Ranked #3 of 16 1997 Shiraz from South Australia
92/100
4 Stars
Huon Hooke
A very good bottle of this wine, which was never a top Grange or a very long-termer, but this bottle is utterly lovely. Really fine balance and texture, complex but not strongly expressive. An elegant Grange, soft and mellow and fully mature. It doesn't show any overt oak, which is a plus. The tannins have mellowed out beautifully.
Tasted: 31/12/2019
Drink: to 2025
94 Points Robert Parker
The 1997 Grange (a blend of 96% Shiraz and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon) looks to be a classic Grange, although slightly softer and more forward than the backward 1996. The saturated purple-colored 1997 offers a gorgeously sweet nose of blackberry liqueur, cherries, camphor, chocolate, plums, and mocha. The wine is opulently-textured, extremely soft, layered, and seductive, with Grange's tell-tale personality well-displayed, but in a seamless, seductive style. This is a superb Grange that can hold its own against the more heralded 1996. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2022.
Source: Robert Parker (Robert Parker Wine Advocate) by Robert M. Parker, Jr. October, 2002
94 Points James Halliday
Medium to full red, with just a touch of purple remaining; powerful, complex dark fruits, chocolate and savoury lemon/vanilla oak on the bouquet, then a similarly powerful palate where earth and chocolate join the chorus of flavours promised by the bouquet; persistent tannins, of course. It's hard to suggest this will be regarded as a great Grange in 20 years or so, but it is nonetheless in the mainstream of Grange style. Drink to 2022.
Source: James Halliday. June, 2002
The 1997 Grange (a blend of 96% Shiraz and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon) looks to be a classic Grange, although slightly softer and more forward than the backward 1996. The saturated purple-colored 1997 offers a gorgeously sweet nose of blackberry liqueur, cherries, camphor, chocolate, plums, and mocha. The wine is opulently-textured, extremely soft, layered, and seductive, with Grange's tell-tale personality well-displayed, but in a seamless, seductive style. This is a superb Grange that can hold its own against the more heralded 1996. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2022. Source: Robert Parker (Wine Advocate) October, 2002 by Robert Parker