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Penfolds launches rare ‘Superblends’ via NFT
Penfolds is set to release a rare 2018 Superblend duo of wines via luxury wine and spirits marketplace BlockBar on 11 April.
This highly collectable item will be sold as two NFTs to one buyer via wine auction on BlockBar.com, the world’s first direct-to-consumer NFT marketplace for luxury wine and spirits. Each NFT is tied to a 6-litre bottle of Penfolds Superblend, both Cabernet Shiraz from the 2018 vintage. Made from carefully selected parcels of fruit from the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Coonawarra regions, one bottle is from the ‘802.A’ parcel, the other from ‘802.B’.
Imperial formats are typically reserved for Penfolds’ museum and the brand’s Superblend Imperial wines are not available for public purchase in retail. The two 6-litre bottles of Penfolds Superblend will be auctioned as one drop during a three-day event with a starting bid of approximately $25,000 USD (approx. 7.6 ETH).
The NFTs serve as digital receipts that verify the buyer’s ownership and authenticity of the two Imperial bottles, which will be stored at BlockBar’s facility in Singapore until the buyer decides to redeem the NFTs by collecting the physical bottles.
Components for the Superblends were aged separately in new American oak hogshead barrels for 22 months before being blended. The Cabernet Sauvignon makes its structural presence felt comprising 68% of the blend, while the 32% Shiraz contribution adds generosity.
In the 802.B blend, varietal composition is close to evenly split with Cabernet Sauvignon contributing 55% and Shiraz 45%. The components were blended post-vintage, completing 19 months’ maturation in French oak, and according to the producer will “reward careful cellaring for several decades”.
As part of the NFT offer, the buyer will also receive a complimentary 750ml bottle of each of the Penfolds Superblend 802.A Cabernet Shiraz 2018, and the 802.B Cabernet Shiraz 2018 to taste in a private virtual session with Penfolds’ chief winemaker Peter Gago.
If the auction winner is a previous Penfolds NFT owner (via BlockBar.com) they will also receive a complimentary luxury Superblend 802.A and 802.B decanter.
“The release of these special Superblend NFTs follows two highly successful Penfolds x BlockBar NFT drops. The response to date has been overwhelmingly positive. Penfolds first NFT linked to a barrel of 2021 Magill Cellar 3, which sold in under 12 seconds for US$130,000. Our second NFT release, linked to 300 bottles of 2018 Magill Cellar 3 sold out in under 10 hours. We look forward to seeing the response to our Superblend release,” said Kristy Keyte, Penfolds’ chief marketing officer.
To participate in the auction, bids can be placed via BlockBar.com from 10am EST Monday 11 April 2022 through to 10am EST Wednesday 13 April 2022.
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