1966 Penfolds Grange Hermitage
Outstanding vintage
Drinking Window: Now – 2016
Medium deep brick red. A very powerful compact wine with meaty/black cherry/sandalwood aromas. A very mellow, beautifully balanced and concentrated palate with sweet meaty/black cherry/mocha/sandalwood flavours, underlying malt/vanilla characters and smooth velvet tannins. A classic Grange year. Increasingly rare.
88% Shiraz, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate (Adelaide) and Morphett Vale (Adelaide) blend. A dry growing season was followed by an ideal warm vintage.
Notes sourced from Southcorp Wines.
Grape Varieties: Made from a blend of 88% Shiraz & 12% Cabernet Sauvignon the fruit was sourced from Magill (Adelaide), Morphett Vale (Adelaide) & Kalimna (Barossa Valley).
Total acids: 6.1 grams per litre pH: 3.76 Alcohol: 13.4%
Vintage Conditions: A fairly dry growing season followed by a warm vintage with near ideal conditions.
Tasting Notes:size> Generally considered a great Grange, often compared with the 1962. Rated 89/100 points by Robert Parker in 1990. Also won four golds and five other medals at Australian shows between 1969 and 1980.
Deep red in colour with rich, sweet, complex flavour. A big, robust wine, still full of life. Great drinking, but still developing. Outstanding vintage. (Rewards of Patience,1st ed., 1985)
Sweet, soft, "old" wine. Fully mature. Outstanding vintage. (Rewards of Patience, 2nd ed., 1990)
Typical Grange richness, opulence and intensity of fruit and oak. Big, blackish, red-brown colour. Strong, earthy, roasted nut, cigar box bouquet. Still full and generous, great richness, sweetness and complexity with a touch of liquorice. Drinking well now, and should hold till at least 2000. (Huon Hooke, 1993)
Intense, powerful and complex game, liquorice and coffee-like bouquet with hints of primary aromas. Strong, concentrated palate with rich, tarry, chocolatey, cigar box flavours, some sweet mulberry-like fruit character, well-integrated tannins, and length. A great Grange with superb balance. (Rewards of Patience, 3rd ed., 1994).
A great, complex wine at its absolute peak, with all elements in perfect balance and harmony. (Ultimate Grange Experience, Nov. 1994).
"Medium- full brick red. Opulent, coffee/ gamey aromas with some chocolate and cedar. Sweet rich palate with ripe, gamey/ chocolate fruit, some truffly undertones, chewy tannins and excellent length. Finishes a touch dry. Beginning to wind down. Drink now." (Southcorp Wines, The Rewards of Patience, Fourth Edition, March 2000)