When you start a Monday with a showstopper like a 1962 Penfolds Grange, the rest of your week could only go downhill, right? Wrong! I’m a glass-half-full kind of person so I am reveling in the glorious juice that is Grange; it is already Tuesday afternoon and I am still paying homage at the altar of Grange.
I never would have thought I would use elegance and finesse to describe a Grange but it just goes to show how limited my experience is with the rare vintages of this epic wine. The recent ones I have had, 1998, 2003 and 2004, have all been stunning wines but showed greater concentration, extraction, and hefty tannins but the 1962 was about complexity and finesse. The nose was on fire: pure, crushed raspberries, aromatic spices of cumin and clove, menthol, cedar, and just a touch of smoke. The palate was velvet with a lingering, succulent finish. The freshness was unbelievable! The sweet red fruit was confirmed in the mouth backed by a refreshing acidity that kept the wine beautifully balanced.