My experience with Grange is somewhere between very limited and completely non-existent. However, I have been lucky enough to garner a few bottles that I am afraid to open, since so many people claim it should not be touched for 30 years. I forgot to enter my bottles into CT and I deliberately buried them at the bottom of a pile of wood cases so I would not be tempted. Thus, I do not know what vintage they are and it would require too much work to figure out. I am pretty sure that they are either 1996, 1997 or 1998. In looking at CT notes, the writers seem to claim that the wines are ready to drink, but you never know whether that is just a delusion to avoid the remorse of infanticide. Anyone haqve any thoughts on the issue.
And BTW - NO, I will not send a bottle to you so you can open it and tell me whether it is ready.
Hey Jay, why don’t you just send me one of them and . . . aw, crap.
I have exactly one bottle of Grange, a 1999, and with the fairly astonishing inflation in Grange pricing the last few years, I’m guessing it will be my only one.
I think Grange needs about 15 years before it begins to strut its stuff. I have had the '96 four times and the '98 twice. The '98 is the better wine IMHO, but will need loads more time. The '96 for current consumption is pretty damn tasty.
the very top vintages improve and get better for up to 30 years. Lesser years (merely very good typically) are ready to drink after 15 years. Grange has an amazing ability to “hold” for a long time after it reaches is drinking window.
1997 is the weakest vintage of the three and could be tried now but will probably be best in 2-5 more years
1996 is a better year and rated as a classic in Sth Australia. I would keep until 2016 at least. I have a six pack and have not touched any yet.
1998 was a very big and ripe year and the Grange reflects this. I will not be drinking mine before 2020.
I still have 1982 and 1983 Granges that I will keep for a few more years.
don’t know when the window opens, but it seems never to shut–81 and 82 continue to impress. Those are the oldest I own, costing all of about $50/bottle a long time ago.
alan
Had a 1997 in the summer - early July - and it was stunning, but very youthful with potential to improve. I wouldn’t open any of them yet if I had them in my cellar.
My experience is that at around 25 years after the vintage date, they really start showing well. I am sure there are exceptions and personal preferences involved but that is my experience. A lot of that is based on a significant vertical tasting a few years back that a few of us put on (Peter Gago attended) and that included, among other vintages, 55, 62, 71, 76, 81, 82, 86, 91, 96 and 98.
We tried a '77 last fall that was still all fruit forward, just a baby. And I understand that '77 wasn’t a particularly good vintage. Maybe the good vintages mature sooner, but my impression from this bottle is that they last forever but may never mature…
The only thing that I can add that hasn’t been said is DON’T open the wine. Wait and you will be rewarded. I have had about 10 vintages, multiple times and the best drinking the past couple of years was the 87’, 89’ is firing as well.
Jay, you look like a young, spry man, Don’t touch the Grange for another couple of yrs, have them at your retirement party in what, 20 yrs. and smile.
Am I alone in that I can’t take Grange seriously? The sole reason being that it is not a terroir based wine, which to me is all important, and Grange simply doesn’t have it.
About a year ago my boss brought in a 1967 Grange Hermitage which her husband originally purchased from a retailer in Australia while doing some legal work in the country. We were all stunned as to how primary the wine was, it was bananas. The wine ranks with the top wines I have had the privileged to drink; 1982 Cheval Blanc, 1982 Haut-Brion, Domaine Leroy Richebourg, and a 1981 Henri Jayer Echezeaux. Grange s truly a gem.
I respect your right to that view, but I don’t understand it. Terroir can be fascinating, but you won’t even consider grange to be a serious wine because it blends wine from many parts? What about Chave? His wines come from multiple vineyards albeit a much smaller range than Grange but still hard to call that terroir?
As I said, I resect your view, but not a “serious” wine? To answer your question then, yes, i suspect you may be (close to) alone on that.
As you say Chave is tiny compared to Penfolds, closer to a village 1er in this respect, and it is easy to picture the vineyards and personalities involved, still I would prefer if it were not a blend.
Grange is more a product of commerce today, romanticising Max Shubert’s story of great vision and winemaking from the 50’s, as if nothing has moved forward since. If Max was around today he could well be battling Penfolds, to make Grange a terroir driven wine, something we realise is important to great wine.
I would never occur to me to ask for you to send me one for evaluation purposes, what I will do for you is allow you to open them at a Grange only offline to be held in Westchester (could be NYC) and will contribute an 83 which will reduce the size of my Australian wine collection by 50%.
Then and only then will you be able to comprehend what Grange is all about…not that I really have a clue
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