‘Penfolds itself was established in 1844, and is thus a heritage brand as old as some of the finest European wine houses’

Luxury brands don’t come around very often in the rarefied world of fine wine. Penfolds Grange, now 75 years old, has established a foremost place among the vinous legends

To what extent is the world of luxury determined by heritage? Until recently, you could have convincingly argued that all luxury brands were heritage brands: from Hermès to Patek Philippe to Château Latour, they have been around for centuries.

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But then came the disruptors – new luxury brands such as Richard Mille and Alaïa. In sectors where innovation plays its part, the role of new luxury is even stronger: Pagani and Koenigsegg have shaken the world of supercars.

But has not the world of wine, where innovation arguably plays less of a role than historic vineyards, remained a heritage preserve? Up to a point. To the pantheon of centuries-old greats such as Romanée-Conti and Château Margaux, a new fine-wine luxury brand has been established that commands respect and desirability among top collectors.

Max Schubert created the iconic Grange 75 years ago, from the Shiraz (Syrah) grape variety

Penfolds Grange is not new in absolute terms – the first vintages were produced in the 1950s, but that makes it relatively new in the wine world, and all the more remarkable for its ascent to that pantheon of greats. It helps, of course, that Penfolds itself was established in 1844, and is thus a heritage brand as old as some of the finest European wine houses.

Luxury is an industry in which marketing can be even more important than quality to establishing reputations. But for a fine wine, quality is paramount. There’s no getting away from what’s in the glass. Also, consistency: if you create one great vintage then nine average ones, you won’t find a place in collectors’ cellars.

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Grange is innovative for the wine world. It is made from Shiraz grapes, known as Syrah in France, which, in the Rhône valley, makes the celebrated Syrah wines of Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage. But unlike most of the world’s great wines, Grange is not created from grapes grown from the same plots of land each year.

It is a blend of the best grapes chosen each year by the winemaker – wine-world legend Peter Gago, who was inducted into the prestigious Decanter Hall of Fame in 2021 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the influential Meininger Awards this year.

The Penfolds barrels

Coming from different plots each year ensures quality but also an intriguing variation.

Grange is Australian and expensive – older vintages fetch thousands of pounds, dollars and euros per bottle – and it is, of course, unusual in not coming from the same plot of land every year. But what does it taste like?

Grange is an ethereal, hard-to-pin-down wine, with power but also a lightness of touch and delicacy, which, added to its complexity, make it utterly captivating for collectors.

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On its 75th anniversary this year, Gago commented in characteristically sharp, colloquial style to LUX, “Grange, three quarters of a century young. Without a vintage miss. Annually attempting across treasured South Australian vineyards to best reflect what Mother Nature sends our way. So far, so good. Respectful of the proven Grange stylistic template, every year we try harder … to make a better vintage than the legendary ’52, ’53, ’55, ’63, ’71, ’76, ’86, ’90, ’96, 2010 … The tweaking continues – in vineyard, in winery!”

Oh, and good luck in tracking down a bottle of that 1952. A true luxury item indeed.

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The long-standing friendship between Caroline Frey, Chief Winemaker and Vigneronne, La Chapelle and Peter Gago, Chief Winemaker, Penfolds, catalysed the creation of Grange La Chapelle

We live in an era of luxury collaborations. Whether it’s Fendi and Versace, Louis Vuitton and Yayoi Kusama, or LUX and artists like Jeff Koons and George Condo, working together is the new chic.

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And why not? It brings great minds, and creativity, together rather than working in parallel and competition.

In the wine world, there have also been collaborations, albeit in a rather different way. Famously, Château Mouton-Rothschild commissions celebrated artists to create its labels – its collaborators include the likes of Picasso and Francis Bacon.

Caroline Frey and Peter Gago tasting their new wine

And over the last decades, great wine estates have worked together to create new wineries, most notably Opus One, created by the same Rothschilds and California’s Robert Mondavi.

But, nobody has ever created an actual wine that is a physical collaboration between two celebrated wines. Until now.

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Grange La Chapelle, announced this week, is a collaboration between the most celebrated wine of Australia, Penfolds Grange, and one of the most historically notable wines of France, Hermitage La Chapelle.

When we say collaboration, we don’t mean that the two companies worked together to create something new and put a label on it.

A bottle of Grange La Chapelle 2021

No, Grange La Chapelle is literally a blend of Penfolds Grange and Hermitage La Chapelle, 50-50, to create a groundbreaking, unique and completely new concept in the world of luxury wine.

For wine connoisseurs, it’s like Ferrari and Aston Martin coming together to create a new car. And there is method in the creativity: both Grange and La Chapelle are, famously, made from the Syrah grape, which is called Shiraz in Australia. Both are showcase examples of it: Grange is widely considered the best New World Shiraz, beloved of collectors, and has a shout at being known as the best Shiraz/Syrah in the world, full stop.

Hermitage La Chapelle, meanwhile, has a storied history, being produced as one of the standout wines of the great Hermitage area south of Lyon (all made from Shiraz) throughout the 20^th century. Indeed, before Grange gained global fame in the 1980s and 90s, Hermitage La Chapelle would have been many people’s choice as the greatest Syrah (Shiraz) in the world.

‘As the project progressed, I saw the elegance in Grange and the strength in La Chapelle’ – Caroline Frey

And now, they are together. LUX has not yet had the pleasure of tasting the new wine, but can imagine the producers are spot on when they say that it is “bold, yet elegant, structured and expressive”.

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Peter Gago, Chief Winemaker, Penfolds, comments that “this friendship created and idea, this idea became a trial, and the trial became a wine. Who would have thought…”

Caroline Frey of La Chapelle notes that “as the project progressed, I saw the elegance in Grange and the strength in La Chapelle” – encompassing the general view that the Australian wine is more powerful than the French – although, connoisseurs would say, it has always been every bit as complex.

Frey and Gago at Château La Lagune

Grange La Chapelle is about much more than an exciting and delicious new wine for collectors to get their hands on: it is a rewiring of the circuit diagram that underpins the wine world, which previously stated that you simply didn’t create a blend of different estates’ wines from different continents. Penfolds has form here, previously creating flagship wines itself from France and Australia and creating fine wines from three continents: Australasia, Europe and North America.

And why not? If Fendi and Versace can do it, so can Penfolds Grange and Hermitage La Chapelle. Now you know what to serve at your next dinner, and you can be sure your guests, however wine educated, will never have tried it before.

grangexlachapelle.com