Penfolds unveils ‘controversial’ multi-vintage Grange

Penfolds has unveiled its latest creation, a multi-vintage blend of three vintages of its top label Grange – the 2008, 2012 and the yet to be released 2014 – that costs AU$3,000 a bottle. Called ‘g3’ head winemaker Peter Gago said he expects it to attract controversy.

Peter Gago, chief winemaker of Penfolds, introducing the the master blend of Penflods blend – g3 in Hong Kong.

Famously known around the world for its Grange, a multi-vineyard and cross-region blend, the ‘g3’ is a “blend of a blend” said Gago today on the sideline of a Penfolds masterclass.

The project has been several years in the making and draws on the brand’s background in sparkling wine and Penfolds’ fortified wine background, he continued.

“We are very pleased with the end result. It’s not a one-off or a gimmick. This is real. There are going to be a lot of critics. It will still be controversial because Grange has always been. Grange is a blend, this is a blend of Granges, so [it’s] a blend of a blend,” said the winemaker after hosting a masterclass of the latest Penfolds’ 2017 Collection in Hong Kong.

A blend of three Granges, the wine’s price is almost triple a bottle of ‘ordinary’ Grange. According to Gago, only 1,200 bottles were made, and each sells for AU$3,000 (HK$18,400).

“It’s not like the 2008, or the 2012 or the 2014,” said Gago, yet he thought that each Grange vintage component selected brought something different to the final blend.

Grange 2012 is about elegance and sophistication, while 2014 is a young wine that serves to “freshen up the blend”. Selecting the 2008 vintage is no brainer as the wine received a few 100 points from several prominent critics and wine publications.

Penfolds’ latest ‘g3’ is a blend of three Granges – 2008, 2012 and 2014.

The three vintages are then matured as a blend, aged one year in barrel then in bottle, said Gago when speaking to dbHK.

Asked if it’s possible that Penfolds will blend other vintages for future releases, Gago replied: “It is possible. If there were to be a next one, we might use older reserve wines. So we say it’s like a ‘House style’ distilled.

“We have a fortified wine background, solera blending across vintages. Champagne houses use reserve wines. If you are Krug, you use reserve wines in stainless steel. If you are Bollinger, you use reserve in magnum. We have used reserved wines of 2008 in bottle. The 2012, we kept it a longer in barrel and mixed with the new 2014, and the reserve of 2008. Then matured as a blend.”

This is not however, a wine that is going to be released every year, he noted, but he hinted that for the next release Penfolds could go back 15 years into its reserves.

Commenting on the wine’s drinking window, the winemaker said, “In an ideal world, I would probably have kept it in bottle for another 10 years before release. However, there are commercial responsibilities too.

“If I were able to afford one, I wouldn’t touch it for 10 years. But some people will keep it for 10 years and others would drink it tonight,” he continued.