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| Penfold's sign at the Magill Estate (photo by TravellingFool.com) |
South Australia is well known for their wide variety and expansive range of vineyards that scatter the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Coonawara, and Clare Valley regions. If, like me, you're only planning on staying around Adelaide then 20 minutes outside of the city you'll find Adelaide Hills and the old Magill Estate, the original home of the award winning Pendfolds wines.
There are a few different options available for enjoying Penfolds' city adjacent location that range in opulence from enjoying a glass or bottle of wine and a few nibbles in the bar area to private parties hosted in their underground cellars. We went for the option right in the middle, the Ultimate Penfolds Experience, which still cost us $175 AUD per person.
The tour started on the front lawn where we looked out onto the road leading into the vineyard and the vines which were just recently harvested. The vineyard was once much larger but the city reclaimed much of the land after it spent years laying inactive while Penfolds expanded their operations into the Barossa Valley. The few vines left are still used as part of the production of the Penfolds Grange, a blended bold tasting Shiraz that's been awarded over 30 perfect scores from different wine grading institutions.
After looking at the empty vines our guide brought us to the building just behind us, which is where they process and ferment the grapes after harvest in large cement tanks that were painted red for some reason that I've forgotten. Once I walked in the door I was greeted by the warm pungent smell of old wine, like after a college party where someone spilled their Carlo Rossi in a corner of the room that no one got to in the cleanup process. In this room the smell could be attributed to the tiny purple patches of left over liquid left behind from the most recent harvest. You can only look from the catwalk since it's an operational processing plant. If I wasn't filming the experience I would have been content to just poke my head in while the guide explained how to make wine rather than being cramped on the steel grating of the tiny catwalk just inside the door.
From the fermentation room we were brought to the small lawn in front of the original office and learned about Dr. Penfold who thought all sickness could be remedied by some fortified wine or brandy. He must have had a lot of happy patients. After the tale of how the doctor started the vineyard our tour continued into a bare bones room just behind the bar and restaurant. There were portraits of all the heads of the Penfolds' family who operated the vineyard along one wall, ending with a middle aged man who sold the entire family owned business in 1976 and after exchanging hands a few more times it's now owned by the Treasury Wine Group, formerly part of the Foster's Group. On the other walls were a few large photographs of the different stages of the wine making process and some huge clay pots from ancient Greece that were used hundreds of years ago to make wine. At the end of the nearly empty room there was a huge door that lead us right into the cellar.
The ramp in the center of the cellar entrance is flanked by huge wine barrels. I'm not sure if there was any wine in them but they looked pretty at least. At the end is an even larger barrel that's named for Helen Keller who visited the vineyard and then was challenged by some man to calculate the size of the enormous wooden tank. The story goes that she walked around it, running her hands along the structure, and once she had circumnavigated it gave a spot on accurate measurement of the tank. Which, of course she did.
In the next room was a small bar and a long table set up with a few wine glasses at each seat. Apparently it's one of a few different rooms and areas that you can rent out for hosting a party. Our guide said that they had a 50th birthday there recently where they were drinking the famous Penfolds Grange line, so I can only imagine how much the shindig cost. Our guide kept us walking until we reached the end of the cellar which split off into multiple smaller rooms with jail cell gates blocking them off. After a brief explanation of the history of the cellar we then walked into the Grange room.
Grange is arguably what put Penfolds on the map. The story goes that the head wine maker had an idea to make a new Shiraz blend, but when the blend was tasted by the board of directors they declared it undrinkable. Unfazed by this feedback the wine maker tried to convince them that it just needed to age for a few years to achieve the flavor profile he envisioned. The board didn't want to waste time and money on something they found so vile and told him to shut it down. Instead of ceasing he instead hid the bottles behind a brick wall in the cellar and after a whole bunch of years gave it to the owners to try again. They said it was the best wine ever and the wine maker reminded them it was the garbage swill he had given them years ago. Convinced that the wine maker was right they gave him the green light to resume and the Grange line was born. Each vintage gets added to the display case in the center of the room the original was aged creating a little Grange museum of sorts.
The historical, walk around and see the facilities and mostly empty rooms part of the tour was finally over. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a history lesson just as much as the next geek but hearing about wine and getting to drink it are two very different kinds of fun. So I was happy that after viewing the decades of Grange, the tour guide informed us it was time to do the tasting. We backtracked to the first large room we entered and grabbed a seat at the long table. Each seat had 5 glasses of wine, poured with tastings of both white and red Penfolds wines. Our guide walked us through each wine we were tasting, including what the flavor notes were. Interestingly enough the wine was poured earlier, which gave the white wines chance to warm up a bit which was supposed to enhance the flavors you could taste.Overall the wines were good, but there were definitely some misses for me.
2019 Reserve Bin A Chardonnay
I've never met a card-o-nay that I liked before but this one had notes of lemon and a smooth finish. 100% delicious. In fact it was so good that when I saw it was offered on a flight I was on I broke my rule of no drinking on the plane to enjoy it again.
2018 Yattarna Chardonnay
This chard was a solid meh for me. It smelled so much like peaches that I was hopeful it would be light, crisp, refreshing, and a bit sweet to match but the taste was just a fine white wine. I wouldn't be mad if someone handed me a glass of it but I definitely wouldn't pay $180 AUD for the bottle.
2020 Bin 149 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley & South Australia)
This one tasted like Trader Joe's 3 buck chuck. Most of the grapes come from the Napa Valley and are mixed with some from South Australia before being caged in California. Even after a second taste it was mid at best.
2018 St Henri Shiraz
Big nope from me on this one, mostly due to the big campfire energy that it gave me. My brother, who is a big fan of smokey Islay whiskeys, didn't mind it so much.
2019 RWT Barossa Valley Shiraz
Very yummy. Notes of dark chocolate, blackberry, and black cherry. Bold, fruity, and a bit of a bite.
2019 Grange Shiraz 750ml
Penfolds' flagship wine did not disappoint. It was double decanted and poured 20 minutes before our arrival to ensure that the bouquet had plenty of time to bloom. You're supposed to age the Grange wins for at least a decade if not longer. It's so serious that every year a group of expert wine raters gather to grade each of the Grange's and provide recommendations on how long they should be aged and the window of time in which they should be consumed. Although about 5-10 years early the 2019 Grange was excellent. I tasted cinnamon, red currant, leather, orange peel, black currant, and lemon. It was slightly dry as well which was pleasant. Overall it tasted like the smell of Adelaide which I found fascinating. Although at $1000+ a bottle I suppose it should be that good.
After the tasting you get dropped off back at the bar. The only downside to this version of the tour is that it doesn't come with lunch but that was easily remedied by the tapas-like food that was available. The tapas come from the same kitchen as the restaurant, which unfortunately has to be booked well in advance, and if the tapas were any indication about the quality of the larger dishes offered in the restaurant then the restaurant must be amazing. I had fresh oysters and a lamb skewer that was covered in a delicious eggplant puree. My brother enjoyed the smoked mackerel and said it was the best one he ever had.
Overall the Ultimate Penfolds Experience was worth it. Although expensive it gave me the chance to try a bunch of very expensive wines that I probably wouldn't try anywhere else. If the tour gets sold out, however, you could easily replicate the experience at the bar on the premises which was comfortable and full of very friendly and knowledgeable staff.
Travelling Fool Rating: 8/10
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