31-07-2025
New $1,000 Penfolds Grange 2021 lauded by top global wine critic as 'close to perfect'
Penfolds Grange is still knocking them dead, with critics in the UK, Europe, the US and Australia awarding the latest release 100 points.
International scribe Ken Gargett set the tone when he said the Penfolds Grange 2021 ($1,000) 'simply dances with joy'.
'This is as close to a perfect Grange as I can imagine,' he said.
Gargett's reviews are published in Wine Pilot, World of Fine Wine and Quill and Pad.
He added: 'One simply gets lost in the nose, just endlessly sniffing the most glorious cassis notes, along with black fruits, blueberries, coffee beans, aniseed, mulberries, delicatessen meats, tobacco leaves, plums and graphite.
'The wine is seamless, intense and immaculate with knife-edge balance.'
Other scribes who gave it top scores include Australians Tony Love, Nick Stock and Lisa Perrotti-Brown in California, Anders Enquiest in Sweden, Wilfred Wong in San Francisco and André Kunz in Switzerland.
This shows the wine's global reach.
It's a genuine collectable and a triumph for chief winemaker Peter Gago and his team.
The accolades can only enhance Australia's reputation abroad as a producer of high-quality wine - with a halo effect for our food, especially beef.
Master of Wine Andrew Caillard, the author of The Australian Ark, The Story of Australian Wine from 1788 to the Modern Era, gave the Grange 98 points.
'In the end it is a lovely wine that exemplifies the character, beauty and potential longevity of Grange,' he told me.
Penfolds Grange has appeared every year since 1951 and is routinely released as a four-year-old.
The vintage of Penfolds Grange released today is therefore the 2021.
In South Australia it carries the official Heritage Icon status.
The Grange sits at the top of an exceptional 24 wines from Australia, the US, France and China that will be publicly available from August 7.
And there was an exciting newcomer on the Penfolds hit parade this year.
It was made in Bordeaux as part of Penfolds French winemaking trials.
Penfolds 2022 FWT 543 Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah ($100) is a union of cabernet sauvignon and shiraz is deeply woven into the Penfolds story, Mr Gago said.
The blend defines some of the winemakers' most notable wines, including Bin 389, Bin 600, and the limited release Bin 180 made to celebrate Penfolds 180 years, and Superblend 802 A and Superblend 802 B.
'It works. Using a 65-year-old Bin 389 style template, the immediate acceptance of the inaugural 2018 Bin 600 Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz from California – championed by winemakers, Steph Dutton and Andrew Balwin – emboldened our French team,' Mr Gago said.
'Not to be outdone, winemaker Shauna Bastow has propelled a French trialling first, the 2022 FWT 543 Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah, into this collection.
'Over time, and with brave sourcing and winemaking ambition, we await its ascent to Bin status.'
It is a sumptuous blend containing 52 percent cabernet sauvignon and 48 percent syrah (shiraz).
I scored it 97 points.
The Grange overshadows some of the other outstanding wines in this collection, especially the Penfolds 2023 Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon ($800).
I scored it 97 points.
It is a multi-regional blend with fruit sourced from McLaren Vale, Padthaway and the Barossa Valley, and was matured in new American oak hogsheads for 18 months.
This is an immaculate wine with gorgeous florals, blackcurrants, cherry, tobacco and pepper aromas ahead of a multi-layered palate with more cherry and blackcurrant plus mulberry, spiced plum and a hint of dark chocolate.
I gave 96 points to Penfolds Bin 150 Marananga Shiraz 2023 ($100) described by Penfolds winemaker Shavaughn Wells as 'a bold, full bodied shiraz expression with structured tannins and a bright acidity'.
It has a panoply of aromas and flavours from charred meats and olive tapenade to sweet plums and chocolate all framed with a mix of new and old French and American oak.
Some others include Penfolds Bin 28 Shiraz 2023 ($50) which scored 94 points and has a ripe and generous warm climate of Australian shiraz.
Age Worthy.
There's the Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2023 ($120, 95 points).
It's a multi-regional blend exemplifying Penfolds' 'house style' with opulent fruit matured in American oak.
Penfolds St Henri Shiraz 2022 ($135.) Points 97. A classic. Perfect colour. Plush and rich. Minimal oak.
The wine the winemakers drink.
Max Schubert made the first experimental Grange in 1951.
John Davoren followed suit with St Henri in 1953.
Winemaker Steph Dutton says this vintage will gain soft, earthy, mocha-like characters as it ages.
Penfolds Magill Estate Shiraz 2023 ($180) Points 96. A true monopole.
Fruit from the original estate established in 1844 just 8km from the Adelaide GPO.
Matured in the same wax-lined open fermenters Max Schubert once used to craft Grange. Black fruits, savoury tannins.
A juicy, savoury complexity.
Penfolds RWT Bin 798 Barossa Valley Shiraz 2023 ($220). Points 96. A contemporary expression of Barossa Shiraz in contrast to the more muscular Grange.
Aromas of blueberries and mulberries billow from the glass.
A subtle floral note of violets emerges intermingled with cedar and sandalwood.
Tasting notes speak of plummy black fruits, pepper spices, cherry-infused chocolate and a hint of cola.
From the third vintage of the China wine trials comes Penfolds CWT521 Cabernet Sauvignon Marselan 2023 ($150) Points 94.
The blend 89 per cent cabernet sauvignon from the high-altitude vineyards of Shangri-La and 11 per cent marselan from Ningxia.
The marselan grape is a crossing of cabernet sauvignon and grenache.
In autumn the vines are buried to protect them from the harsh winters.
Penfolds Yattarna Bin 144 Chardonnay 2023 ($220). I gave it 98 points; the same score I gave the Grange in this column last week.
A monumental wine with superb fruit complexity. Our answer to white Burgundy.
Yattarna is the winery's flagship white made by senior winemaker Kym Schroeter with fruit from three states.
From White Hill and the Coal River valley in Tasmania, Tumbarumba in the NSW high country and the Adelaide Hills in South Australia.
