96 points,"Light golden brown; arguably the best of all Australian tawnies, with more luscious fruit than Seppelt DP90 (the other contender); luscious it may be, but it is also wonderfully elegant, with rancio and Christmas cake and toffee flavours on the mid-palate, moving to a spicy, dry and ultimately fresh finish."- James Halliday's Wine Companion 96 points,"The 30 year old Penfolds Great Grandfather Rare Tawny is pale tawny in colour and has a more profound nose than the Grandfather or Father labels of this style… It's a huge wine in the mouth - very serious stuff - with tons of layers and racy acid line to carry the flavour through the very long finish that also has a pleasant minerality."- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate As Australia's most respected critic, James Halliday, says, this is Australia's greatest fortified wine, and probably one of the world's too. When Christopher Rawson Penfold planted vines on the Magill Estate in 1844, he did so to create fortified wine. So, Great Grandfather Rare Tawny pays homage to 175 years of winemaking history. First created in 1994 to celebrate Penfolds'150th anniversary, Great Grandfather is only released in tiny quantities to ensure the style is never compromised. The wine spends its first 20 years in Penfolds'Grandfather Solera System, which is housed beneath corrugated iron. As you would expect, it gets very hot in the peak of summer and pretty cold in the winter, enriching and oxidising the wine massively. It's then matured for an additional period in old oak hogsheads, before being introduced to the three-state Great Grandfather Solera. Bottled when having spent an average of 30 years in oak, this wine offers exceptional value for money, especially when you consider how much a 30-year-old Scotch might set you back. Expect a rich and regal wine with notes of Christmas cake (with all that boozy fruit, marzipan and candied orange peel), chocolate-coated toffees, crème brûlée, marmalade, sticky fig jam, coffee, incense, vanilla and liquorice. Great Grandfather is an unrivalled experience that's far more concentrated than a Tawny Port of equivalent age. If you're lucky enough to have a great grandfather, then this is THE gift. But if not, it's a stunning Christmas present for any fortified wine lover, or a great way to celebrate a 30th anniversary or birthday. Serve lightly chilled alongside cheese, festive fare, nutty desserts, chocolate or rich pâté, and take your palate on a trip back to the mid-1800s. Penfolds is certainly Australia's, and possibly one of the world's, most iconic wine producers. Established in 1844, it boasts an enviable history that most wineries in the Old World would give their right arm for. Most famous for its flagship wine, Penfolds Grange, which is the very definition of Australian fine wine and the 1955 vintage was even described by Wine Spectator as one of the"Wines of the Century". Penfolds owe much of their success to Max Schubert, their winemaker who travelled to Europe after World War II and came back with all kinds of secrets. His innovative, often multi-regional, blends have become part of the DNA of Penfolds, and now the wines are the choice of connoisseurs and collectors all over the world.£26.53 per 100.00ml