Penfolds Grange Shiraz 2020

98 POINTS

Jeni Port

An interesting wine given the fact that there was no Bin 707 or Bin 169 - both cabernets - made in 2020. Clearly, shiraz figured better across South Australia in that heat wave year in which the Barossa recorded its driest year on record. The Barossa Valley joins McLaren Vale and the Clare Valley in the 2020 Grange, which is 97% shiraz with a 3% smidge of cabernet. It saw 20 months in new American hogsheads. A warm-hearted Grange to be sure, rich and full o drive as might be expected, but with the warmt of 2020 comes some lovely, gentle aromatics which brings that touch of finesse. You could say 2020 is more opulent and slightly less muscular for Grange. Deep aromas of ripe dark blue berries with plum cake, spice, dark chocolate, sweet oak spice, dried orange peel and mahogany with attractive, lifted star anise, sage, bay leaf. Combines the basic mechanics of plush, velvety tannins and vanillin, warm oak support, but the palate explores further the depth of some gorgeous fruits and spice, textures, layers and budding complexity. It's all ready to go and will keep building over the vears ahead Maybe not a classic Grange but one not to be underestimated.

98 POINTS

Andrew Caillard MW

The classical and beautiful 2020 Grange, with its abundant dark berry fruits, massive concentration, oak maturation characters and well-integrated chocolaty tannins. possesses the detail and hallmarks of a First Growth Australian red. It has all the cadence and balance for long term aging. In years to come, it may be seen as one of the great vintages.

97 POINTS

Tyson Stelzer

McLaren Vale assumes the lead over the Barossa in the warm and dry 2020 season, creating a Grange of larger-than-life proportions. The depth and concentration of blackberry, blueberry and satsuma plum on display is unique to Grange, carrying all the complexity of coal steam and fresh liquorice, set to the high cocoa dark chocolate and char presence of new American oak. The gravitas of cascading classification of Penfolds sourcing is declared in a fruit integrity and definition upheld even in such a warm and dry season, a feat that this house achieves today with greater confidence than it did in decades past. This is a show- stopping Grange of impact and muscle.

97 POINTS

Christina Pickard - Wine Enthusiast

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.

97 POINTS

Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front

97% Shiraz, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. 20 months in 100% new American oak. For reviews of every Penfolds Grange ever made, click here. Grapes for the 2020 Penfolds Grange Shiraz release were sourced from the McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, and Clare Valley regions. Mint and crushed ants up front. Saturated plums, meat, woodsmoke, more ants, more crushed woodsy spices, a rusty seaweed character in among the vanilla and cedar. The tannin is a broad, powerful, commanding brush, full throttle, fully integrated. It’s not a heralded vintage necessarily but it turns out to have been a good thing; it’s not a show pony, it’s not a wall of sound, it’s Grange being Grange, authoritative, settled, the ants served crushed, the fruit deep. This release of Penfolds Grange feels true to itself; and as a result it’s seriously good.

95 POINTS

Angus Hughson - Vinous

This dense and brooding 2020 Shiraz Grange has all the elements for a long life with impressive levels of extract and tannins, but lacking the delicacy of a great vintage. It opens up with waves of tarry, licorice and cola aromas against a backdrop of firm, unyielding oak. Muscular, chalky tannins provide a strong frame to waves of blackberry flavor which build toward a drying finish. A couple more years in the cellar will bring all the pieces together before a two-decade drinking window.