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JANUARY 13, 2013 - HONG KONGWinemaker comments by John Duval: “Dense plum redmerging to brick red on rims. Intense blackcurrant and plumwith malt, fig and liquorice aromas that leap from the glass.This has all the characters of a classic Grange. What is promisedon the nose is delivered on the palate - a powerful, concentrated,opulent wine. Layers of Shiraz fruit and first class oak manifestthemselves into a seemingly endless variety of flavours - deepplum, liquorice, black olive, chocolate, cedar, coffee, etc, allcompressed into a silken, round mouth feel. Forceful, ripetannins are balanced by sheer weight of fruit. It is hard to believethat 100% new American oak was used - the intensity of fruit hasall but soaked it up.”Tasting Note: Penfolds Grange 1.5L MAGNUM 1994Grange 1994 represents an excellent offering from an aboveaverage vintage. Layers of massive Shiraz fruit and expertlycrafted oak manifest themselves. Forceful, ripe tannins arebalanced by sheer weight of fruit.The Barossa experienced a drier than average growing seasonwith rainfall at 83 percent of the 10 year mean, reducing yieldin a virtually disease-free season. Ripening was slow. Goodsugar levels, alcohols and ripe flavours were realised. Goodrainfall in the McLaren, Coonawarra had a warm, dry autumnfollowed by a cool slightly wet summer. Alcohol 13.50%Acidity 7.20g/L pH 3.55%The Barossa experienced a drier than average growing seasonwith reainfall at 83 percent of the ten year mean, reducingyield in a virtually disease-free season. Ripening was slow.Good sugar levels, alcohols and ripe flavours were realised.Good rainfall in the McLaren, Coonawarra had a warm, dryautumn followed by a cool slightly wet summer. The finishedGrange exhibited a seemingly endless variety of flavours uponrelease, deep plum and liquorice, cedar, chocolate and coffee- all compressed into a silken, round mouth feel. Alcohol13.50%.Tasting Note: Penfolds Grange 1.5L MAGNUM 1995The 1995 Grange is the 45th consecutive vintage of the winethat carries the flag for the Australian wine industry. Fruitfrom the Barossa and the McLaren Vale, the Magill Estate andPadthaway.Grange’s weight and concentration can be traced to rigorousselection of intensely flavoured Shiraz grapes from maturevines in some of South Australia’s finest vineyards. Thequantity of Grange made each year is determined by theavailability of grapes of the required quality and style. Penfoldsreduce the impact of vintage variation to the point whereexperts the world over consider Grange to be among the mostconsistent of the world’s great wines. Despite a difficultvintage, rigorous selection of intensely flavoured grapes frommature vines in some of the finest vineyards produced a winethat exceeded vintage expectations. Maturation for seventeenmonths in 100% cent new American oak hogsheads. Alcohol13.5%Winemaker comments by John Duval: “Deep red. Complexwith masses of concentrated plum, raspberry and blackberry fruitaromas and hints of leather, dark chocolate and spice.Displaying all the classic hallmarks one would expect of Grange,this is a full-bodied, richly flavoured wine with ripe, dark stewedfruits and mixed spices with seamless, perfectly integrated oakand chewy tannins.”Tasting Note: Penfolds Grange 1.5L MAGNUM 1996Sourced from Kalimna in the Barossa, McLaren Vale, theMagill Estate and Padthaway. An exceptional vintage in bothquality and quantity.An outstanding vintage, good winter rain was followed bywarm to mild and dry conditions, harvest was orderly andthere was little or no disease. Maturation nineteen months innew American oak. Alcohol 14.00% Acidity 7.20g/L pH 3.41Winemaker Comments by John Duval: “Vibrant plum red. Afusion of cinnamon and mixed spices with blackcurrantblueberry and boysenberry fruit; savoury, underlying aromas ofearth, cold tea and roast chestnuts plus barrel-ferment richness.Archetypal young Grange with concentration, balance andpowerful berry fruit flavours, with blueberry at the core. Tightand structured, although the thick, ripe tannins are shroudedbeneath a veil of opulent fruit. Excellent length and persistenceof flavour and masterful handling of oak. A very fine Grangethat will confidently sit alongside the great 1990.”Tasting Note: Penfolds Grange 1.5L MAGNUM 1997A big, typical Grange and a very good wine from this vintage.Smooth, sumptuous and firmly structured, its deep, longpalate of dark red and black berry flavours is wound aroundfirm, but powder-fine tannins.The 1997 vintage is predominantly Shiraz (96%) with a smallamount of Cabernet Sauvignon (4%) from the Barossa Valleyand McLaren Vale. A somewhat challenging vintagecombining a cool start to the season with heat in the highsummer. Budburst was slightly later than usual in most SouthAustralian regions, with mild weather through to Christmas.The onset of a prolonged heat wave in February furtherdelayed ripening. Fortunately, a sunny, warm autumnfollowed, allowing vines to reach full ripeness. Maturationtwenty months in new American oak. Alcohol 14.00% Acidity7.00g/L pH 3.52Winemaker Comments by John Duval: “A deep, crimson red.Immediately engaging, with wafts of nutmeg and gingeramongst notes of blueberry and blackcurrant and a backgroundof wellseasoned savoury oak. The fruit gains in the glass withaeration, when more subtle perfume and chestnut complexitiesemerge. Already showing excellent balance within the frame of abeautifully interwoven mesh of dark plum and blackberry fruitswith fig and liquorice. Complex fruit and spice flavours sitagainst a finely focused backdrop of firm but rounded tannins,balancing acidity and seductive, perfectly integrated, smoky oak.The palate has wonderful length, with a tightly structured,tannic finish indicative of the calibre of this fine wine.”Tasting Note: Penfolds Grange 1.5L MAGNUM 1998Predominantly Shiraz (97%) with a small amount of CabernetSauvignon (3%) from the Penfolds Kalimna and other BarossaVineyards, with proportions from Padthaway and MagillEstate. Cool spring weather followed by a warm summer andvery low rainfall created one of the classic vintages of the lasttwo decades. Fruit quality was outstanding with incredibleintensity of flavour, fine tannins and structure. The 1998vintage of Penfolds Grange ranks amongst the very finestreleased.41