1984 Penfolds Grange Hermitage
Drinking Window: Now – 2015
Deep crimson. Perfumed, red berry/cassis/toasty/mocha/herb aromas and some malt oak characters. The palate is seductively smooth with redcurrant/leafy blackcurrant fruit and soft, slinky tannins. A really well balanced, delicious wine.
95% Shiraz, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate (Adelaide), McLaren Vale, Clare Valley and Coonawarra. A cool growing season followed by a cool, dry late vintage.
Notes Sourced from Southcorp Wines
Regional sources: Kalimna (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill, Coonawarra, McLaren Vale & Clare Valley.
Grape varieties: 95% Shiraz & 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
Alcohol: 14.2% Total acids: 6.1 grams per litre. pH: 3.63
Growing season/vintage: Generally good; a cool summer followed by cool, dry conditions at what as a late vintage.
Comments: An "elegant" Grange, rated 89/100 points by Robert Parker in 1990.
Tasting notes:size> Great finesse and elegance. Very much the product of a cool vintage, with far lower tannins and the oak a fraction dominant at this stage. (James Halliday, Weekend Australian, Dec. 1988)
Concentrated fruit and strong, balanced tannins are pronounced on the palate. Needs time to develop. (Rewards of Patience, 2nd ed., 1990)
A lighter-bodied Grange, but still big, this has lovely balance and fineness, starting to build the typical earthy, meaty, matured characters, but with unusual tobacco and cedar cool-year nuances. Lively acidity; very intense flavour. A very good wine without the fleshiness of top-year Granges. Drink 1996-2008. (Huon Hooke, 1993)
Blackcurrant and plum aromas combine with developed chocolate and caramel-like characters. The palate is elegant, with cedary, chocolatey, tobacco-like flavours and supple tannins. This is a "useful" Grange for relatively early drinking, now to 2010. (Rewards of Patience, 3rd ed., 1994)
"Medium-full red/purple. Forward but complex wine with sweet, prune/cherry aromas and touches of mint. Very seductive palate with sweet, fleshy, chocolate/berry/truffle fruit flavours balanced by finely grained, slightly gripping tannins. Early drinking but will hold. Drink between now and 2009." (Southcorp Wines, The Rewards of Patience, Fourth Edition, March 2000)