Penfolds Great Grandfather Rare Tawny

Penfolds Great Grandfather Rare Tawny   

Grapes: A blend of Mourvedre, Shiraz, Cabernet and Grenache (but not limited to these varieties) aged in a solera system for 20 years and then aged for a further 10.

Producer Tasting Note:

An extremely dark mahogany brown with an intense olive green tinge. The nose is extremely intense and complex with raisined fruit, toffee and malt aromas long since integrated with nutty aged rancio, vanillin oak and subtle spirit. The palate clearly demonstrates its great age and quality with incredible intensity of flavour, viscosity and length matched to elegance and finesse. The wine has a perfect harmony of rich developed fruit flavours, aged rancio complexity and a slightly drying finish.

Drawn from the Grandfather Solera with an average age of 20 years is set aside for extended maturation (10 years) to give Penfolds Great Grandfather Rare Tawny an average age above 30 years. Great Grandfather Rare Tawny is Penfolds’ rarest wine; only 1000 bottles are available each release. The first release, in 1994, deliberately comprised 1994 bottles.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"The 30 year old Penfolds Great Grandfather Rare Tawny is pale tawny in color and has a more profound nose than the Grandfather or Father labels of this style. The nose presents some earthy notes that wrap a complex spiciness around a core of Christmas cake, dried fruits, milk chocolate and incense. It’s a huge wine in the mouth - very serious stuff - with tons of layers and racy acid line to carry the flavor through the very long finish that also has a pleasant minerality."

96/100 points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, WINE ADVOCATE

"Deep rich tawny with yellow rim. Sweet and rancio, Glorious. Tense and nervy, lovely. Lots of green and race."

18.5/100 points, Jancis Robinson, JancisRobinson.com

"Amber, spicy notes. with touches of caramel and oloroso sherry. Very mature and not too sweet with an exuberant tangy, melted toffee finish. Fine balance and very long."

Gold Medal, International Wine Challenge