Penfolds Grange Shiraz 2009

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Penfolds Grange Shiraz 2009
AU $785 on release, 14.5% alcohol, cork, South Australia.

• Penfolds Grange Bin 95 Shiraz 2009 has an unusually high proportion of Barossa Valley grapes. It’s more than 80% Barossa Valley.

• Penfolds Grange 2009 is 98% Shiraz, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon.

• The Barossa Valley dominates this release but grapes from McLaren Vale, Magill Estate (Adelaide) and the Clare Valley also contribute.

• It was matured, as per tradition, in 100% new American oak (hogsheads) for 18 months.

• 2008 and 2010 Penfolds Grange were/are heralded releases. Sandwiched between, this 2009 edition has always struggled for attention as a result.

• Most reviewers scored Penfolds Grange 2009 in the 96-97 points range. My review on The Winefront site was/is 94/100. Mattinson’s reviews of Penfolds Grange often go unquoted because they don’t conform.

• Mattinson has tasted Penfolds Grange 2009 on three occasions, the most recent occasion in 2023.

INTRODUCTION: 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 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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INFO: The best guide to Penfolds Grange Shiraz (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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Mattinson Review of PENFOLDS GRANGE 2009:

My original review, on release, was along these lines: “Clear orange peel notes. Intense fruit. A melt of tannin. Oak makes an impression but is tremendously well integrated. Vanilla, soy, orange, saturated plum, licorice and leather. Super seductive. A sweet-fruited delicacy. Indeed for pure or indeed young-ish drinking pleasure I prefer it over the 2008. I like the highlights, the pillowy softness, the remarkable integration of fruit, oak, and tannin. This is a less caricatured Grange, less obvious, less “heavy”, and more approachable as a result.” In 2023 I added: “Not quite but just about to enter the drinking zone. Salty-soy notes, leathers, earth and big berried fruits. Tannin has largely tamed. This looks in excellent shape though it’s still in the primary-to-secondary transition phase, and should be left alone a few years.. There’s oodles of substance here.” Drink from 2026 onwards.

94 points.
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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 in any way.

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All reviews of Penfolds Grange on this site are available via the Penfolds Grange tag.
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