REVIEW: The Grange 2021 is the star, but there’s plenty to like about Penfolds’ latest releases.
Few wineries anywhere in the world can seamlessly thread a house style through variety, country, region, vintage and winemaking succession quite like Penfolds.
This iconic Australian label, now truly global, produces wines from Australia, the US, France and China. And running through each is the unmistakable Penfolds signature DNA.
You can smell it, feel it, taste it. An indelible stamp that speaks of winemaking, viticulture and an almost cultural approach to red wines that reach every level of the extensive portfolio.
Its wines consistently rank among the world’s most sought after.
At the pinnacle sits Penfolds Grange and the exceptional 2021 vintage, which is about to be released. It has drawn comparisons with some of the finest-ever produced in the more than 70 years since legendary winemaker Max Schubert’s original trial in 1951.
Penfolds chief winemaker Peter Gago described the 2021 Grange as ticking every box of the Penfolds style.
“It’s incredibly easy to drink now, yet backed by decades of provenance,” he said.
“The wine drinks magnificently now and will continue evolving over the next sixty years.”
The 2025 Penfolds collection also captures much of the brand’s history of innovation and experimentation.
The so-called white Grange project to find a white wine partner to Grange, for instance, explored numerous varieties before logically settling on chardonnay, culminating in Yattarna, now considered one of Australia’s greatest white wines.
In red wines, the shift from American to French oak with a Barossa shiraz in another red wine trial gave rise to the red wine trial shiraz, which is consistently among the best Penfolds releases. Different to an extent but still unmistakably Penfolds.
This year’s lineup continues that spirit of evolution. From France, the 2022 French wine trial 585 cabernet merlot petit verdot was introduced alongside its sibling, the French wine trial 543 cabernet sauvignon syrah 2022.
The release features 24 wines, including four from the US, two from France, and one from China. The China wine trial 521 cabernet marcella continues to improve and evolve with each vintage.
Six wines in particular stood out for me. They will begin appearing in stores from August 7.
Magic maker
I caught up with Penfolds chief winemaker Peter Gago just a few hours after he’d landed in Melbourne from Shanghai and a few hours before he was due to fly to California, all in the name of spreading the Penfolds story.
He was upbeat about the current Grange.
“Yeah, it’s in the A-theme. All the boxes are ticked: the characters, the layering, the complexities,” Mr Gago said.
“Yet again, a bit like 2004, a bit like 2010, everything comes together. Nothing stands out. You don’t have to wait for anything. Drink it tomorrow or drink it in sixty years... that’s the essence of what Grange should be.”
Another iconic wine in this year’s release is the Bin 707 cabernet sauvignon, an idiosyncratic wine unlike any other Australian cabernet, matured for 24 months in new American oak. Recent vintages have, for me, shown less obvious oak character.
“Well, it’s an interesting one. The twenty-three vintage was a challenge,” Mr Gago said.
“But what I think we’re now starting to see is not necessarily just refinements, but if there’s a skerrick of oak poking out, that component’s just not included.
“In the past, if you had A1-grade cabernet and it ticked most of the 707 boxes, it would be included. Now, it has to tick every box.”
Reflecting on other highlights, he was equally as effusive.
“I think the Bin 128 is a stunner; the pepper, the black pepper, the character of the 128,” Mr Gago told Business News.
“A lot of people are still discovering the Marananga Bin 150 shiraz. I love that wine. I thought it showed really well. It’s a bit like St Henri, which flies under the radar.
“And even the St Henri stacked up pretty well. When I pour that wine in other countries and show older vintages, I just get jaws dropping. It catches people off guard.”
He said Penfolds’ expansion across Australia, the US, France and China had been gathering momentum.
“A lot of people just thought it was the latest gimmick, but these are real wines and they’re understood by people. This might sound like propaganda or a throwaway line, but it is about the next 180 years,” Mr Gago said.
“And beyond that, it’s also about managing agricultural risk; managing climate change.”
Penfolds has long had a strong presence in China. Around the time of the infamous trade tariffs, the brand doubled down and built a winery there as part of its China-blend development.
“The acceptance of that wine has been very good,” Mr Gago said.
“This is about more than selling wine. We’ve been building a brand. I’ve been working there for three decades.
“But it goes back a lot further. I even have a receipt that shows we were selling wine into China in 1893. It wasn’t much, but it shows the history.
“I like to think of this as a global brand, not the big, bad, ugly word of ‘globalisation’. I don’t see it as a luxury thing either, because that’s not what we’re aiming for.
“It’s the ... people who will buy Grange, 707, RWT and St Henri; that’s a very thin slice of the people on the planet who drink wine.
“The Australian market is finite. Young people are into body beautiful and everything else, and they’re not getting into wine at the age they used to.
“There’s a massive amount of educational work to be done. In the meantime, selling wine offshore, not just with the odd dispatch here or there, but truly selling it, is very important.”
L-R: Bin 128 Coonawarra shiraz 2023, Bin 150 Marananga shiraz 2023, St Henri shiraz 2022, Magill Estate shiraz 2023, Bin 707 cabernet sauvignon 2023, Grange 2021.
Penfolds Bin 128 Coonawarra shiraz 2023 ($75)
This was another vintage that had its challenges, with rain and then searing heat in January. Yet, as you expect, the viticultural approach has ensured the fruit quality remains high.
It shows a distinctive chalky, limestone-like regionality evident on the nose and the palate. Bright red fruits with nuances of strawberry and spicy red berry.
The middle palate is concentrated and rich, while the finish gathers to deliver long. A combination of savoury sweetness adds subtle complexity.
A wine with good cellaring potential, as you might expect.
Score: 95/100
Cellar: 20 years
Penfolds Bin 150 Marananga shiraz 2023 ($100)
The distinctive sub-regionality of this wine has made it one of my favourites. The colour is deep and dark yet has brightness and vibrancy.
The nose begins with its sub-regional stamp, showing distinctive ironstone and minerally qualities that speak of place.
The palate is seamlessly woven with firm, sinewy tannins and a neat balance of oak supporting the powerful fruit.
There’s a little spicy lift with a dry, savoury finish to complete an excellent wine.
Score: 96/100
Cellar: 20 years
Penfolds St Henri shiraz 2022 ($135)
It’s a tough gig to follow up a vintage generally regarded as one of the greatest-ever St Henris.
And yet here we have a wine that pushes things mightily close, albeit without the massive depth of sweet, concentrated fruit that marked the 2021.
Still, it is true to style in every way. It’s 96 per cent shiraz, with the remainder cabernet, and sourced from McLaren Vale, Padthaway, and the Barossa.
There is no overt oak evidence here, and you get a clear, uninterrupted window into the vintage. Has tremendous power and intensity, with the structure to handle long-term cellaring.
Score: 97/100
Cellar: 30 years
Penfolds Magill Estate shiraz 2023 ($180)
A wine sourced entirely from the historic Magill Estate vineyard on Adelaide’s doorstep. Totally true to style, with all the plushness and concentration of the vineyard presented with polish and seamless poise.
Aromas of scented red fruits are augmented by dark chocolate and glazed cherry. The palate has a chalky fine tannin thread and lightly applied oak: a mix of French and American, with about a third new.
Beautifully spicy, floral, with a slightly damp, earthy character adding layered complexity. Other notes of sage bush and dried herbs complete the picture.
Score: 97/100
Cellar: 20 years
Penfolds Bin 707 cabernet sauvignon 2023 ($800)
This is probably the most distinctive of any Penfolds wine. It’s matured in 100 per cent new American oak, unique in Australia. Sourced from McLaren Vale, Padthaway and the Barossa, the American oak would usually dominate.
Yet here, the fruit still shines, with the oak slightly more subdued. Spicy cinnamon, creamy tart, and glazed cherry nuances open up.
The palate is tightly structured, with fine, firm tannins and sinewy oak. The oak asserts itself toward the finish.
Score: 97/100
Cellar: 30 years
Penfolds Grange 2021 ($1,000)
This is a spectacular statement of this great wine and will rank with the very best over more than 70 years.
The striking features are the balance and poised integration, with its effortless and seamless long profile that builds relentlessly through to the sustained finish.
It’s a blend of Barossa, McLaren Vale and Clare Valley fruit, with about 6 per cent cabernet. As is true to style, it is matured in 100 per cent new American oak for 18 months. On the nose are dark chocolate, cocoa and a subtle crushed-ant character.
The palate is sublime, elegant, which for a young Grange is hard to imagine. Graphite and oyster shell minerality add to the layered complexity. Quite simply, one of the five greatest.
Score: 99/100
Cellar: 50 years
• Ray Jordan is one of Australia’s most experienced and respected wine journalists, contributing to newspapers and magazines over more than 40 years. In 2017 he co-authored The Way it Was: The History of the early years of the Margaret River Wine Region.
