The trio of Champagnes were selected by Penfolds’ chief winemaker Peter Gago and Thienots managing director, Stanislas Thienot.
In a bold move, Penfolds just released three Champagnes under its name to celebrate its 175 years in the winemaking business. The project is a collaboration with Reims-based Champagne house Champagne Thienot. The three Champagnes from the 2012 vintage are outstanding quality, according to my exclusive tastings.
Senior editor Nick Stock (l) with Penfolds’ chief winemaker Peter Gago.
Penfolds’ chief winemaker Peter Gago, a self-confessed “Champagne addict”, is excited to be playing in the Champagne space after some formative years dabbling in sparkling winemaking in Australia before he took the top job at the wine company’s Magill Estate. “My first four years at the company were spent working in sparkling wine production,” Gago recalls, a time that planted the seed for a deep and life-long fascination with Champagne.
The trio of Champagnes on offer were selected in their tiraged stage by Gago alongside Stanislas Thienot and have been steered by Gago right through to their recent release in Paris. The first on offer is the blended 2012 Chardonnay Pinot Noir Cuvée, with a 2012 Blanc de Blancs and a 2012 Blancs de Noirs slated to drop internationally in the next six to 12 months.
Notably there is no non-vintage release, a move that is aimed at instating the Penfolds core value of ageability and one that positions them in an exclusive tier of Champagne production and elite brands. These are certainly not everyday Champagnes considering their more than $200 expected prices. The collaboration is a clever one; Thienot is well versed in custom production and represents a forward-thinking approach in the traditional realm of Champagne.
“It is as much an ambition to begin with, but where do you really start a project like this?” Gago asks.
Launching a Champagne range extension to Australia’s best-known wine brand is an ambitious play and one that heralds a new age of expanded reach. The first releases are very strong and carve out distinctive stylistic channels. I’d expect to see this new collaboration develop in a compelling manner, uniting fans of both quality Champagne and the Penfolds name. — Nick Stock, Senior Editor
