Penfolds Grange Shiraz 2021
Penfolds Grange Shiraz 2021
$1000, 14.5% alcohol, cork, South Australia.
Penfolds Grange Bin 95 Shiraz 2021 is a stellar release. It’s not one of the absolute greats but it’s a contender at the top end of the scale.
Not all releases of Penfolds Grange Shiraz, when tasted alongside its release stablemates, seem noticeably different, outside of the step-up in quality and (often) concentration.
This 2021 release of Penfolds Grange Shiraz does stand out as different. That’s a good thing.
This 2021 release of Penfolds Grange Shiras is more complex than usual, on release.
This 2021 release shows minor signs of development, unusual for a Grange on release.
This 2021 release is still many years from its peak.
Penfolds Grange Shiraz 2021 and The Penfolds Collection 2025 will be released on August 7, 2025.
INTRODUCTION: Penfolds Grange Shiraz – which is listed as a Heritage Icon of South Australia, boasting an unbroken lineage back to 1951 – is routinely released as a four-year-old. The vintage of Penfolds Grange released today is therefore the 2021. Given that most of the new-release wines released this year are 2023 and 2024 vintage, this means that Grange is held back and matured for longer, prior to release, than most (though not all) other Australian wines. There’s nothing new about this but I mention it because I’ve been tasting Penfolds Grange, on release, for over 25 years, and I can’t remember another time when I saw development in the wine, at release. That is, even though it’s always released as a four-year-old wine, it usually seems brutal in its youthfulness. The 2021 Penfolds Grange Shiraz, released today, still seems youthful and indeed beautiful but it has started its maturity journey. This is not a cause for concern, but it’s interesting.
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INFO: The best guide to Penfolds Grange Shiraz is The Winefront. The Winefront has honest, independent reviews of every release of Penfolds Grange from the 1952 through to the current 2021.
The 2021 release of Penfolds Bin 95 Grange Shiraz was made with 94% shiraz and 6% cabernet sauvignon.
The 2021 Grange spent 18 months in 100% new American oak. The 2020 release spent 20 months in 100% new American oak.
Grapes for the 2021 Penfolds Grange Shiraz release were sourced from the McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, and Clare Valley wine regions.
In the words of Penfolds, Penfolds Grange is "the most powerful expression of Penfolds multi-vineyard, multi-district blending philosophy ... utilising fully ripe, intensely flavoured, and structured shiraz grapes, the result a unique Australian style."
The price of Penfolds Grange Shiraz 2021 is unchanged (from last year’s release) at $1000 RRP per 750ml bottle.
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MATTINSON REVIEW: Sometimes Grange fits in with its stablemate releases; sometimes it stands out. This release stands out – particularly on the nose – as quite different. It smells of sweet balsamic, chocolate-coated raisins, plums, meats, grates of citrus rind, a march of crushed ants, cigar smoke and toasted rye. It’s a dramatic introduction if ever there was one. The palate itself is defined by its tannin, which presents as a firm, solid sheet, pulled tight but ushering cushions of fruit along with it. There’s an element too on the palate of development, not a lot but it’s there, which – even though it’s released as a four-year-old – I don’t often note with Grange. There’s leather, and mint, and plum, and a toasty-toffeed note. This 2021 release lays down Grange law but it also piques your interest. It has quirks but it remains definitive of the "fully ripe shiraz Heritage Icon" style. Grange always matures for eons and no doubt this release will too, but this 2021 Grange will enter its drinking peak slightly ahead of usual programming. It yet still presents as the most polished and powerful of wines. 97/100.
