Confession: Grange has never been my favourite of the Penfolds portfolio (I am a St Henri girl) but I’ve been converted. And if ever a vintage were to turn me, 2021 was always going to be the one, heralded by many in South Australia as a ‘vintage of a lifetime’. Sourced from sites across the Barossa Valley (66%), McLaren Vale (26%) and Clare Valley (8%), it is a blend of 94% Shiraz and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, which spends 18 months in 100% new American oak hogsheads, and has already integrated seamlessly into the opulent fruit. My initial impressions, hurriedly typed, start with a string of descriptors that detail just how seductive it is already: “Wow! Exotic, inky, generous, silky, ripe, velvety. Immense. Incredible. The whole package!” (My colleague Georgie Hindle wrote: “Classy and so sophisticated. Like looking at a gorgeous man in a tuxedo.”) The trademark Grange volatile acidity presents itself as macerated balsamic strawberries, tapenade and tarmac, joining mouthfilling silky tannins and sumptuous aromas and flavours of boysenberry, root beer, mocha, salted liquorice and crème caramel. If you can ignore its siren call from the cellar, it easily has three to five decades of life ahead.

We've been waiting patiently for the Grange release from the stellar '21 vintage and it certainly lives up to the hype. An impenetrable magenta/crimson in the glass, with the telltale aromatic clout and the light V.A. lift of an embryonic Grange clearly evident as you place your nose in the glass. There's an incredible depth of fruit here. Deep blackberry, blackcurrant and plum compote with hints of graphite, coal dust, violets, wood spice, olive tapenade, oak, blackforest cake, pan juices, panforte, Dutch licorice and earth. The tannins – strong yet powdery – provide ample structure to the wine as it finishes long and deep, resonating perfectly. There is no doubt that this will be considered one of the great Grange releases.

Wow. What a release of this famed Australian wine, made from 94% shiraz and 6% cabernet sauvignon. Aromas of blackcurrants, cured meat, cedar, iodine, blackberry compote and lilacs. The palate is full-bodied with seamlessly integrated tannins and a powerful yet silken mouthfeel that persists in a long-lasting finish. You can taste the prestige and history, tied in with the expression of the warm 2021 vintage. As always, a wine for aging but drinking well now. Drink or hold.

Grips you from the first instance. As ever with Grange, the concentration and power of is delivered with such a deft and joyful hand, walking from beginning to end of the palate accompanied by distilled black fruits, flowers and herb-strewn aromatics. Delicious, such purity of expression, and truly it is one of the world's great wines. Tom King director, Peter Gago chief winemaker. 100% new American oak for ageing.

2021 was a magnificent season in South Australia, one blessed with good yields (a change from the previous several years of low yields and drought conditions), healthy rainfall leading into the season and dry, mild conditions during ripening. Vignerons could not have hoped for better conditions. So here, the 2021 Grange is powerful, ripe, structural yet balanced, long and complex. There is a softness to the middle palate, which speaks to the mildness of the conditions, potentially positioning this as one of the best modern-era Granges. The fruit (94% Shiraz, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon) was sourced from Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Clare Valley. For critics of this style, my only wish to assist with clarification could be teleportation, together, into a future 30 or 40 years from now. We would drink this wine, where it would still appear fresh and yet would have settled into its finesse and grace as well. It matured for 18 months in American oak, 100% new. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork. -EL

Powerful yet silky and elegant, this wine offers so much to admire. Intense notes of both black and buttery green olive, tobacco leaf, cardamom syrup, blackberry, huckleberry, cassis and morello cherries in syrup lie at the core. Additional details of chocolate-covered espresso bean, cast iron and dried violet linger on the long, expressive finish alongside palo santo and sandalwood hints and a whiff of peppermint. Drink now through 2045.

The 2021 Shiraz Cabernet Grange is fabulous and already in the groove. It has the raw power and structure to sail for decades. Waves of licorice, chocolate, cocoa, blackberry and belt leather are surprisingly approachable and expressive. The palate is a different beast entirely, with piles of powdery tannins holding this package tight and unevolved. A nice touch of acidity freshens up the long, strong finish. Angus Hughson, August 2025