Hidden Grange hogs the limelight

The 1959 Grange Hermitage ... Barry O'Farrell undone by an indifferent wine ... No wonder he forgot it ... Last of the "hidden" Granges, made in secret and in defiance of the Penfolds' directors ... Think '59 Grange ...Think Bill Lawrie ... Our wine man Gabriel Wendler critiques the wine at the heart of Winegate 

Cheers

"I'm certain that I would remember receiving a bottle of Penfolds Grange, particularly one that was of my birth year [1959]."  

It's a statement that will be engraved on Barry O'Farrell's political tombstone. 

When confronted with a carte de merci acknowledging receipt of the wine the Premier had nowhere else to go, except exit stage left. 

"I still can't recall the receipt of a bottle of 1959 Grange ... I can't explain what happened to the bottle of wine ... A massive memory fail."

The bottle of indifferent claret was gifted by log-roller extraordinare Nick Di Girolamo, an ex-managing partner of Colin Biggers & Paisley, former law shop by appointment to the Obeids. 

I quite understand O'Farrell's explanation to ICAC that he had no recollection of actually receiving and, by inference, consuming the contents of the bottle.

This is because the '59 Grange is an utterly forgettable wine. 

O'Farrell by his own admission is no wine expert. His general wine knowledge would not have extended beyond an awareness that Grange Hermitage is expensive.

He probably had no idea it would cost close to $3,000.

It's Di Girolamo who should be embarrassed for paying that sort of money for a bottle of wine that in 2011 was long past its optimum drinking and mostly nothing more than an oenological curiosity. Except, of course, he didn't pay for it. He sent the bill to the state's water instrumentality, Sydney Water. 

Counsel Assisting Geoffrey Watson SC, referred to the '59 Grange as a "Don Bradman of a wine".

I suggest more like a Bill Lawry of a wine. Lawry was once described by a cricket commentator "as a corpse with pads on". 

As we know, the wine was vintaged in the year of O'Farrell's birth - 1959.

It was the year Labor retained government and R.J. (Bob) Heffron took over as Premier of NSW on the death of J.J. (Joe) Cahill, construction of the Sydney Opera House commenced and William Dobell won the Archibald for his portrait of Dr Edward McMahon. 

The '59 Grange, released also as Bin 46 and 49, is often referred to as the last of the troika of "hidden" Granges - the other vintages being '57,and '58.

Historically, the '56 Grange attracted significant critical public displeasure.

As a consequence the creator of Grange, Max Schubert, was directed by the Penfolds' board of directors to stop making it.

However with support and encouragement from Jeffery Penfold Hyland, then Penfolds' South Australian general manager, Max continued to make Grange in secret in the years 1957, 1958, and 1959 .

Wine critic Huon Hooke in his book Max Schubert - Winemaker, reports:

"For three years Max Schubert made Grange in secret. In order to do this he had to have the loyalty of his cellar workers, who were made aware of what he was doing. The 'hidden' Granges were made, matured and bottled in strict secrecy and word never leaked out to the powers-that-be, which is a tribute to the team Max formed." 

The "hidden" Granges were all made in used hogsheads and the absence of new oak characteristics defines them.

The '59 was made predominately from shiraz fruit picked from vineyards at Magill and Morphett Vale in South Australia.

The late and great Len Evans described the '59 Grange as "disappointing".

Evans held the opinion that Granges of the late 50s were  mostly unexciting. He refused to stock the '56 Grange at all when beverage manager at the Chevron Hilton Hotel in Sydney.

Unlike Australia the '59 vintage in Europe was, except for Portugal, universally outstanding. In France the Bordelaise rated the '59 vintage tres grands vins.

Following Barry O'Farrell's resignation I dare say offering Grange Hermitage, of any year, to a politician will be like offering a whale-meat burger to Bob Brown.