Penfolds' 100-Point Hong Kong Occupation

Out with the Occupy protesters, in with Penfolds Grange 2010.

Now that the traffic is back to normal after nearly three months of occupation in Hong Kong’s financial center Admiralty, Australia’s No. 1 winemaker Penfolds decided to erect an advertising banner at the iconic Star Ferry car park, featuring the 100 Points wine rated by JamesSuckling.com, Hong Kong’s most popular wine website created by internationally acclaimed wine critic James Suckling.

Placed on the Connaught Road Central, a busy thoroughfare connecting two of Hong Kong’s most bustling commercial centers namely, Central and Causeway Bay, the billboard will be seen by tens of thousands of commuters and tourists for the whole month of December. The average daily traffic flow of the area is estimated at 136,030 cars, according to figures released by Hong Kong’s Transport Department. 

The wine, the 60th consecutive vintage of the once experimental product, delivers a powerful expression of Penfolds’ multi-vineyard, multi-district blending history, making it easily “one of the great Granges and certainly the best wine they’ve made in the modern era under winemaker Peter Gago’s watch,” wrote Nick Stock, a contributing editor to JamesSuckling.com. This powerhouse of wine is rated perfect 100 points for its exceptional density and power.

Penfolds Chief Winemaker Peter Gago did not mince words to praise this supreme bottle of red. “Outstanding vintage conditions produced fruit with excellent color, concentrated flavor development and integrated tannins, a fitting release for this significant anniversary. It’s a kaleidoscopic sensorial unfolding! Worth the wait – after a one decade deliberation, this wine strenuously asserts Grange’s positioning in the new millennium,” the wine veteran commented on the wine release.

The wine, a pinnacle of Australian winemaking, went on to win another coveted accolade, clenching the second place on James’ Top 100 Wines of 2014 list. You can read the full tasting note here.