Some icons are just born glamorous. Others are born in basements, rejected by their own creators, then resurrected decades later as objects of obsession. Penfolds Grange is firmly in the latter camp. Seventy-five years after its first experimental vintage, it remains Australia’s most storied wine, officially listed as a Heritage Icon of South Australia. Grange is also the ultimate expression of Penfolds’ multi-vineyard, multi-regional blending philosophy, crafted from fully ripe, intensely flavoured Shiraz to deliver a distinctly Australian style that has earned acclaim among the world’s greatest wines.
To celebrate the anniversary of this icon, we head to Magill Estate, the spiritual home of Penfolds. The city of Adelaide stretches quietly below the Adelaide Hills, but up here, it feels like a different world. There’s the scent of oak barrels and the faint aroma of old wine cellars. Every corner has a story.
The Penfolds story starts in the 19th century, with Mary Penfold. Her instinctive blending style and uncompromising standards laid the foundation for everything Penfolds would become. Walking through the Estate, it’s easy to imagine her: correcting a barrel sample, tasting a blend, deciding whether it lived up to the brand’s exacting expectations.
Fast forward to the 1930s: a young messenger boy named Max Schubert arrives at Penfolds. He’s curious, bright, ambitious – the kind of person who notices everything and forgets nothing. He leaves to fight in World War II, then returns to the winery with a vision: to make a red wine that could rival the best of Bordeaux, capable of ageing gracefully for decades.
In 1951, he made the first Grange. It was big, brooding, and completely ahead of its time. Management hated it. Schubert was ordered to stop. Naturally, he didn’t. Instead, he hid barrels in the cellar and kept making Grange in secret. “He was always ahead of his time,” Steph says. “He believed in it when no one else did.” And she’s right – time, as it always does with vision, proved him right.
“Grange is about persistence… You have to respect time, respect the fruit, respect what came before” – Senior Winemaker Steph Dutton
Grange has had just four custodians in its 75-year history, each trained by their predecessor. Steph is modest about her role. “It’s not about titles,” she says. “It’s about passing down knowledge. That’s what keeps Grange alive.” She watches over the barrels the same way she describes the wine: carefully and attentively. In this house, mentorship isn’t optional – it’s part of the DNA.
“Every vintage is a conversation,” she says. “You don’t just make wine – you listen to it.” And listening to Grange is an experience all its own. The 2021 release is immediately recognisable as Grange, expansive, buoyant, and complex. Dark cherry and plum dance with notes of dried spice and subtle chocolate, while sleek, dusty tannins shape the structure and promise remarkable longevity. There’s power here, but it’s balanced by elegance and vibrancy, a pure symphony of Shiraz and the soils and climates of South Australia. “It’s the vision of Max Schubert carried forward,” Steph says. “Every release reflects his conviction, decades on.”
Moving through older vintages, you will taste the evolution of Grange yet see the common thread that ties them together. Each sip is proof of the enduring synergy between the grapes, the land, and the winemakers who tend them. “Grange is about persistence,” Steph adds. “You have to respect time, respect the fruit, respect what came before.”
What strikes me most is how alive Grange feels. It’s not a museum piece or a trophy. Rather, it’s a living, breathing testament to ambition, patience, and obsession. Even now, 75 years later, it still has the ability to demand attention, reward patience, and inspire conversation. Swirling a glass, you can feel that this is a wine that will outlast all of us.
But Grange isn’t just a wine. It’s a cultural artefact, proof that vision paired with persistence can survive almost anything. From Mary Penfold’s quiet authority to Max Schubert’s defiance, from the succession of custodians who kept the flame alive, to the team shaping it today, it’s a story of obsession and belief. “It’s more than just making wine,” Steph says. “It’s carrying a legacy, every vintage, every barrel, every sip.”
