One of Australia’s oldest wine producers, Penfolds, is celebrating its 180th winemaking anniversary with the release of The Penfolds Collection 2024, and a commemorative Bin 180 Coonawarra Cabernet Shiraz 2021.
Since its founding in 1844, Penfolds has been recognised for winemaking excellence. The 2024 Collection spans four country of origin releases, with 25 wines made from exceptional vineyards across Australia, US, France, and China.
The Australian release features Penfolds flagship 2020 Grange, showcasing the very best parcels of South Australian Shiraz from the 2020 vintage, and the US release includes a range of bottles from the 2021 vintage – the Penfolds Bin 149 Cabernet Sauvignon, Bin 704 Cabernet Sauvignon, Bin 600 Cabernet Shiraz and the newer stablemate, a Howell Mountain Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc.
From France, Penfolds brings its third release from a standing partnership with Dourthe, one of Bordeaux’s most respected winemaking houses, the Penfolds II Cabernet Sauvignon 2022.
The 2024 Collection also welcomes the second release of Chinese Winemaking Trial 521 Cabernet Sauvignon Marselan. The 2022 vintage trial wine blends Cabernet Sauvignon from Shangri-La and Marselan from Ningxia.
Penfolds red winemaker responsible for crafting CWT alongside Penfolds China based winemaking team, Matt Woo, said that the two varieties were married in the spirit of trial and experimentation.
“Does it work? It sure does! The structural framework from the Cabernet Sauvignon melded with the rich, generous palate of Marselan in a harmonious synergy. A wonderful follow up to the inaugural 2021 release,” said Woo.
To celebrate 180 years, the company is also releasing a commemorative Bin 180 Coonawarra Cabernet Shiraz 2021 – a classic Penfolds wine, displaying the structure of Cabernet and the richness of Shiraz. The wine features Cabernet Sauvignon from Block 10 and Shiraz from Block 5, some of the oldest and most symbolic plantings in the region
Penfolds chief winemaker, Peter Gago, said the company’s goal was to craft a landmark wine to acknowledge the anniversary.
“Compellingly – the lure of outstanding parcels in barrel availed from the stellar 2021 Coonawarra harvest. Fatefully – testament to a pre-ordained and magical Australian varietal union – a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Resultingly – Penfolds 2021 Bin 180 Coonawarra Cabernet Shiraz,” said Gago.
“Our Penfolds Collection 2024 is testament to eighteen decades of innovation and invention, hard work, trials, mistakes, and the honing of a Penfolds House Style.
“We have a dedicated team working across the globe, covering viticultural regions in two hemispheres, allowing us to deliver an increasingly diverse and consistently excellent collection of wines each year,” he said.
To celebrate the Bin 180 release, Penfolds partnered with South Australian artisan Andrew Bartlett to design a limited-edition art piece to enclose the rare 3L jeroboam Bin 180 wines, of which only eight have been made. The wooden cases were constructed from staves of Penfolds French oak barrels.
The wines of The Penfolds Collection 2024 will be available from 1 August at penfolds.com.
Penfolds Bin 180 Coonawarra Cabernet Shiraz comes in 750ml for RRP $1180, 1.5L for RRP $3500 or 3L for RRP$18,000 formats. Only 180 magnums and eight jeroboams are available globally.
