Penfolds Grange — Australia's Greatest Wine
Penfolds Grange is not merely Australia's most celebrated wine — it is one of the greatest wines produced anywhere in the world. A Heritage Icon of South Australia, a consistent recipient of perfect and near-perfect scores from the world's most respected critics, and the wine that single-handedly established Australia's reputation as a producer of world-class fine wine, Grange is in a category entirely its own. To own a bottle of Penfolds Grange is to hold a piece of Australian cultural history — a wine of extraordinary depth, complexity, and longevity that has been captivating collectors and connoisseurs for over seven decades.
History & Heritage
The story of Penfolds Grange begins in 1951, when Max Schubert — Penfolds' chief winemaker and one of the most visionary figures in the history of Australian wine — returned from a study trip to Bordeaux with an audacious ambition: to create an Australian red wine capable of ageing for twenty years or more, in the tradition of the great First Growth clâteaux of the Médoc. Working against the prevailing wisdom of the time — which held that Australian red wines were meant to be drunk young — Schubert produced his first experimental Grange in 1951 from Shiraz sourced from the Magill Estate vineyard on the outskirts of Adelaide.
The wine was initially rejected by Penfolds' board of directors, who ordered Schubert to cease production. He continued in secret, producing vintages in 1957 and 1958 that were eventually tasted by the board and recognised as wines of extraordinary quality. Production resumed officially, and Grange went on to become the most awarded and celebrated wine in Australian history — a vindication of Schubert's vision that stands as one of the great stories of perseverance and genius in the world of wine.
Grange was declared a Heritage Icon of South Australia in 2001 — the only wine in the world to hold such a designation — placing it alongside the Sydney Opera House and the Adelaide Oval as one of the state's most significant cultural treasures. Today, Penfolds is part of Treasury Wine Estates, and the role of Grange's custodian winemaker is one of the most prestigious positions in Australian wine.
The Wine: Philosophy & Production
Grange is a multi-regional, multi-vineyard blend — a philosophy that sets it apart from the single-vineyard, single-region approach of most of the world's great wines. Rather than being tied to a single site, Grange is assembled each year from the finest Shiraz parcels available across South Australia's greatest wine regions, including the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley, and the historic Magill Estate in Adelaide. This approach gives the winemaker the freedom to select only the very best fruit in any given year, ensuring that Grange maintains its extraordinary standard of quality regardless of the character of the vintage.
The wine is predominantly Shiraz — typically 95–100% — with occasional small additions of Cabernet Sauvignon that add structure and complexity without diminishing the wine's essential Shiraz character. It is matured for 17–19 months in 100% new American oak hogsheads — a signature of the Grange style that imparts the characteristic vanilla, mocha, and toasty oak notes that complement the wine's extraordinary fruit concentration. The use of new American oak, rather than the French oak favoured by most premium producers, is one of Grange's most distinctive and defining characteristics — a deliberate choice by Max Schubert that has become inseparable from the wine's identity.
Grange is produced only in years when the fruit quality meets the extraordinary standard the wine demands. In lesser years, the wine is simply not made — a commitment to quality over commercial convenience that is the foundation of Grange's enduring reputation.
Awards & Critical Acclaim
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100 Points — Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate (Grange 2008)
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100 Points — Wine Spectator (Grange 2008)
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99 Points — Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate (Grange 1998, declared ‘legendary’)
- Heritage Icon of South Australia — the only wine in the world to hold this designation
- Consistently rated among the world's greatest wines by Decanter, James Halliday's Wine Companion, The Wine Front, and all leading international publications
- Named Wine of the Year by Wine Spectator in 1995 (1990 vintage) — the first Australian wine to receive this honour
- Over 70 consecutive vintages produced since 1951, each a benchmark of Australian winemaking excellence
Our Range
Penfolds Grange 1998 — South Australia — One of the classic Grange vintages of the modern era. A blend of 97% Shiraz and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, matured for 18 months in 100% new American oak hogsheads. Cool spring weather followed by a warm summer and very low rainfall created a vintage of outstanding fruit quality — incredible intensity of flavour, fine tannins, and exceptional structure. Bright, almost impenetrable dark red, youthful in its intensity and remarkable for its age. Youthful and intense aromas of dark Satsuma plum, dark chocolate, liquorice, malt, toasty barrel ferment, and nutty oak. On the palate: intense layering of raspberry, blackcurrant, and blackberry laced with liquorice and oak. Ripe, velvety tannins with sweet tannin, well-integrated acidity, and sensational extract. The finish lasts nearly a minute. Drinking now through 2045. 99 Points, Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate — declared ‘legendary’. Heritage Icon of South Australia.
Penfolds Grange 2008 — South Australia — Widely regarded as one of the greatest Granges ever produced and one of the most perfect wines made anywhere in the world in the 21st century. A blend of 98% Shiraz and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from the Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, and Magill Estate, matured for 19 months in 100% new American oak hogsheads. Impenetrable dark core with deep crimson intensity. An extraordinary aromatic complexity of cola, soy, hoisin, red liquorice, tea-smoke, ripe fig, panforte, blueberry, mocha, dark cherry, blackberry pastille, and dark chocolate. On the palate: a muscular push of dark liquorice and malt, self-saucing chocolate pudding richness, blackberry and elderberry fruits, pronounced dense chalky tannins, and superb mid-palate buoyancy. The finish is chocolaty and firm with plentiful liquorice and long, fresh, ripe sweet tannins. Drinking 2025 to 2060. 100 Points, Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate. 100 Points, Wine Spectator. Heritage Icon of South Australia.
Penfolds Grange 2011 — South Australia — One of the rarest and most distinctive Granges of the modern era — the only 100% Shiraz Grange produced across six decades, and released at only half the volume of an average vintage due to the exceptional selectivity required in a challenging year. Sourced from the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, and Magill Estate, matured for 17 months in 100% new American oak hogsheads. Deep and dense dark red — inky and concentrated. Aromas of sarsaparilla, creamy soda, cola root beer, black liquorice, soy, archetypal North Barossa Shiraz fruit, and roasted chestnut. On the palate: blackberry, blackcurrant, fig, rhubarb, quince, black olive, shaved truffle, vanillin, ristretto coffee, dark cherry, plum, panforte, and meaty flavours with dense chalky textures. Drinking 2025 to 2060. Heritage Icon of South Australia.
Cellaring & Serving
All three vintages of Penfolds Grange currently available are at or approaching their secondary drinking window — a period of extraordinary complexity and development that rewards those who have had the patience to wait. Decant for a minimum of two hours before serving at 17–19°C in the finest large-format red wine glass available. Grange is a wine that demands the finest food and the finest company — aged prime beef, slow-roasted lamb, game, truffle-based dishes, and the finest hard cheeses are its natural partners. These are wines of irreplaceable rarity — only four bottles remain across three of the most celebrated vintages in Grange's history.
Explore our Penfolds Grange range below and seize the opportunity to acquire one of the world's most iconic and collectible wines.
