Penfolds Grange Bin 95 2014

Wineadvocate

Rich, concentrated and intense, the 2014 Grange delivers exactly what we've come to expect from this Penfolds icon wine. It's full-bodied, velvety in feel and loaded with plummy fruit, framed in vanilla and cedar. Dense, powerful and tannic, it should prove to be long lived, even by Grange standards. Gago doesn't rate the vintage overall that highly, but he says the selection this year for Grange was a bit more stringent and that production levels were just average.

Vinous

Brilliant purple. A heady, intensely perfumed bouquet evokes dark berry preserves, incense, candied flowers, vanilla and cola, with a smoky, incisive mineral nuance building with air. Juicy, penetrating and alluringly sweet, offering deeply concentrated blueberry, cherry-cola, mocha and violet pastille flavors and a strong suggestion of fruitcake. Shockingly vibrant for its depth, with youthfully firm tannins adding shape and grip to an extremely long, mineral- and floral-dominated finish. - JR 12/2021

Suckling

Shows a cooler and more savory style from the get go. Darker, spicy aromas with notes of clove and soy, blackberries, bracken and wood, dried orange and dark chocolate. The depth of flavor is undeniable. There's elegance here too, in the sense that it is chiseled and contained, only broadening out at the finish. This has some growth to come in the bottle. Peter Gago’s description of the tannins as 'slaty' is spot on; they are dark, stony and slick, smooth and strong. The flavors hang long into a tight, toasty and spicy finish. Luxuriant, long and powerful. A blend of 98 per cent shiraz and two per cent cabernet sauvignon, sourced from Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Wrattonbully, Coonawarra, Clare Valley and Magill Estate. 20 months in 100 per cent new American-oak hogsheads. Try from 2025 and best after 2030. - JS 11/2018