Langton's Magazine

Andrew Caillard

A history and description of famous 20th Century Australian wines-  Penfolds Grange 1971
1971 Penfolds Bin 95 Grange Hermitage

Vintage Grange plays a major role in the Australian secondary wine market. It is seen as a key indicator. Indeed for many years Access Economics – a think tank - used the 1971 vintage as an economic yardstick. For many years this wine out-performed other alternative investments including race horses, taxi plates and rare coins. However all wines have a life – and 1971 has not really kept up with the overall interest rate for some years. At one stage in 2003, it enjoyed a 45 fold increase on release price.

Max Schubert became seriously ill around in 1973 resulting in the appointment of Don Ditter as National Production Manager. Ditter visited Magill regularly overseeing the consolidation of production. He recalls John Bird as “a very committed and thoughtful winemaker with a slight larrikin edge. We recognised that the volatility in the 1971 Grange was reaching unacceptable levels. He took it upon himself – with my approval - to adjust these levels down. I don’t think we ever surpassed 1gm per litre after that year.”

Penfolds has periodically entered Grange into various international wine competitions with considerable success; the 1971 – for instance - created a sensation when it beat the best Rhone Valley wines at the Gault-Millau Wine Olympiad in Paris in 1979 ( see also 1976 Tyrrell’s Pinot Noir)

1971 Penfolds Bin 95 Grange Hermitage possessed an unusually low alcohol of around 11.5%. The wine is immensely complex and mature with lifted smoked meat/ dark chocolate/ mocha/ liquorice/ kelp aromas. A silky smooth richly flavoured palate with dark chocolate/ espresso coffee/ tobacco/ cedar fruit, underlying vanillin nuances and fine lacy satin tannins. Finishes sinuous, long and bitter sweet. This is a great Grange but bottles are increasingly variable ranging from the frail to the fresh and sublime. 87% Shiraz 13% Cabernet Sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley, Magill Estate (Adelaide) Clare Valley, Coonawarra Blend. “If you had to point to a wine which fulfilled the ambitions of Grange it would have to be the 1971.” – Max Schubert, 1993. Bottles will achieve around $600 to $800 in today’s market.

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