I remember the summer of '83 very well. Bloody hot and bloody dry. I recall many nights around our pool at midnight with the mercury still above the 100F mark, and driving back to Adelaide from the beach and witnessing a paddock crossing the road, the parched soil lifted by 50km/h Northerly winds. And then the deadly bushfires hit encircling Adelaide, and we were evacuated from our house on the outskirts of the city. After the fires and the long dry, then March brought deluge after deluge. It was a disaster for the grape growers and very little decent wine was made. Grange of course was the exception.
The wine is still relatively youthful, with quite robust tannins and the whiff of crushed ants. In the mouth it is powerful and direct, delivery dark plummy fruit with some secondary cigar box smokiness. The tannins are apparant, but they are refining. It will easily go another two or three decades, but is in a good place now.
Cheers,
Kent
Hi Kent, thanks for posting. A tough memory for sure. I was living in Sydney in 1983 and I also remember the summer well. Terrible bush fires and of course Ash Wednesday.
I bought 2 bottles of the 1983 on release for A$45 each. Got one left and really appreciate your note. It sounds good but youthful, I will keep it for another 5 years or so.
I am always amazed and impressed by Grange’s longeveity and ability to improve over multiple decades.
Any special occaison that triggered opening the 83 Grange?
Cheers Brodie
Kent, we tasted a flight of Grange (including the '83) back in 2004 with Peter Gago at a tasting in Banff.
It intrigued me more than the more revered vintages around it and the more youthful wines in the line-up. While the palate wasn’t up to a few others, I still recall that wonderfully lighter style and somewhat floral aspect vs. the more typical heady masculine grange nose.
Brodie,
We host a Schools Jazz band competition here every year called ‘generations In Jazz’, attended by over 3,000 students that we feed, and it concluded on Sunday. After a couple of weeks of 15 hr days I was eagerly devouring a few PCAs when the patron of the event, who has a cellar that is very highly regarded presented me with a glass of this. Very generous of him and greatly enjoyed.
I am still smarting that when this was released I was at Uni, but was offered a dozen for $360, which was cost price at the time and I declined the offer! duh!
Chris,
The 83 was regarded for many years as a great Grange and the price reflected that view. There was always a query whether the tannins would outlast the fruit.
Cheers,
kent