Penfolds Collection 2020: Including 2016 Grange and £2,000 G4

This year’s elite Penfolds Collection release is crowned by the introduction of G4, blending four vintages of Grange. Just 2,500 bottles were made and will cost about £2,000 each.

The new 2016 vintage of Grange, the icon Shiraz, will be priced at £589 ($US750). The 2018 vintage of Yattarna, the flagship Chardonnay, will be £149 (US$190).

Penfolds chief winemaker Peter Gago is never satisfied with treading the same path. Even though the wines he makes maintain a consistently high standard of excellence, Gago wants the brand to remain in the spotlight for being innovative.

Which is why he’s delighted that his whim to create a multi-vintage Grange has caused ripples in the wine world. The first release, G3, was launched in 2017.

Grange was designed to capture the very best of vintage expression. But Gago argues that Penfolds is a winery built on blending, so shouldn’t he play more with this notion?

Although it’s an elite experiment, involving a lot of museum stock poured from bottle back into barrel to construct G4, he hasn’t built this wine as an ornament. Rather, he has constructed a delicious sum of complex parts up to 18 years old that begs to be appreciated now.

At $A3,500 a bottle (about £2,000 / US$2,500), it will be interesting to see how many purchasers follow Gago’s directive.

And this experiment is not yet over. G5, combining five vintages of Grange, is already blended and sitting in bottle, awaiting release in 2021. Gago won’t yet disclose all the component vintages, but concedes that 2008 won’t be part of the G5 mélange.

Asked whether this opens the way for more red wine multi-vintage blends across myriad price points, Gago simply arches an eyebrow and flashes an impish grin. Watch this space.

The Cabernets are back

Elsewhere across the latest Penfolds Collection releases, some gentle stylistic tweaks are noticeable. There is less overt oak and tannin influence across the portfolio, allowing fruit to speak in a clear voice.

The return of flagship Cabernet Sauvignon releases is also notable. There was no Bin 707 or Bin 169 released in 2019, and these – and the Bin 407, all from the 2018 vintage – show exquisite form. It underlines Penfolds’ exacting vision of what its elite bin series represents, and the commitment to maintain that.

The Penfolds Collection 2020 launches worldwide on 6 August.

For availability in the UK, contact specialist merchants including: Berry Bros & Rudd, BI Fine Wine, Cadman, Corney & Barrow, Cru World Wine, Farr Vintners, Fine & Rare, Frazier’s, Harrods, Hedonism, IG Wines, Justerini & Brooks, Laithwaite’s, Lay & Wheeler, Majestic, Philglas & Swiggott, Spirited Wines, The Vinorium and The Wine Society.

Penfolds 2020 Collection: the first taste

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