Penfolds Grange 2022 stated at 14.5%, extending a two-decade run
The newly released Penfolds Grange 2022 carries a stated alcohol of 14.5 per cent, continuing one of the most consistent runs in the wine's history.
By my published figures, the 2022 is the 18th consecutive vintage of Grange stated at 14.5 per cent – a run reaching back to 2005, broken only once since 1998, by the 2004 at 14.3 per cent. It is also the 27th straight vintage stated at 14 per cent or higher, a line that begins with the 1996.
The figure is notable less for its height than its constancy. The 2022 was a cool, restraint-driven South Australian season – the kind of vintage that might be expected to yield a lower reading. It landed on 14.5 per cent regardless, the same number returned by warm years and cool years alike for close to two decades. No Grange made before 1982 was stated at 13.5 per cent or higher; none since 1996 has come in below 14.
The full vintage-by-vintage record, from the experimental 1951 to now, is here [Penfolds Grange Alcohol Levels].
