TERRIFIC TRIO

The final of a trio of red wines that is a new multi-vintage blend of the iconic Penfolds Grange, the G5 was launched globally to much excitement late last year. Its chief winemaker PETER GAGO tells Yanni Tan about why it is so special.

- Yanni Tan

The recent unveiling of the Penfolds G5 – the third and final release of the G series – is a display of an extraordinary feat in the art and science of winemaking. After all, if Penfolds Grange is one of Australia’s “First Growths” that stands at the pinnacle of winemaking brilliance, then a bold and completely new multi-vintage expression of this fine red wine surely deserves its place in history.

The G series is a new wine blended from selected Grange vintages – the G3 from 2017 features 2008, 2012 and 2014; while the G4 from 2020 showcases 2002, 2004, 2008 and 2016. All Granges are 97 per cent shiraz and 3 per cent cabernet sauvignon. Penfolds chief winemaker Peter Gago, who is a newly minted member of the Decanter Hall of Fame, says: “The G series is the essence of Grange. Although it is different, it still has that lovely barrel-ferment character, that glacial sort of lift and the volatility of Grange. It is 110 per cent Grange.”

Gago refers to the G series, which is entirely his conception, as “a winemaking indulgence” – which is quite the understatement. It had achieved critical acclaim from the wine industry, earning itself the name of a “superblend” whose G3 and G4 editions have attained 100 points from various critics. In fact, the practice of blending across vintages outside of Champagnemaking is something so unconventional that one can count on one hand the number of wineries that dare attempt it.