Peter Gago: Grange 2010 ‘best I’ve seen’

Penfolds is launching Grange 2010 today – a vintage where “nothing went wrong” according to the brand’s chief winemaker, Peter Gago.

Penfolds chief winemaker Peter Gago

Speaking to the drinks business earlier this week, Gago said that the 2010 Grange was the best he’s seen in his 12 years as Penfolds’ head winemaker, and recorded that the flagship Australian wine has already secured 100 point scores from Australia’s Tyson Stelzer, Nick Stock and Andrew Caillard MW, while UK’s Matthew Jukes gave the wine 20 out of 20.

Meanwhile, James Halliday has given the wine 99 points and the Wine Spectator 98 points (The Wine Advocate will release its score at the end of this month).

Crucially, Gago told db, “On paper, 2010 should be head and shoulders above 2008” – the vintage when Grange scored 100 points from both Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate and the Wine Spectator.

Explaining the significance of the two perfect scores from rival publications, Gago said, “There are just 11 times in history when there has been 100 points awarded to the same wine from both Parker and the Wine Spectator.”

Gago recorded that the 2008 vintage required Penfolds to be more selective due to a heatwave in South Austraila from early March, which lasted uninterrupted for 16 days, with 12 of those seeing temperatures over 38 degrees Celsius.

However, he pointed out, “Fortunately our old vine material in the Barossa ripens early and so we started picking on 5 February, well before the heatwave which began on 3 March.”

On the other hand, turning his attention to 2010, he said, “2010 was like 1990 or 1976: it was a vintage when nothing went wrong… everything came together.”

Consequently, he said that the 2008 Grange was “more muscular, more thumping than 2010, which is more about sheen, poise, structure and tension… it’s all there, a complete package.”

He also said that he had shown wine professionals in both Auckland and Singapore the 2008, 2009 and 2010 vintages of Grange side by side, “and while most are saying that 2008 is very good, they say that 2010 is better.”

Summing up on the subject of the 2010 Grange he said: “I’ve been chief winemaker since 2002, and this is the best I’ve seen.”

The wine, which is unveiled officially today, has an RRP of £460, which is the same as last year’s release, but less than 2008, according to Gago.

The 2010 also marks the 60^th vintage release of Grange, and the first time the wine has been released in October – Grange has traditionally been launched in March to May.

Gago explained that he has been trying to change the launch date of Grange for 15 years for “purely selfish” reasons.

“It is more and more difficult to get away in the middle of harvest, and the first half the year is meant to be a no-fly zone, and then we’ve been releasing our flagship wine in May when the ferments are still ticking away,” he said.

He also pointed out that it was more sensible to ship the wine later in the year, when Australian dockside conditions are cooler.

In short, he said, “I’m elated that our new CEO [Michael Clark] has had the courage to sign this off [moving the launch date to October].”

Nevertheless, he said that the new launch date has made this year extremely tiring in terms of travel commitments.

“This is a one-off year of transition, so it is painful, I’m like the walking dead at the moment, but I will come up for air in December…. It’s hasn’t killed me, but it’s getting close,” he admitted, laughing.