Refined, powerful, and deeply expressive, the 2020 Grange marks a milestone in both style and symbolism. Crafted to celebrate the Year of the Snake and Penfolds’ 180th anniversary, this release shows Grange’s signature complexity with a softer, more elegant touch. A blend dominated by Barossa and McLaren Vale Shiraz with just a splash of Cabernet, it’s beautifully polished and already incredibly drinkable—though patience will be well rewarded. Wrapped in a bespoke Lunar New Year gift box, it’s as collectible as it is cellar-worthy.

Jamessuckling.com | JS 97
Published: May 29, 2024

Blackberry, blueberry, graphite and terra cotta aromas. Medium-bodied with clarity, focus and very fine tannins that are polished and caressing. One of the most refined and textural Granges I have had in a long time. The tannins are very resolved. This is mostly Barossa and McLaren Vale with some Claire Valley. 3% cabernet sauvignon. Very drinkable now, but will age beautifully.

The Wine Advocate | RP 95
Published: Jul 18, 2024 
Drink : 2024-2050

The 2020 Grange comprises 97% Shiraz and the balance Cabernet Sauvignon from McLaren Vale (48%), Barossa Valley (40%) and Clare Valley (12%), and it matured for 20 months in American oak hogsheads, 100% new. While the metric of regions changes each season and the proportion of Shiraz changes slightly, the élevage and style remain the same. Aromatically, the wine is black and savory, with crushed ant, black peppercorn, blueberry, blackberry and licorice/aniseed. In the mouth, the wine feels lighter than some other vintages on release. There is something like clarity and perhaps a little hole in the mid-palate—it sits like clarity or less density and also features as breathing space. A nice wine, it is lighter than the preceding 2019. Both vintages had their challenges, but this 2020 season has yielded an "easier" feeling wine.

Decanter | D 94
Published: Jul 3, 2024
Drink: 2024-2055

The celebrated reputation of Grange places every new release under intense scrutiny, and this passes muster as sturdy and convincing, but without the stellar fireworks of 2019 or the instantaneous drink-now temptation of many from the past decade. Coming from the low-yielding 2020 vintage, a broad net was cast across McLaren Vale, Barossa and Clare to find the right mix of fruit parcels showing both concentration and complexity. With the modest addition of 3% Cabernet Sauvignon (noting that Penfolds did not release its elite Bin 707 and Bin 129 Cabernets from the 2020 vintage), this pulls tight focus on Shiraz’s primary allure – blackberry and black plum rinsed in rich mocha and dark chocolate, piqued by a dusting of cinnamon, pepper and vanilla. This is made to be cellared, and will tell a more exuberant story in another decade.
Closure: Cork
Alcohol: 14.50%
Body: Full
Oak: Oaked
Grapes: 3% Cabernet Sauvignon 97% Shiraz

Jancisrobinson.com | JR 17.5+
Published: Oct 4, 2024
Drink: 2030-2058

Extremely dark, concentrated purplish crimson. Heady, rich, layered nose. Sweet start yet a dry, chewy finish. Very youthful. Wait! Almost painful to taste now.

Penfolds.com

Gift your loved ones a symbol of strength, vitality, and generosity this Lunar New Year. Celebrate the Year of the Snake with an iconic Grange encased in a bespoke gift box.

The most powerful expression of Penfolds multi-vineyard, multi-district blending philosophy, Grange is arguably Australia’s most celebrated wine and is officially listed as a Heritage Icon of South Australia. Crafted utilising fully ripe, intensely flavoured and structured Shiraz grapes, the result is a unique Australian style that is now recognised as one of the most consistent of the world’s great wines. With an unbroken line of vintages from the experimental 1951, Grange clearly demonstrates the synergy between Shiraz and the soils and climates of South Australia.

No Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon released in 2020. No Bin 169 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon. Redeemingly, Grange will convincingly justify the dexterity of South Australian Shiraz in this 2020 vintage. Two decades into the new millennium. Penfolds 180th Anniversary year. Following stellar Grange vintages of 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2016, 2018. No pressure. And, no Magill Estate Shiraz inclusion in this 2020 blend.  – Peter Gago, Penfolds Chief Winemaker

Colour: Dense and impenetrable – deep red to the rim

Nose: An instant proclamation of identity – formics and barrel-ferment notes propelling Shiraz spoils. Whilst these Shiraz markers highlight heady elutions of aniseed/liquorice/wintergreen/fennel, primal aromatics of squashed damson plum do prevail. And beneath, wafts of pan scrapings/pan juices support all that is entwined above. 100% new oak is all but totally absorbed, yet it does conspire to complex, weave and intrigue. In this aromatic tussle fruit remains the champion. Not unlike ‘Champagne character’, ‘Grange character’ aromatically “just is”. Immediately understood, immediately recognised.

Palate: The first sip seduces, the second reminds … Up front red fruits and maraschino cherry flavours quickly transition to the ‘Noir-ish’ – Black Forest cake, blackberry, black cherry, black … Sitting softens. A Christmas pudding mix of soaked fruits and rind offers a friendly hand. Similarly talc-like/velvety tannins are non-aggressive, politely acting as a conveyance. They almost appear coupled with cocoa/dark chocolate dust. Texturally woven, with all components well integrated and absorbed… inducing a sensory perception of roundness, of a lush film coated across the palate.