1969 Penfolds Grange Hermitage
Drinking Window: Now
Medium brick red. Intense dark chocolate/briary/leafy aromas. A dry, austere palate with some briary/chocolate/leafy flavours and sinewy tannins. Just a hint of fruit sweetness.
95% Shiraz, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate (Adelaide), Clare Valley, Morphett Valle (Adelaide) and Coonawarra. Mild, wet conditions prevailed during the growing season and vintage.
Notes sourced from Southcorp Wines.
Grape Varieties: Made from a blend of 95% Shiraz & 5% Cabernet Sauvignon the fruit was sourced from Magill (Adelaide), Morphett Vale (Adelaide), Clare Valley, Coonawarra & Kalimna (Barossa Valley).
Total acids: 6.1 grams per litre. pH: 3.69 Alcohol: 12.4%
Vintage Conditions: A wet year with almost double the normal growing season rainfall. The vintage was mild and wet.
Tasting Notes:size> Considered a very successful wine from a difficult year, but not an outstanding Grange. "Another lesser wine; not a top year", said Max Schubert. Nevertheless it won five trophies, six gold, six silver and two bronze medals between 1969 and 1975.
Colour: red brown. Bouquet: dull and flat, lacking the texture and complexity of the other wines. Palate: rather better; some fresh fruit but then drying; unbalanced tannin on the finish. (James Halliday, National Times, Nov. 1982)
Soft, mellow and complex. Mature, sweet fruit character. Ready. (Rewards of Patience, 1st ed., 1985)
Mature, complex and mellow, but with pronounced tannins and volatility. (Ultimate Grange Experience, Nov. 1994)
"Medium brick red. Overdeveloped, nutty/ leathery fruit with touches of game. Palate slightly bitter and fading, with developed, nutty, leather/ briar fruit, drying tannins and moderate length. Drink now or yesterday!" (Southcorp Wines, The Rewards of Patience, Fourth Edition, March 2000)