Penfolds unveils Grange La Chapelle
Two icons of the wine world join forces to release a unique blend of Rhône Syrah and Australian Shiraz. Anne Krebiehl MW reports from the Paris launch, with tasting notes of the new wine and a few extra treats.
South Australian winery Penfolds and Domaine de la Chapelle in France’s Rhône Valley have teamed up to release a groundbreaking blend of French Syrah and Australian Shiraz. Grange La Chapelle was created by Peter Gago, chief winemaker at Penfolds, and Caroline Frey, chief winemaker and vigneron of Domaine de la Chapelle.
The wine, from the 2021 vintage, was presented by Frey and Gago at a global launch event in Paris on 9 February 2025. Scroll down for tasting notes of the new Grange La Chapelle and seven other wines tasted at the launch.
Scroll down for an assessment of the new Grange La Chapelle
Born out of a longstanding friendship between the two winemakers, Grange La Chapelle is a half-and-half blend of Syrah from Hermitage in the Northern Rhône and Shiraz – mostly from ancient vines – in the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Clare Valley.
With the harvests six months apart in two different hemispheres, the French half of the wine was made and aged in France. It was airfreighted to Australia in a temperature-controlled, custom-made stainless steel container. Blended in Australia, the final wine was aged further before release.
Inspired blend
According to Gago, the original inspiration for Grange La Chapelle dated back to a 1987 dinner at Rakel Restaurant in New York, co-hosted by legendary Penfolds winemaker Max Schubert and Gérard Jaboulet, the former owner of Domaine de la Chapelle. The wines served were Penfolds Grange 1971 and Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle 1978.
Those same two wines were served again at the Paris launch, alongside their 1990s vintages, demonstrating their ageing potential.
‘The fact that these wines met so many times at winemakers’ dinners before made it clear that it was meant to happen,’ noted Frey.
Gago added: ‘A bit of history is happening here tonight. It is provocative, it is courageous, and we salute the people who made it happen.’
History comes full circle
Talking about the final composition of Grange La Chapelle, Frey confirmed that the French portion of the blend was exactly the same wine that’s bottled as La Chapelle Hermitage. Gago noted that the Australian half was made from the fruit of mainly pre-phylloxera vines.
Since Penfolds’ famous pan-Australian blend Grange was known as ‘Grange Hermitage’ until 1990, Gago suggested that this new Franco-Australian co-production makes history come full circle.
‘This really is a celebration of Syrah, or what we call Shiraz,’ he said. ‘Cabernet Sauvignon is so celebrated, we hope it will do something for Syrah.’
Future plans
‘This is a real project, with a real life; each vintage is 50/50,’ added Frey. The 2022 vintage of Grange La Chapelle has already been bottled, 2023 is in barrel and so is 2024.
Going ahead Frey and Gago expect annual releases of this wine, which is made in a very limited, but undisclosed, quantity.
Penfolds is no stranger to creating international blends. Since 1998, it has regularly released American-Australian blends with fruit sourced from Paso Robles, Napa Valley and Sonoma.
More recently, Penfolds collaborated with the house of Dourthe in Bordeaux to create its first French-Australian blend.
This limited release will retail at €2,600 and AU$3,500 per bottle; £2,160 in the UK and US$2,500 in the US. It is being sold via 18 selected specialist retailers globally to private clients only. In the UK that includes Goedhuis Waddesdon.
A small allocation will be sold directly by Penfolds in Australia and the US. Buyers can express interest on a dedicated website: grangexlachapelle.com
Grange La Chapelle and other iconic bottles: Tasting notes
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