Penfolds Collection 2022 

BY ANGUS HUGHSON |

The annual release of the Penfolds collection is unusual in that it does not have a single vintage focus and spans a number of years thanks to the different aging requirements for the wines. This year’s key releases range from 2018 to 2021, each vintage with their own impactful conditions. The bookends are both marvelous, yet very different vintages. The only-recently bottled 2022 Riesling provides a first look at this generally milder vintage.

This year includes the release of the 2018 Grange which has all the markings of one of the great vintages from Penfolds. A tasting of the 1953 Grange some years back showed a wine still in perfect balance and ageing gracefully. The key question today is where this new release, from an exceptional South Australian vintage, will sit amongst the court of impressive wines.

Grange is Australia’s Château Latour, defined by its history but also looking to retain its status against increasingly stern opposition. Today, with such an extensive catalogue, including multiple releases back to 1951, Grange has many competitors to be the greatest Australian wine within each vintage, whether it be Chardonnay, Riesling, Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Penfolds of nowadays have changed much from the times of the early Granges. South Australia, and in particular Barossa, has always been the company’s spiritual home. But in recent years, Penfolds has developed small outposts offshore, following the model adopted by many Champagne houses decades ago. A successful collaboration with the Thiénot family saw the launch of a new Penfolds Champagne. Adding to their portfolio, Penfolds then used fruit sources from their wider Treasury Wine Estates to craft their Californian Collection, part of which was reviewed by Antonio Galloni here. This collection included the Bin 149, a unique international blend from California and Australia. Further expansion continued this year with the launch of a Haut-Médoc blend under the Penfolds label as well as the 2019 Penfolds II Bordeaux Barossa blend. While important within Penfolds, these additional projects remain a sideshow to the yearly Australian Bin and Icon releases.

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The annual release of the Penfolds collection is unusual in that it does not have a single vintage focus and spans a number of years thanks to the different aging requirements for the wines. This year’s key releases range from 2018 to 2021, each vintage with their own impactful conditions. The bookends are both marvelous, yet very different vintages. The only-recently bottled 2022 Riesling provides a first look at this generally milder vintage.

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