Description
The 1997 Penfolds Grange is a very good wine from what was regarded as a pretty tough old vintage, it is however, the best wine that Penfolds made in 1997. The 1997 Penfolds Grange has been described by some critics as an early drinking Grange, but it should still make very fine drinking until 2022, around 25 years or a touch more. The 1997 Penfolds Grange is surrounded by two superstar Grange’s, some of the best Grange’s ever made, those being 1996 Penfolds Grange and 1998 Penfolds Grange.
The 1997 Penfolds Grange points table (if points are your thing, for many they are). I’ve located as many ratings as possible for the 1997 Penfolds Grange to give you an idea of the different scores that Australian Wine Critics (and Robert Parker Jnr from the USA) have given this wine.
95Pts Jeremy Oliver
94Pts Robert Parker Jnr (USA)
The 1997 Penfolds Grange is deep opaque crimson. Liquorice/dark chocolate/herbs/blueberry aromas with some smoky oak. The palate is sweet, concentrated with dark chocolate/blueberry/liquorice flavours and fine slinky chalky-dry tannins. 1997 was a challenging vintage, a cool start to the season, hot weather in summer, then cooler temperatures and a week of rain in February that slowed down ripening.
The 1997 Penfolds Grange is made from shiraz 96% and cabernet sauvignon 4% and spent 20 months in new American oak. Fruit used in the 1997 Penfolds Grange was sourced from vineyards located in the Barossa Valley (including Penfolds Kalimna Vineyard), McLaren Vale, and Bordertown wine regions.
