1971 Penfolds Grange Hermitage

The below tasting notes were made at the 50th Anniversary Dinner of Penfolds Grange at Magill in South Australia on November 26th 2001. They were written in less than ideal tasting conditions. The pomp and ceremony of the occasion and low level lighting, together with the constant chatter on the table, all made a less than perfect tasting environment. I am sure, many of the wines would have scored a point or two higher under perfect tasting conditions and, thus the notes are to be read with this proviso in mind. - Nick Chlebnikowski

We recall when this wine was just released, controversy was created due to its high volatility. Many critics claimed that it was excessive and that it would never fade. Schubert’s idea of using the acetic acid was to help lift the fruit, which it did. The critics were silenced when the wine won a double gold in the UK.

Opaque, brick red colour. The nose displays aroma of earth, farmyard, leather, prune and confectionary. The wine is very well developed, yet is still capable of further cellaring. Concentrated, palate flavours of confectionary, earth and truffle. Velvet smooth tannins, followed by a very long earth, leather and liquorice aftertaste.
Cellar 5-8 years (2007-2010)
Alc/Vol: 12.5%

Notes Sourced from The Rewards of Patience - Fifth Edition (2004):

Outstanding vintage
Drinking Window: Now – 2016
Medium deep brick red. Intensely complex smoky/meaty/mushroom/mocha cedar aromas. A rich,beautifully balanced wine with deep set meaty/mocha/cedar/vanilla fruit, and fine ripe velvetytannins. Finishes long and sweet. A great Grange – reminiscent of the 1953.
87% Shiraz, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate (Adelaide), Clare Valley and Coonawarra. “If you had to point to a wine which fulfiled the ambitions of Grange, it would have to be the 1971.” – Max Schubert, 1993. Topped the Gault-Millau Wine Olympiad in Paris in 1979, beating some of the best Rhône wines and creating a sensation. A great South Australian vintage. Ideal, generally warm conditions throughout the growing season and vintage.

GROWING SEASON / VINTAGE CONDITIONS: An excellent year in South Australia with ideal, generally warm conditions throughout both growing season and vintage. The result was an abundance of grapes of very high quality.

"If you had to point to a wine which fulfilled all the ambitions of Grange,it would have to be 1971", - Max Schubert, 1993.

"It was a great wine from a vintage that was great throughout South Australia". Rated 98/100 points by Robert Parker in 1990. Created a sensation when it won gold and topped its class at the Gault-Millau Wine Olympiad in Paris in 1979, beating the best Rhúne Valley wines. In its youth, criticised for high volatility. Won a trophy, four gold, four silver and five bronze medals at Australian wine shows between 1971 and 1982.

The colour of the 1971 is huge, deep purple-black; the nose is as big and voluminous as ever, showing great oak and fruit, deep, rich, lasting; the flavour is extraordinary. In no other red wine in Australia is there so much depth and intensity. The richness of the wine means that it can be enjoyed now, but this is really vinicide. It will last for years and improve as it softens. (Len Evans, The Bulletin, Oct. 1977) Colour: dark, deep red, almost no brown. Bouquet: superb, rich, complex, velvety aromas of great depth. Palate: an enormous wine with an almost chewy texture; clean yet deep fruit on the mid-palate with pronounced tannin on the finish. A wine getting better every time I look at it. (James Halliday, National Times, Nov. 1982) Deep, rich red in colour. Intense, complex flavour; beautiful oak. Outstanding, but will still develop. (Rewards of Patience, 1st ed., 1985) Benchmark mature Grange. Shows complexity and development. Will still improve. (Rewards of Patience, 2nd ed., 1990) ... exemplified precisely what this wine is all about: concentration without heavy-handedness; longevity without mouth-puckering tannin; fruit without jamminess. The 1971 had everything -- and then some. A rich, very youthful wine for drinking in 2001. And most probably 2021. (Robert Joseph, WINE [UK], June 1992) Great wine, with remarkably youthful colour and flavour. Fully mature, packed with meaty/fleshy, earthy/truffly, and nutty mellowness, with a hint of crushed ants. Great weight and density, high extract, superbly rich yet lively, extraordinarily complex, intense and long. Volatility is there, but doesn't intrude. One of the greatest Granges, drinking at its best now but with at least a decade ahead of it. (Huon Hooke, 1993) Massively complex and powerful wine with an intense, lifted bouquet of truffles, chocolate, cinnamon and licorice. Tremendously concentrated on the palate with briary/chocolatey flavours, lingering tannins and length, the wine is showing superb sweetness of fruit and balance. This is a definitive Grange. (Rewards of Patience, 3rd ed., 1994) "Medium brick red. An astonishing wine with intensely sweet, lifted, complex and perfumed prune/apricot/truffle aromas with hints of violet and fig. Silken, opulent palate with fleshy apricot/prune fruit and truffly, earthy, demi-glace undertones balanced by fine, sweet tannins and an extremely long finish. A superb wine. Drink between now and 2010." (Southcorp Wines, The Rewards of Patience, Fourth Edition, March 2000)