1955 Penfolds Grange Hermitage
Grape Varieties: A blend of 90% Shiraz and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon the fruit was sourced from Magill and Morphett Vale (Adelaide), Kalimna (Barossa Valley) and McLaren Vale.
Alcohol: 12.6%
Vintage Conditions: Mild-to-warm, wet growing season (rainfall 60 per cent above average) followed by a warm vintage with ideal conditions.
Tasting notes:size> The most decorated of all Granges, winner of 12 trophies and 51 gold medals over 13 years from 1962. A "lighter" Grange that spent only nine months in oak. A favourite of Max Schubert's, partly because this was the vintage that vindicated him by winning a gold medal in the open claret class at the 1962 Sydney Wine Show. Robert Parker rated it 88/100 in 1990.
"...mixed flavours of raspberries, strawberries, violets, truffles and old boots" (Len Evans, The Bulletin, 1962).
Fresh fruit with a lovely touch of cigar box oak. Perfectly smooth, fine and delicate (palate) with the fruit fragrance holding very well... (James Halliday, National Times, Nov. 1982)
Mature, complex old Grange. Still showing fruit; it is rich, mellow and elegant. A remarkable wine. (Rewards of Patience, 1st ed., 1985)
...a gentle wine with sweet, complex, perhaps slightly faded fruit flavour. (Rewards of Patience, 2nd ed., 1990)
Deep burnished dark red/brick red hue; fantastic character on bouquet, big and oaky, almost rancio, some crushed ant, old leather and honey mature complexities. Sweet, rich, mellow and supple in the mouth. A sensational wine..." (Huon Hooke, 1993).
"Very complex, with many subtle flavours. Honeyed, leathery, sweet fruit aromas. Fully mature palate with cedary/briary flavours, lovely sweetness of fruit and tannin balance" (Rewards of Patience, 3rd ed., 1994).
"Bright brick red. Mature cedar/gamey/coffee aromas with some earthy spice nuances. Lively and powerful, with plenty of sweet, prune/ chocolate fruit layered with coffee-like richness, complex cedar/leather characters and fine, dry tannins. A beautifully focused wine. Drink now." (Southcorp Wines, The Rewards of Patience, Fourth Edition, March 2000.)