At 9:15 p.m. last Thursday, I was being happily seduced by a first taste of the 2012 vintage of Penfolds Bin 95 Grange, Australia’s iconic red that’s now being released to the world along with other whites and reds in their luxury collection.Is this deep, rich, seductive, tongue-stroking red really the star of them all?
Well, this year, the answer is a definite "Yes," but several immensely appealing also-rans are worth trying. (See tasting notes below.)
The Penfolds annual-release tastings are now highly orchestrated media events staged around the planet, with this year's two special bottlings literally under wraps, watched over by beefy, unsmiling guards. After an initial tasting in Sydney, the energetic, globe-trotting winemaker Peter Gago touched down in New York, on the Upper East Side at the Academy Mansion, to host a dinner on Oct. 20 with old vintages and to bang the drum not just for the luxury wines, but also for two bling-heavy Grange limited editions. One costs $2,000 and another $185,000, a 750-milliliter bottle or a 6-liter Imperial of 2012 Grange, respectively; both feature hand-blown, diamond-cut crystal decanters from Saint-Louis to match.
But, hey, you can buy just the regular bottle for a lot less. The winery’s price is $850, and one shop in the U.S. is already discounting it to a mere $700. Wait a couple of months and it may go down farther.
Should you buy? Here’s what you need to know.
Penfolds History
Founded back in 1844, Penfolds is the oldest wine brand in Australia and is now the crown jewel in the vast portfolio of giant wine corporation Treasury Wine Estates. It’s based in South Australia, where kangaroos are regarded as grape-nibbling pests. Its flagship wine, Grange, is the most collectible wine on the continent, with a long auction track record. Unlike most of the world’s iconic reds, it’s a multi-vineyard, multi-district blend, yet it has a distinctive personality—and a great story.
The first vintage, 1951, was an experiment, then-winemaker Max Schubert’s attempt to create a great Australian wine to challenge Bordeaux’s first growths. It was mostly shiraz with a very small splash of cabernet sauvignon. They tried to sell the 1952 . It wasn't an immediate success; one doctor suggested it would make a good anesthetic.
Yet time proved out his experiment. Sixty-plus years later, Grange is in huge demand, especially in China.
Several vintages, such as 1990 and 1986, are on my "Most Thrilling Wines I’ve Ever Tasted" list. Gago says the very best is the rare 1953. Its initial price was $1.76; now it’s worth more than $25,000 a bottle. “That quality is what I’m chasing every year,” he told me.