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1975 Penfolds Grange Hermitage

South Australia, AUSTRALIA
$699. 00
Bottle
$8388.00 Dozen
ABV: 13.4%
Closure: Cork
Notes Sourced from The Rewards of Patience - Fifth Edition (2004):
Drinking Window: Now – 2010
Deep brick red. Savoury, wet bitumen/blackberry/mocha aromas. A thickly textured, muscular wine with farmyardy/bitumen flavours, plenty of concentration and grippy tannins. A dark horse.
90% Shiraz, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley andCoonawarra. A cool summer was followed by a mild, dry vintage.
Notes Sourced from Southcorp Wines.

Regional sources: Kalimna (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley & Coonawarra

Grape varieties: 90% Shiraz & 10% Cabernet Sauvignon

Alcohol: 13.4% Total acids: 5.8 grams per litre. pH: 3.85

Growing season/vintage: Cool summer followed by a mild, dry vintage.

Comments: Considered a good but tannic Grange. Won two gold and five other medals at Australian wine shows between 1976 and 1981. The year Max Schubert retired from his post of Chief Winemaker, although he remained a consultant to Penfolds and kept an office at Magill until his death in 1994. He was succeeded as Chief Winemaker by Don Ditter, who had worked with Penfolds as a winemaker since 1946.

Tasting notes:size> Colour: dense purple-black. Bouquet: immense spicy hermitage with Rhúne-like structure. Palate: a giant black/tannic wine with astonishing spicy flavour and depth. Not totally balanced at this stage because of that tannin. (James Halliday, National Times, Nov. 1982)

  • Dense purple-red in colour, complex fruit/oak, rich palate, good tannin. Starting to drink well. (Rewards of Patience, 1st ed., 1985)

  • Vanilla/chocolate, oaky; big, rich and somewhat heavy. (Huon Hooke, 1987)

  • Lovely rich, sweet fruit with complex, coffee-like flavours and softening tannin. (Rewards of Patience, 2nd ed., 1990)

  • Deep dark hue; very tannic woodsy/leathery bouquet not showing much fruit. Very tannic and grippy, verging on over-extracted. Licorice/anise flavours. A monster, to be drunk now to 2005, preferably with a hearty meat course! (Huon Hooke, 1993)

  • Tight-knit bouquet with hints of licorice, leather, smoke and "dark" fruit. Solid and concentrated on the palate, with fruit characters reminiscent of ripe plums, dark chocolate and licorice. A wine with very pronounced tannins. Will it ever soften out? (Rewards of Patience, 3rd ed., 1994)

  • Mature, but will hold. Still tannic -- a food wine. (Ultimate Grange Experience, Nov. 1994)

  • "Garnet red. Sweet, leather, spice and meaty aromas with some intense liquorice, almost porty nuances. Rich and concentrated palate with ripe, tobacco/berry fruit and touches of spice and leafiness, Quite extractive and bitter tannins make the wine a very muscular style. Could soften out. A wait and see proposition! Drink between now and 2010." (Southcorp Wines, The Rewards of Patience, Fourth Edition, March 2000)