2008 Penfolds Grange Reviews
Learn More About the 2008 Penfolds Grange Through its Reviews.
2008
Penfolds Grange Reviews
100 Pointz Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“Very deep garnet-purple in color the 2008 Grange reveals a truly decadent nose with tons of spices, fruit cake, and black & blue fruit compote notes along with nuances of chocolate and potpourri. The full and rich, multi-layered palate has a little oak still showing, it is going through a little bit of a structural stand-out stage, but it doesn't detract on the long and complex finish. It still needs a good few years to develop, though this very opulent, expressive Grange shows the very best of this vintage and the vineyards it hails from.”
100 Pointz Wine Spectator
“An utterly majestic Shiraz, sleek and seamless, brimming with ripeness on a framework that allows for grace and expressiveness in equal measure. The intensity of fresh blueberry and plum fruit holds attention until the nuances kick in, offering glints of exotic spice, coffee, cocoa, bay leaf, and mint. Shows tremendous presence without a lot of weight, the tannins present but not even close to getting in the way. A great wine now, with plenty of room to grow.”
98 Pointz Wine Enthusiast
Cellar Selection
“This has all the size and weight you’ve come to expect from Australia’s most famous wine. Huge fruit and huge oak combine in a full-bodied, richly textured package that delivers waves of toasted coconut, vanilla, and intense dark berries yet remains embryonic more than five years after the harvest. That said, the texture isn’t quite as tight or as fine as some other vintages—expect this to be early maturing by Grange standards, and best from 2020–2040.”
96 Pointz Vinous
“Inky purple. Intensely perfumed, expressive aromas of dark berry preserves, bitter chocolate, fruitcake, and smoked meat, with a spicy topnote. Sweet, palate-staining blackberry, vanilla, and dark chocolate flavors are sharpened and lifted by juicy acidity and show superb delineation and back-end power. Supple tannins come on late and give grip to a sweet, impressively persistent finish with grace notes of floral pastille and allspice. While this wine will no doubt age with ease, I find it almost shockingly approachable now.”
96 Pointz Wine & Spirits
“Glistening with freshness, Grange shows none of the extreme heat that hit the Barossa in early March 2008. Peter Gago and his team harvested enough of their Grange-level fruit early and fully ripe to achieve this multidimensional wine, as deep in color, as dynamic in flavor, and as luscious as any top vintage of Grange in its layers of silken red berries, satin-textured blueberries, and crushed-rock tannins. The wine is not heavy, just powerful; you can breathe the flavors for minutes after each sip. Perfect ripeness will hold this fresh in the cellar for decades.”
95 Pointz James Suckling
“A layered and intense red with superb depth and fruit. Full body, wonderful depth, and texture with a plush velvety mouthfeel. Flavorful finish.”
Bonus Reviews
Australia
98 Pointz James Halliday
“Densely coloured, it has an ultra-complex bouquet, with black fruits/anise/licorice, easily dealing with the oak; a remarkable wine in every way. The balance, texture, and structure are faultless, so much so that the wine achieves elegance now, many years before you would expect that quality to be commented on.”
Bonus Reviews
United Kingdom
19/20 Pointz Jancis Robinson,
Master of Wine
“Coffee, chocolate, stunningly pure beautiful fruit under a velvet dark cape of tannins. Smoky thyme, sage, and game, and silk. As sleek as a racehorse. Rippling with muscle and tightly reined-in power. This is magnificent. Almost overwhelmingly so. It strides above you: the Colossus of the wine world?”