Penfolds Grange Hermitage / 2002 / 750mL

The Penfolds Grange Hermitage 2002 is a South Australian shiraz built on precision rather than sheer bulk, and at this age it is showing the savoury, layered side of the label rather than its young fruit. Two decades on from a famously cool summer, the 2002 remains a firm, long, slow-moving wine that rewards patience in the glass.

Aromatically the 2002 leans dark and cool-fruited: black plum, cassis and mulberry, then mocha, roasting spices and a lick of vanillin from the new American oak Grange is matured in. Underneath sits the aged Grange savouriness — soy, dried meat, cold ashes, a little leather — and it builds in the decanter over hours rather than minutes.

The palate is tightly woven and unusually graceful for Grange, the cool 2002 growing season giving fine acid and a long, narrow line of flavour instead of broad warmth. Tannins are still present and shapely, framed rather than smothered by oak, and the finish runs on with dark chocolate, black olive and a faint iodine edge.

Match it with slow-cooked beef short rib, a dry-aged rib eye with bone marrow, roast duck with cherries, or aged hard cheese. Open it a good two hours ahead, or decant, and pour into large glasses.

Drinking beautifully now and, given the acid and tannin structure of this vintage, well-cellared bottles should hold and continue to develop through to at least 2035.