2012 Penfolds Grange

The 2012 Penfolds Grange is a blend of 98% Shiraz and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon with maturation taking place in new American oak hogsheads for 18 months. Tasted from bottle no. DV677. Spectacular impenetrable inky black colour with an equally deep dark purple black hue. Heady aromatics immediately soar out of the glass delivering a complex bouquet of liquorice, ripe blackberries, dark plum and dark chocolate with ensuing vanillin oak infusions, mocha, confectionary and spicy new leather. Massively concentrated the palate is endowed with an enormous level of richness that’s almost overwhelming. Mouthfilling flavours of luscious blackberries, liquorice and dark plum explode across the palate in decadent fashion underpinned by toasty vanillin oak, dark chocolate, earth and spicy mocha. The firm, rigid tannin structure remarkably largely concealed by the incredible generosity and opulence of fruit. Magnificent power with an exceptionally long aftertaste of ripe blackberries, liquorice, dark chocolate, vanillin oak, subtle scorched earth and spicy mocha.
Cellar 15-20 years plus.
Alc 14.5%

Other Reviews…
Bottle no. AV697. This vintage was destined to be one of the greatest Granges. In the flesh it is majestically complex, superbly focused and intense, and wondrously balanced. It has every black fruit flavour known to man or woman, and will become more magical with each passing decade. Oh for a screwcap. Drink by 2062.
99 points
James Halliday – Australian Wine Companion
 

Powerful and impressive, this seamless expression offers chai tea, sandalwood, dark chocolate, gingerbread and tobacco notes that complement the juicy black cherry fruit flavors at the core. Gains momentum on the finish. Intense but polished, revealing an air of weightlessness that lingers. Drink now through 2035.
97 points
Wine Spectator

The 2012 Grange comes from just two sub-regions of South Australia this year: Barossa Valley (the majority) and McLaren Vale. This makes a lot of sense since 2012 was a cracking year in both of these areas, producing a number of extraordinary wines. As usual, this Grange contains a splash of Cabernet Sauvignon, just 2%. Very deep purple-black in color, it opens on the nose with complex earthy/meaty/savory notes, soon giving way to baked blackberries, plum preserves, hoisin and Chinese five spice with dabs of sandalwood, licorice, menthol and vanilla. The palate reveals a surprisingly open, rich, full-bodied expression exuding a powerhouse of velvet-lined decadence. Still, it characteristically possesses that rock-solid “Grange” backbone of firm tannins and great freshness expressed in a real lively lift to the finish. And the finish is epically long. There are some stylistic similarities here to the opulent, gregarious 2008 vintage, perhaps just lacking ever so slightly in the same exhilarating abandonment of winemaking protocols for the celebration of the fruit and sites. That said, this is unquestionably a stonking great Grange! Drink 2019-2045.
99 points 
Lisa Perrotti-Brown - Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate