Penfolds Icons masterclass: DFWE London 2024

On Saturday, 16 November, wine enthusiasts were treated to an extraordinary opportunity to delve into the illustrious world of Penfolds at the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter (DFWE) in London.

This masterclass celebrated the legacy of one of the world’s most iconic wine brands, offering attendees a journey through Penfolds’ storied winemaking excellence.

Penfolds brand ambassador Toby Amphlett led the session with expertise and passion. Drawing on his deep knowledge, Amphlett shared captivating stories and insights that illuminated Penfolds’ 180-year legacy, its evolution and its innovative approach to winemaking.

Scroll down for notes and scores from the masterclass

A legacy of innovation

Founded in 1844, Penfolds has built a legendary reputation for crafting exceptional wines with a pioneering spirit. The masterclass offered a rare chance to savour a selection of its most celebrated wines, from historic legends such as Grange Bin 95 Shiraz 2007 and St Henri Shiraz 2014 to bold, avant-garde releases like Quantum Bin 98 Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 and FWT 585 Vin De France 2019.

While flagship label Grange was highlighted for its unique history and significant impact on Australian wine culture, Amphlett also emphasised the experimental nature of Penfolds, exploring its multi-regional blending approach with these Wines of the World that unite grapes from different countries and hemispheres.

Participants embarked on a tasting journey featuring eight carefully curated wines that showcased the perfect blend of tradition and innovation. Amphlett offered a deep dive into the history, production techniques, and artistry behind each bottle, creating a memorable experience for all.

Wines featured in the tasting

Penfolds, Yattarna, South Australia, Australia 2018

Penfolds, FWT 585, Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux, France 2019

Penfolds x Dourthe, Penfolds II, Wine of the World 2022

Penfolds, Quantum Cabernet Sauvignon, Wine of the World 2018

Penfolds, Bin 407, Cross-Regional Blend, Australia 2015

Penfolds, Bin 389, South Australia, Australia 2015

Penfolds, St Henri Shiraz, South Australia, Australia 2014

Penfolds, Grange, Bin 95 Shiraz, South Australia, Australia 2007

Setting the scene

Amphlett began the masterclass by going back to the founding of the company by English immigrants Dr Christopher and Mary Penfold, who established the original winery at McGill Estate in Adelaide South Australia, using French grapes they had brought with them on their long journey from Sussex.

By 1884 Penfolds was producing one-third of the wine being made in South Australia. By 1907 it was the state’s largest winery. Global fame arrived with the creation of Shiraz-based red blend Grange, which was created in 1951 by Penfolds’ first chief winemaker Max Schubert.

Since the 1960s Grange has won countless medals, trophies and awards. It is also the only wine officially listed as a Heritage Icon of South Australia

‘Penfolds is one of the most celebrated winemakers in the world today. We really are on that global stage, piloted by the wines in front of you – and especially Grange, which shaped the way Australians were thinking about creating wines,’ said Amphlett.

‘Experimentation at Penfolds is huge,’ he continued. ‘We’re encouraged to experiment in different ways: cold soaking, wild-ferments, multi-hemisphere blends in one bottle.

‘We’re allowed to experiment in different spaces. We’re in Bordeaux, in Napa, Champagne and now we’re in China. So today is all about experimentation in your own eyes – seeing what these wines look like in your glass.’

From Australia to Bordeaux

The tasting began with Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay 2018, also known as Bin 144. ‘We had 144 wine trials to come up with that style of Chardonnay. So it makes sense to call it Bin 144,’ noted Amphlett.

He went on to explain that the famous ‘Bin’ numbers all have different meanings. ‘Take RWT, another wine we’re trying today, which is called Bin 798. Back in the 1990s, when the phones came out, you could start texting. When you type 798, it spells RWT.’ Bin 707 meanwhile is named after the aircraft Boeing 707.

A blend of Chardonnay grapes from Tasmania, Tumbarumba and Adelaide Hills, Yattarna showcases the Penfolds art of blending from different regions within Australia.

The next wine, FWT 585, showed how that expertise was transplanted to Bordeaux, when Penfolds owner, Treasury Wine Estates, purchased its first property in Haut-Médoc in 2019.

‘This is the first trial,’ noted Amphlett, explaining that FWT stands for French Winemaking Trial.

‘For us, it’s a trial in Bordeaux that’s constantly evolving,’ said Amphlett. ‘So 2019 is slightly different to 2020 and it’s slightly different to our current release, which is 2021. We’re still experimenting.’

Wines of the World

Combining Bordeaux and Australia in an entirely different way, the third wine, Penfolds II, is a marriage of Bordeaux Cabernet from top producer Dourthe, with Penfolds Coonawarra Cabernet. ‘It’s two hemispheres in one bottle, two producers coming together to see what they can produce,’ said Amphlett.

Blended and bottled in South Australia, this innovative and pioneering wine was launched in 2019. But Penfolds chief winemaker, Peter Gago, had been thinking about multi-hemisphere blends for a while, with his mind on creating Quantum Cabernet Sauvignon – the next wine in the lineup – a blend of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and South Australian Shiraz.

‘We started in 1998,’ explained Amphlett. ‘We took fine cuttings from our prize blocks in Australia. We planted them in Paso Robles and started a wine development project over the decades. We almost had three decades creating a wine in secret, really as an experiment.’

This tasting of the inaugural release Quantum Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, was a taste of history.

‘We have five wines now from Napa. But this Quantum 2018 for me, is exceptional,’ said Amphlett. ‘It’s an amazing first to market, the first original multi-hemisphere blend we have from Penfolds.’

The classics

From world-leading innovation to classic benchmarks… The next two wines in the tasting were Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 and Bin 389 Cabernet-Shiraz 2015. ‘This is the benchmark Cabernet Sauvignon for us,’ said Amphlett of the Bin 407.

‘You get the lovely fruit profile and quality. The majority of the fruit is from Coonawarra and it’s an amazing region – I always say Napa Valley, Bordeaux and Coonawarra are three top areas in the world for Cabernet; but people can challenge me on that! I really believe that people still haven’t caught up with the pure quality of Cabernet from Coonawarra.’

Bin 389 meanwhile is a Cabernet-Shiraz blend often dubbed ‘baby Grange,’ because parts of the wine are matured in barrels that held the previous vintage of Grange.

‘When Grange is made every year, you have 100% new oak barrels, and so when you come the next year to use that barrel, it doesn’t go to Grange because it’s already one year old. So a lot of the Shiraz in the 389 production goes into those ex-Grange barrels,’ explained Amphlett.

‘This started in 1960, first vintage. It’s pretty famously a 50-50 split of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz – some years it’s 51, some years it’s 53 – and what I like about this is that it’s celebrating these two grape varieties coming together,’ added Amphlett.

For 2015, the split was 53% cab to 47% Shiraz, with fruit sourced from various regions including Coonawarra, Barossa and Wrattonbully.

The icons

To conclude the session, it was time to taste the icons, beginning with St Henri Shiraz. ‘When you know St Henri, you love St Henri, and this is a wine I love talking about,’ enthused Amphlett.

‘We thought it started in 1889, but actually someone gave us a newspaper clipping from the Paris Wine Show dated 1888 and it said: “St Henri Gold Medal Award 1888” so we now officially can say it is from 1888,’ he added.

‘What I love about this wine is that it was created by a Frenchman called Léon Edmond Mazure. And he created a wine style that Australia hadn’t really seen. We bought his vineyards in 1940 and you can see from the wine label, they’re very different from anything else by Penfolds,’ explained Amphlett.

‘This is 100% Shiraz that has no oak. And I think that’s an amazing fact for a fine wine in Australia. It is pure Shiraz. It’s so soft, it’s really pure on the palate.’

Ending on a high, the session concluded with a tasting of Grange 2007. ‘It’s one of these wines that really did shape Australia,’ said Amphlett by way of introduction.

‘When people think of Australian fine wine, they’re generally saying Grange – it is really the iconic wine around the world.’

Amphlett recounted the story of the creation of Grange by the legendary Max Schubert, who made the first bottle in 1951 and took it to the Sydney Wine Show. ‘And most of the judges said it was one of the worst wines they’d ever had.’

The directors of Penfolds told Schubert to stop production in 1957, but convinced of its potential he built a fake wall in the winery and continued making it in secret. When the early vintages had time to cellar, the quality soon became apparent, as was evident from this tasting of the 2007 vintage.

This masterclass was an unforgettable exploration of Penfolds’ rich history and its commitment to innovation, leaving participants with a deeper appreciation for the craftsmanship behind its wines.

Penfolds Icons: The wines

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