On initial tastings, a highly scented release with good cassis fruit. A cold winter throughout, the wet chilly growing season confounded the Barossa Cabernet, limiting the crop through hailstorm damage. A vintage of adversity for the Penfolds vineyards, nevertheless the yields produced a spine of good Cabernet fruit from which it was determined an excellent ultimate cuvee would be fashioned. Though the finish was originally noted as being quite hard and dry, the wine is characteristically savoury, with cassis, and immensely fine tannins

Deep plum-red colour. Brooding nose of praline, plum and blueberry. Layered succulent and stylish full oak palate. Earthy fruit flavours of plum and chocolate and very rich chunky chewy tannins. Excellent balance and length!" -Winestate.com, "A massive wine, with cascades of potent plum, cherry and blackberry fruit swirling around wafts of black pepper, bay leaf and exotic spice, which last and last on the finish, hinting at smoky, meaty notes. It's all packed in tightly, suggesting this should evolve spectacularly with age!" -Winespectator.com

Grange is a unique Australian style, officially listed as a Heritage Icon of South Australia. When the late, great Max Schubert embarked on his odyssey to define the nation's ultimate red wine, his efforts were met by adversity and derision from peers. Today Grange is recognised as one of the world's great wines, each vintage is eagerly awaited round the globe. The small 2005 vintage release makes no quality compromise. A Grange that is balanced, firm and polished. The first sip welcomes, the second sip asserts, the third entreats submission

Winemaker John Duval called the 1981 a big, tannic Grange. A warm to hot, drought-affected summer yielded a powerfully concentrated wine with chocolate raisin fruit, earthy nuances, and pleasant oak. "Fresh white-toast aromas sit above a sea of blackberry jam and leather – this is a very fragrant wine, with a citrussy lift built in and a palate that, while drying out, has complexity to burn: old leather, dried herbs, dried meat, earth, a sweet stemminess and toffee-topped licorice. The finish is tired, but there’s still life left" -Winefront.com.au

Cabernet Sauvignon was at the heart of, Penfolds patriarch Max Schubert's quest for the singular, and first growth, grand Australian red. He partially succeeded, in that Cabernet traditionally makes up a tiny proportion of the finished Grange cuvee. The best batches of sophisticated Cabernet fruit are always reserved for the Bin 707, if and only if, the quality of the vintage meets Penfolds exacting standards for what is arguably Australia's best Cabernet wine. A warm sunny growing season, arriving on the back of the outstanding vintage from the previous year