Penfolds Grange Shiraz 1996
Penfolds Bin 95 Grange Shiraz 1996
AU $350* (*unverified) on release in 2000, 14.2% alcohol, cork, South Australia.
I’ve always rated Penfolds Grange 1996 higher than most others. It’s not the biggest or most opulent of Grange releases but it’s a particularly tannic release with a particularly powerful finish. If you want to read my original review and my updated note from a tasting in 2026, skip over the talking points and the background and head straight on to the review.
Penfolds Grange 1996 was the first release of Grange to carry an alcohol reading of 14% or above. Every release between 1952-1995 is 13.9% alcohol or lower. This change marked the start of a new era. Every release of Penfolds Grange since has been 14% alcohol or higher.
Penfolds Grange 1996 is 14.2% alcohol.
Penfolds Grange 1996 is a blend of 94% Shiraz, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon
Penfolds Grange 1996 was made by John Duval.
Penfolds Grange 1996 was grown in the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Magill (Adelaide) and Padthaway regions.
Penfolds Grange 1996 spent 19 months in new American oak hogsheads.
I tasted Penfolds Grange 1996 most recently in 2026. It’s long been one of my favourite releases and is in fact one of the very few vintages of Grange I’ve ever bought for myself.
General Grange Background: Penfolds Grange Shiraz is listed as a Heritage Icon of South Australia. It has an unbroken lineage back to 1951. It’s routinely released as a four-year-old, and routinely matured in 100% American oak hogsheads for 18 months. The use of new American oak is not a modern phenomena; the first commercial release of Penfolds Grange Hermitage, the 1952 vintage, was similarly matured for 18 months in new American oak. Penfolds Bin 95 Grange was named Grange Hermitage from 1952 through to 1989 inclusive. It’s been labelled as Penfolds Grange Bin 95 (sans Hermitage) from the 1990 vintage onwards. It’s commonly called, simply, Grange.
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Need to Know: The best guide to Penfolds Grange (and to all things Penfolds) is The Winefront. The Winefront has honest, independent reviews of every release of Penfolds Grange from the 1952 through to the current release.
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Review: PENFOLDS GRANGE 1996
My original review of Penfolds Grange 1996 was: “Perfectly profound Grange. This wine is dense but it is also as youthful as can be imagined for a four-year-old wine of such might and power. It’s remarkably approachable too. Gorgeous plum-fruit depth, choc-and-vanilla richness, sumptuous depth, terrific length and a firm pull of tight, ploughing, statuesque tannins. Impeccable South Australian shiraz.”
I tasted this wine again in 2026. I wrote: “Complexity is its strongest suite, though it has everything going on and every base covered. So much firm tannin, so much iodine, so much crushed ant, remnants of vanilla and raspberry, swathes of leather both fresh and old. There’s a salted herb character and there’s a distinct impression of dryness, the latter as the wine extends tremendously long. If it wasn’t for releases like the 1990 Grange you’d be tempted to say that this wine is as good as Grange gets. But then, I am a tannin lover and this wine has plenty.”
Score: 97 points.
When to Drink: 2020-2031+
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Campbell Mattinson has tasted every commercial release of Penfolds Grange from the 1952 Penfolds Grange through to the current release of Penfolds Grange inclusive.
Campbell Mattinson has been a journalist for 40 years, a wine critic for 25 years, is a former chief editor of Halliday Wine Companion and was the founder of The Winefront business. He’s steadfastly independent. He’s published five books on wine, four of them bestsellers. He has no association with Penfolds.
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All reviews of Penfolds Grange on the Mattinson site are available via the Penfolds Grange tag.
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