It’s a big year for Treasury Wine Estate’s favourite child. On top of its huge 2026 Collection release, which will hit shelves on August 6, Penfolds is also celebrating the 75th anniversary of its own favourite child – Grange.
It was in 1951 that then-chief winemaker Max Schubert produced the first ‘Grange Hermitage’ – a wine which, despite what its name and variety might suggest, was inspired by the dry reds of Bordeaux.
And although it would take a decade or so to be properly appreciated by critics and the wider drinking public, fortifieds being the style du jour, it’s been an Australian icon since.
“The 2022 Grange assuredly authenticates its flagship role and 75th anniversary credentials,” says Penfolds’ current chief winemaker, Peter Gago. “No pressure. Both timely and lucky – to avail such a stellar vintage in such a symbolic year.”
Alongside the 2022 Grange (which the winery has also announced a price freeze on), the Penfolds Collection 2026 comprises an additional 17 wines from Australia, plus five from American, two from France and one from China – a whopping 26 in total.
This latter wine, the 2024 CWT 521 – a blend of 73 per cent cabernet sauvignon from Shangri-La and 16 per cent marselan from Ningxia – is one of the highlights of this year’s Collection. Now in its fourth vintage, it’s “the strongest Chinese Wine Trail offering to date,” Dave Brookes notes in his review. “There's a succulence and exuberance… along with a mineral freshness and an infectious briny energy.”
Locally, the standouts include the sensational 2024 Yattarna Chardonnay – which Penfolds' white winemaker Kym Schroeter says is “defined by purity and composure” – the 2024 Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2024 Bin 169 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2023 St Henri.
But, regardless of their country of origin, Peter says: “No longer a novelty, no fancy wordsmithing – all of these wines are unmistakably Penfolds, sourced from different hemispheres”.
Explore the 2026 Collection and see how Dave scored the wines below.
