Penfolds
Australia’s most editorially significant producer. Penfolds Grange is the flagship — a multi-region Shiraz blend that defined Australian premium wine.
About Penfolds
Penfolds is Australia’s most prestigious wine producer — a multi-region house famous for Grange, the flagship multi-region Shiraz blend first made by Max Schubert in 1951. Grange initially faced resistance from Penfolds management (it was suspended for a period in the 1950s) but became the foundational wine of premium Australian wine production. The house produces a tiered hierarchy: Grange at the top, then Bin 707 (Cabernet), RWT Shiraz, Magill Estate Shiraz, St Henri Shiraz, Bin 389 Cabernet-Shiraz, and the broader Bin 28/Bin 128/Bin 138/Koonunga Hill range. Grange is multi-region by deliberate design — Schubert’s approach was that blending across South Australian regions produces a more consistent and complex wine than single-vineyard production. The wine ages 25-50+ years from strong vintages. The 1953, 1962, 1971, 1976, 1986, 1990, 1996, 2002, 2008 vintages are landmark.
Flagship wines
- Penfolds Grange (multi-region Shiraz)
- Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon
- RWT Shiraz
- St Henri Shiraz
- Magill Estate Shiraz
Editorial notes
Penfolds Grange typically requires 15-25 years cellaring from release. The Grange Hermitage labeling was changed to Penfolds Grange in 1990 — “Hermitage” is now restricted to the French region. Bin numbers are useful editorial markers — Bin 389 (Cabernet-Shiraz, multi-region) is sometimes called “Baby Grange.”