfolds had L-plates on its white winemaking." Australian Wine Companion

-Max’s Cab

-Max’s Cab/Shiraz. 

-St Henri 

-Bin 51 

-Bin 311

Penfold’s Max’s Shiraz 2016
Price: $19.50       Sale $17.16
Max's Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 
Price: $19.50       Sale $17.16

Complex, leafy with olive fruit and dried oregano. Beetroot fruit. Roasted Mediterranean vegetables. Textured by assertive tannins that provide counter-balance to the sweet fruit. Oak provides cedar, toast, char & dark licorice and exotic spices.  Blend: 70% Shiraz, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon

Penfolds Max's Cabernet Sauvignon 2014           
Price: $19.50       Sale $17.16

This wine has a bit of that Eucalyptus along with lots of dark currant and cassis berry fruit, cedar and bitter coco, this wine was formerly known as the Bin 8.  A good amount of dark berry fruit on the tongue, smooth tannins but there is a hint of bitter coco at the end, a well-balanced wine that is approachable today but could use a few years of cellaring.  Finish 40+                Very good +

2015 Penfolds Bin 28 Shiraz Barossa       
Price: $27.75       Sale $24.42

A big bouquet with black raspberry and blackberry fruit notes of black olive tapenade and toasty oak spice.  Plush velvety tannins here on the tongue with a good amount of dark raspberry and plum fruit on the tongue, notes of that spice and earth, black olive tapenade on the finish.  finish 45+        Excellent

2013 Penfolds St Henri Shiraz   
rice: $97.50         Sale $85.80

This is the alter ego to Grange and they use no barrique here with lots of dark jammy fruit, soy and toasty oak, a very concentrated and rich array of fruit here.  A big and rich wine on the tongue that has lots of chewy tannins, very concentrated with layers of fruit, violet floral notes and some spicy notes through the finish.  Finish 45+                Most Excellent

Penfolds Grandfather Port         
Price: $118.50    Sale$104.28

The Grandfather name dates back to 1915, when an oak cask containing the finest blend of Tawny was set aside for the exclusive use of the Penfold family. This wine was known as The Grandfather due to the age of the oldest Tawny in the blend.

With a core selection of Mourvedre, Shiraz, Cabernet and Grenache (but not limited to these varieties), Grandfather Rare Tawny sources fruit from vineyards specifically selected for fortified wine production.

Only the free run wine is used for Penfolds Grandfather Rare Tawny and Penfolds uses a low strength fortifying spirit which is selected specifically for the Penfolds style. This spirit accentuates primary fruit character and adds additional complexity and seamless integration.

Each year, fortified wine is made with Grandfather in mind and these selected batches are barrel aged for approximately eight years. Batches of wine that reach the required maturation and Grandfather quality are then blended and added to the 'Grandfather Solera'. In this six-stage solera, Grandfather is aged for a further twelve years to give a total average age above 20 years - before being drawn off for bottling.

During this extended maturation process the Grandfather Rare Tawny becomes more concentrated and complex with increased palate weight, structure, complexity and sweetness

This tasting menu is limited to 16 tasters but if you still want to come in and talk to D-Lynn and enjoy any of these Penfolds wines By the Glass along with one or two of the items on the menu you can stop by and just have a glass of the St. Henri with the Foie Gras or a Glass of Grange with a selection of cheese and Charcuterie which are always available whenever the Wine Bar is open.

This tasting and dinner is $75 + tax for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

All the Penfolds Grange in the store:

1984 Penfolds Grange South Australia MAGNUM
Price: $1100.00    Sale Price: $899.00         Quantity in Stock: 1

1992 Penfolds Grange South Australia MAGNUM
Price: $999.00    Sale Price: $799.00           Quantity in Stock: 1

1995 Penfolds Grange South Australia
Price: $595.00    Sale Price: $495.00           Quantity in Stock: 7

1995 Penfolds Grange South Australia MAGNUM
Price: $1200.00    Sale Price: $999.00         Quantity in Stock: 1

1996 Penfolds Grange South Australia
Price: $575.00    Sale Price: $475.00           Quantity in Stock: 2

1996 Penfolds Grange MAGNUM South Australia
Price: $1075.00    Sale Price: $875.00         Quantity in Stock: 1

1997 Penfolds Grange South Australia
Price: $550.00    Sale Price: $450.0              Quantity in Stock: 1

1997 Penfolds Grange MAGNUM South Australia
Price: $999.00    Sale Price: $799.00           Quantity in Stock: 3

1998 Penfolds Grange South Australia
Price: $650.00    Sale Price: $525.00           Quantity in Stock: 2

1999 Penfolds Grange South Australia
Price: $438.00    Sale Price: $350.00           Quantity in Stock: 12

2000 Penfolds Grange South Australia
Price: $450.00    Sale Price: $359.00           Quantity in Stock: 17

2001 Penfolds Grange South Australia
Price: $550.00    Sale Price: $450.00           Quantity in Stock: 3

2001 Penfolds Grange South Australia MAGNUM
Price: $1199.00    Sale Price: $899.00         Quantity in Stock: 1

2002 Penfolds Grange South Australia
Price: $550.00    Sale Price: $450.00           Quantity in Stock: 9

2003 Penfolds Grange South Australia
Price: $495.00    Sale Price: $399.00           Quantity in Stock: 13

2012 Penfolds Grange South Australia
Price: $850.50    Sale Price: $748.44           Quantity in Stock: 1

A bit of history about Penfolds:
Penfolds, a household word in Australia and one of the world's largest wine companies, traces its origins back to Magill on the outskirts of Adelaide at the foot of the Mount Lofty Ranges.   It was at Magill that Dr. Christopher Rawson Penfold, the founder of this great firm, first planted his vineyard.  Dr. Penfold, the son of a Sussex vicar, the Reverend John Penfold, was schooled in England, and married his wife there in 1835.  However, within a few short years, he decided to try his hand at life in the colonies and purchased a grant of land at Magill in South Australia for what was considered a large sum of money.  With his wife and baby daughter, Georgina, he made the hazardous voyage towards the end of 1844.  The family settled on their land at Magill and built a white-washed stone cottage which they named "The Grange".  As well as practicing medicine and looking after his farm, Dr. Penfold planted vine cuttings which he had brought out with their ends dipped in sealing wax to keep the sap in the vines until they were planted.  He did not approve of the quality of imported wine of the time so he made his own for use of his patients with anemia.  Whether the wine was in fact any help to anemia is debatable, but this now discredited cure was the beginning of a huge enterprise.  By the time of his death in 1870, Dr. Penfold had expanded his viticultural holdings and devoted more and more time to winemaking.  In his twenty-six years in the young colony, Dr. Penfold had laid the basis of a veritable viticultural dynasty.
Although the wine business at Magill seemed to falter slightly after Dr. Penfold's death, by 1881 it was again flourishing; and Penfolds was becoming the most important wine producer in South Australia.  Historical records reveal that the stock of wine at the Magill winery in 1881 was about 485,000 liters.  At that time the total quantity in South Australian was about 1.4 million liters.  Wine production continued to increase, and by 1885 trade was flourishing between Magill and all the states as well as New Zealand.  One of Dr. Penfold's four grandchildren, Frank Penfold Hyland (born 1873), was responsible for guiding the company through almost fifty years of successful expansion.  Frank entered the business in 1892 and spent three years in Europe studying winemaking.  After Frank's death in 1948, at the age of 74, the company was administered by a Board of Directors for some fourteen years before it became a public company in 1962.  Expansion continued throughout the sixties and seventies with the most significant expansion occurring in 1982 when Penfolds acquired the Kaiser Stuhl winery.  Throughout the eighties Penfolds continued its aggressive expansion, swallowed up the huge Seppelt winery, and was said to control nearly 40% of all Australian wine production.  Also in 1988, Penfold's flung its far-reaching tentacles abroad and purchased half of Sonoma County's Geyser Peak winery.  Magill is still the headquarters of the Penfolds organization, but their winery at Nuriootpa is the major production facility.  The "Grange", the family's small old white-washed stone cottage, is still maintained at Magill in its original condition and is used as a museum.  Today Penfold's is a huge and successful enterprise.  Indeed, a great deal of wine has flowed since Dr. Christopher Rawson Penfold began to cure his anemic patients at Magill.

Everything else in the store from Penfolds

2014 Penfolds Bin 51 Riesling
Price: $37.50    Your Price: $33.00               Quantity in Stock: 2

2013 Penfolds St Henri Shiraz
Price: $105.00    Sale Price: $92.40              Quantity in Stock: 4

2004 Penfolds Cabernet Shiraz Bin 60A
Price: $1000.00    Sale Price: $750.00         Quantity in Stock: 3

2014 Penfolds Bin 28 Shiraz Barossa
Price: $27.75    Sale Price: $24.42                Quantity in Stock: 1

2003 Penfolds Shiraz RWT
Price: $150.00    Sale Price: $115.00           Quantity in Stock: 1

2013 Penfolds RWT Shiraz Barossa Valley
Price: $148.50    Your Price: $130.68          Quantity in Stock: 6

2011 Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon
Price: $67.50    Your Price: $59.40               Quantity in Stock: 5

2004 Penfolds Cabernet Shiraz Bin 60A MAGNUM
Price: $1900.00    Sale Price: $1500.00       Quantity in Stock: 1

2014 Penfolds Rawson's Retreat Cabernet Sauvignon Southeastern Australia
Price: $11.25    Your Price: $9.90 Quantity in Stock: 2

2001 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon South Australia
Price: $375.00    Sale Price: $275.00           Quantity in Stock: 1

1996 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Block 42 Kalimna Southeast Australia
Price: $499.00    Your Price: $439.12          Quantity in Stock: 8

2004 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Bin Block 42 South Australia
Price: $850.00    Sale Price: $700.00           Quantity in Stock: 12

NV Penfolds Club Tawny
Price: $18.00    Your Price: $15.84               Quantity in Stock: 25

Other Penfolds wines available:

Penfolds Bin 51 Riesling 2016
Price: $37.50       Sale $33.00

Penfolds Bin 311 Chardonnay 2015
Price: $37.50       Sale $33.00

Penfolds Bin 407 2015
Price: $75.00       Sale $66.00

Penfolds Bin 169 Cabernet Sauvignon
Price: $337.50    Sale $297.00

Penfolds Bin 707 2014
Price: $337.50    Sale $297.00

Penfolds RWT 2015
Price $150.00      Sale $132.00