Tom Casagrande

9.2

Warm spring evening on the deck, chicken simply roasting in the oven: time for a Sancerre Rouge! To my taste this is at its peak. There’s still quite a bit of sappy cherry Pinot fruit, but loads of interesting soil-based notes are emerging, with wet dirty limestone, and scents like deep forest underbrush after rain. Nice intensity in the mouth, with mouthwatering acids to keep it fresh. Tannins are light and almost silky textured. Lovely. — 24 days ago

Alvaro Bustillos

9.4

La paulee mex daniel eric magnum — 3 months ago

Ron Siegel

9.4

Youthful that needs some air. This was rich, full bodied with notes of dark cherry, berry fruit, sweet savory spices, menthol, violet & tobacco — 3 months ago

David Koenen

9.2

Red bell pepper, roasted notes, lavender, licorice and blackberry, forest fruit jam, ink. Fresh printed newspaper. Impresses quite young in terms of tannins. Plum tart. Caramel. Concentrated. — 16 days ago

Ben Lehman

9.2

Always a favorite. This definitely needed air or a decant. Slightly broader than some previous vintages, but once that minerality started to reveal itself, it was party time — 2 months ago

Elizabeth

9.1

5’00 steak house. Classic Bordeaux in the best way — 3 months ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.2

Referred to as the “Baby Grange,” blend of 53/47 Cab Sauv & Shiraz, aged for 12 months in American oak, partly in previous-vintage Grange casks. Dark Ruby with aromas of fresh black fruits, complex with sweet spice. On the palate flavors of juicy black cherry and blackberry flavors with notes of cacao, oak and toasty spices, from cooler vintage. Well balanced with acidity, full ripe tannins, long ending with smoky spice, fruit well integrated with oak, drink over next 10 years+, will only get better. Nice! — 4 months ago

Jay Kline

9.5

I have dreamed of the 1981 Grange for many, many years. Why? Well, it’s quite simple: I’m an ‘81 baby and that year doesn’t have the strongest reputation for producing great wines. Spain and Italy faired better and of course, there were always exceptions. However, most have long been drank or forgotten as it was a tough year in many of the classic wine growing regions. All of that being said, Australia didn’t suffer the same conditions and Penfold’s managed to make a very good expression of Grange in 1981…if only one could find it and then of course, afford it. But, sometimes you just have to put it out into the universe and she answers. Tonight, a dear brother in wine who also happens to share 1981 as a birth year, provided this bottle from his cellar to share. And while my 45th remains a couple months off, we were celebrating life and friendship tonight!

Opened prior to dinner and enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 1981 pours a deep purple color moving towards a garnet rim and a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears. On the nose, the wine is developing with notes of ripe and desiccated tart black, red and blue fruits and rotundone: blackberries, raspberries, plum, tobacco, purple flowers, black olive, cocoa, coffee, eucalyptus, leather, toasted coconut, earth and baking spices. On the palate the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is looooong. What a stellar showing and this bottle certainly lived up to hype. Drink now through 2041+. — a month ago

Heather Rostker

9.5

Phenomenal with our lamb. So smooth and silky. — 3 months ago

with Emmett and Brian

Diane M. Napolitano

9.8

From Thirst Wine Merchants. Berry juice, milk chocolate. — 4 months ago