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To: snowsislander

Yes, I would think it’s Grange, with price range of $200-$400 per bottle, depending on vintage.


28 posted on 10/12/2007 9:59:32 AM PDT by CutePuppy (If you don't ask the right questions you may not get the right answers)
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To: CutePuppy
Yes, I would think it’s Grange, with price range of $200-$400 per bottle, depending on vintage.

If you are buying it new or a newish vintage, yes, you can generally find it in that range. If you are buying older vintages, it can be very expensive. There's an article Grange fetches record price about an auction getting to AUD$50,000 for a bottle of the original 1951 vintage.

Here's a guideline to auction prices (all in Australian dollars) from the online auctioneer Langton for older Penfolds Grange:

Penfolds Grange Auction Wines
(all price estimates are in Australian dollars)

1951 – $40-50,000

The first experimental Grange, it is extremely rare. A valuable collector’s item because of its historic significance. Rare hand blown bottles. The wine itself is past its peak although some bottles still have fruit sweetness and flavour length. The wine has largely a dull, tawny colour and skeletal palate structure with little flesh and fading tannins.

100% Shiraz. Released as Bin 1. 50% Magill Estate, 50% Morphett Vale (Adelaide environs). A hot, very dry growing season. 160 cases/5 hogsheads made.

1952 – $15-22,000

Bin 4. First commercial vintage. Medium deep colour. Intense lifted dark chocolate aromas with some leather spice notes and meaty nuances. A hint of volatility. The palate is still well-concentrated with plenty of chocolate dark berry fruit flavours and fine supple tannins. Acidity slightly at the fore but still heaps of fruit sweetness. A fabulous bottle! Very rare.

100% Shiraz. 50% Magill Estate, 50% Morphett Vale. Average growing season with normal rainfall conditions. Around 100/150 cases made at less than $1 a bottle at release. Some half bottles were also released. Released also as Bin 4A.

1953 – $14-20,000

Bin 2. Medium deep brick red. Beautifully defined and complex mocha/lanolin/liquorice/aniseed aromas. Elegantly proportioned wine with concentrated toasty/mocha/cedar flavours and finely grained tannins finishing a touch grippy. A seriously lovely old wine. Still holding up brilliantly well. Very rare.

87% Shiraz, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon. Magill Estate, Morphett Vale and Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley). 260 cases made. Some half bottles (375ml) were released. First vintage and from 1953 uninterrupted use of Kalimna fruit hence the term ‘mother vineyard’. Released also as Bins 10, 86C and 145.

1954 – $14-18,000

Bin 11. Medium deep brick red. Very evolved cashew nut/chocolate aromas and some aniseed nuances. Volatile Acidity (VA) pokes through. The palate is slightly dried out with herb garden/toasted nut fruit characters pronounced leafy tannins building up quite firm. Excellent concentration and flavour length. Very rare.

98% Shiraz, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon. Magill Estate and Kalimna Vineyard. Only nine months in oak. Cool to mild growing season followed by a mild to warm vintage. Released also as Bin 12.

1955 – $2,500-3,500

Bin 95. Medium deep brick red. Bright red cherry/black forest aromas with some coffee/leafy characters. An elegant, restrained, but well-balanced wine with concentrated redcurrant/red cherry fruit, some vellum/mocha characters and loose knit leafy tannins. Finishes firm with plenty of flavour length. Increasingly rare.

90% Shiraz, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Magill Estate, Morphett Vale, Kalimna Vineyard and McLaren Vale blend. The most decorated Grange, a favourite of Max Schubert’s. Mild to warm growing conditions interrupted by above average rainfall. A warm dry vintage followed. Chosen by the US publication Wine Spectator as a ‘Wine of the Millennium’. Released also as Bins 13, 14, 53, 54 & 148A.

1956 – $14-18,000

Bin 14. Medium brick red. Complex over-developed rusty/leather/parchment/vellum aromas with some hints of dark chocolate. Medium concentrated wine with rusty/mocha/dark chocolate flavours, sweet lacy tannins which firm up towards the finish. Very rare.

96% Shiraz, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon. Magill Estate, Morphett Vale and Kalimna Vineyard. Only nine months in oak. A cool mild growing season. Released also as Bin 53.

1957 – $15-20,000

Bin 50. Deep brick red. Sweet leather/tobacco aromas with some liquorice/toasted nuts nuances. Plenty of sweet fruit and VA lift. The palate is loose-knit with mature dark chocolate/ herb garden/tobacco/leather characters and supple but drying tannins. Strong acidity on the back palate. Fading. Very rare.

88% Shiraz, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon. Magill Estate, Morphett Vale and McLaren Vale. A so-called ‘hidden Grange’ because the wine was made without the knowledge of Penfolds management who had ordered Max Schubert to cease production. Matured in previous year’s Grange barrels. A mild dry growing season. Released also as Bin 113.

1958 – $14-19,000

Bin 46. Deep brick red. Over-developed baked plum/toffee aromas and touches of coffee/spice. Burnt coffee/baked fruit flavours, sinewy/leafy tannins and firm tight finish. Seen better days. Very rare.

94% Shiraz, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon. Magill Estate, Morphett Vale, Kalimna Vineyard, Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale. A ‘hidden Grange’. Mild to warm growing season. Released also as Bins 47, 49 &14.

1959 – $2,500-3,500

Bin 95. Deep brick red. Saline/dark cherry/chocolate aromas with some menthol/barnyardy nuances. The palate is rich and concentrated with dark cherry/barnyardy/liquorice fruit, fine brittle tannins, some malty oak characters, finishing quite firm and dry. Increasingly rare.

90% Shiraz, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Magill Estate, Morphett Vale and Kalimna Vineyard. Cool to mild growing season followed by a warm dry vintage. Released also as Bins 46 & 49.

1960 – $1,000-1,400

Bin 95. Medium brick red. Fresh perfumed toasty/smoky/redcurrant aromas with some meaty/apricot complexity. An elegant slinky palate with smoky/mocha/coffee flavours, fine lacy tannins, marvellous concentration and flavour length. Lovely wine. Increasingly rare.

92% Shiraz, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon. Magill Estate, Morphett Vale and Kalimna Vineyard. A hot dry growing season. Released also as Bin 49.

1961 – $1,100-1,500

Bin 95. Medium brick red. Complex and lifted leather/vellum/mocha aromas with some bitumen notes and underlying vanilla/malt complexity. Fresh leather/vellum/toasted nut flavours and fine tannins but fades towards the finish. Pronounced VA. Increasingly rare.

88% Shiraz, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon. Magill Estate, Morphett Vale, Modbury Vineyard (Adelaide), Kalimna Vineyard and Coonawarra. A hot, dry growing season followed by hot vintage conditions. Released also as Bin 395.

1962 – $800-1,200

Bin 95. Deep red brick. Beautifully intense chocolate coffee/mocha aromas with some molasses/vellum/musky notes. The palate is rich and generous with coffee/mocha fruit flavours and toasty/malty nuances. The tannins are sweet and velvety but finish firm. An incredibly well balanced wine with superb fruit sweetness and flavour length. A classic Grange vintage. Increasingly rare.

87% Shiraz, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon. Magill Estate, Kalimna Vineyard and Adelaide Hills. Barossa Valley fruit becomes an ascendant component. An ideal warm (fairly dry) growing season followed by a warm, dry vintage. Released also as Bins 59, 59A and 456.

1963 – $1,100-1,500

Bin 95. Deep brick red. Immensely complex and superbly balanced wine with perfumed dark chocolate/mocha/mineral/wetstone/ aromas and floral/camomile notes. A rich supple, fruit sweet palate with volumes of dark chocolate/mocha/demi-glace flavours and balanced by ripe textured lacy tannins. Lovely sweet-fruit with tremendous concentration and flavour length. A wonderful vintage. Increasingly rare.

100% Shiraz. Kalimna Vineyard, Magill Estate, Morphett Vale and Modbury Vineyard. A warm, dry growing season. Released also as Bin 65.

1964 – $700-1,000

Bin 95. Medium brick red. Coffee, vegetal undergrowth aromas with some liquorice/dark chocolate/aniseed nuances. Restrained but well concentrated wine with developed coffee/leafy/vegetal/earthy flavours and loose-knit tannins. Finishes chalky and dry. Loosing its fruit sweetness. An elegant style with a clean dry finish. Increasingly rare.

90% Shiraz, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Magill Estate, Kalimna Vineyard and Barossa Valley. A wet growing season followed by a fine cool vintage. Released also as Bins 395, 66, 67 and 68.

1965 – $700-1,000

Bin 95. Medium deep brick red. Intense menthol/leafy/briary/mushroom aromas and flavours. The palate is still rich and generous with fine slinky tannins finishing quite chalky and tight. Fruit is beginning to fade and acidity pokes out at the finish. Increasingly rare.

95% Shiraz, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Kalimna Vineyard, Barossa Valley, Magill Estate, Morphett Vale and McLaren Vale. Jimmy Watson Trophy Winner at the Melbourne Show. A warm dry growing season. Released also as Bins 69, 70 and 71.


29 posted on 10/12/2007 10:14:41 AM PDT by snowsislander
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