Note: Penfolds Red Wine Clinic 1991, Label Stain/s,Just Below Base of Neck
The 1966 Penfolds Grange is a rare and historically significant release from one of Australia’s most legendary wines, representing an extraordinary piece of Australian wine history. Produced by Penfolds, Grange is the flagship wine of the estate and one of the world’s most collectible Shiraz-based wines, renowned for its power, structure, and unrivalled longevity.
The 1966 vintage is regarded as one of the important early-era Grange releases, produced during the formative decades that established Grange’s global reputation. Sourced from premium South Australian vineyards, primarily from the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale, the wine was crafted under the classic Grange philosophy of maximum fruit concentration, structural integrity, and long-term maturation in American oak.
With nearly six decades of bottle age, the 1966 Grange is now a profound collector’s bottle and highly dependent on provenance and storage history. Well-preserved examples can offer an extraordinary tertiary profile, revealing aromas of dried blackberry, fig, prune, leather, tobacco leaf, cedar, dark chocolate, spice, and earthy savoury complexity. Mature Grange often develops unique notes of soy, mocha, roasted meat, and old leather with extended age.
The palate, if well cellared, can still show remarkable persistence and structural integrity, with softened fruit concentration, fully integrated tannins, and layers of evolved savoury complexity. While the youthful power has long transformed into elegance and tertiary depth, the wine remains a compelling example of Grange’s legendary ageing capacity.
This is a bottle that should be handled with great care. Stand upright for at least 48 hours before opening, decant very gently to remove sediment, and avoid excessive aeration. Best enjoyed now as a mature collector’s experience, as further ageing is unlikely to significantly improve the wine.
A true museum-piece release and a rare opportunity to experience one of the great surviving icons of Australian fine wine.
