Behind the Red Curtain: Penfolds Special Bins from the Vault

BY ANGUS HUGHSON | MARCH 20, 2025

Penfolds is a venerable name in Australian wine and a national icon. It is the country’s equivalent of Château Lafite-Rothschild and Vega Sicilia. For admirers of the style, Penfolds Grange stands alongside the First Growth Bordeaux on which it was originally modelled. From the outside, Penfolds is not a winery that prides itself on innovation. The style of its key red wines is largely set in stone, with metronomic winemaking that reliably provides comfort to many fans. Yet when these wines first emerged, many were, in fact, revolutionary. Pioneering winemaker Max Schubert’s use of 100% new American oak and partial barrel-fermentation for early vintages of Grange was trailblazing, wholly rejected by Penfolds management and an array of leading experts at the time. Their initial reaction is best summed up by an unnamed taster: “Schubert, I congratulate you. A very good dry port, which no one in their right mind will buy, let alone drink.” This dynamism and tension is not necessarily a bad thing in any business, helping to break down barriers with an eye toward potentially exciting results in the future, but it can certainly present a difficult path for winemakers to navigate. After initial feedback, Grange was almost relegated to the dustbin of history, yet it just managed to survive.

From the very earliest days, when the company was still family-owned, Penfolds often pushed the envelope into new regions and styles. When Coonawarra began showing promise as a winegrowing region in the 1950s, Penfolds was one of the leaders to stake its claim on prime sites, many of which are still in company hands to this day. Changes in ownership over the years did rein that back, but recent times have seen a roaring return, with current projects in Champagne, California and China illustrating a winery that is on the move and not content to sit back and smell the roses. As an aside, the white Grange project and the eventual development of the Yattarna Chardonnay, driven by Chief Winemaker John Duval in the early to mid-nineties, was also groundbreaking. This was arguably one of the key waypoints for Australian Chardonnay when quality began its move into the stratosphere. Penfolds’ innovations in the production of South Australian Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, blends thereof and, more recently, Chardonnay have done much to redefine Australian wine styles. Plenty of winemakers still follow Penfolds’ lead, albeit occasionally begrudgingly.

Behind this innovative streak has been a plethora of experimental wine trials, many of which were never designed for commercial release. These trials were aimed at internal benchmarking and for use at wine shows to test broader appeal with small batches and minimal risk. This was a common strategy for many wineries at the time, during what were embryonic years for the industry. Penfolds Grange and Bin 707 began their lives as trial wines before graduating into regular releases. Up until the 1980s, these wine trials remained completely behind closed doors until the decision was made to start releasing limited stocks, many of which were shared amongst Penfolds’ family and friends.

Since the 1940s, each Penfolds Chief Winemaker has played their part in building the brand while probing opportunities, from Max Schubert’s pioneering of Grange and Coonawarra as a fine wine region to Peter Gago’s legacy, which is still being written. While every winery has its trial wines, most choose to keep them locked away from the prying eyes of wine writers and the general public. Penfolds’ unique mindset illustrates a confidence in their wines, sharing a part of their winemaking journey that is often hidden from view. These bottlings provide fascinating insights as to historic wines and mindsets at various times over the last 75 years. Originally described as experimental bottlings, these wines are now known as Penfolds Special Bins.