Luxury winemakers launch world-first Grange-French blend, complete with hefty price tag

The Grange La Chapelle 2021 is the product of a world-first collaboration between leading winemakers from SA and France – and comes with a hefty price tag.

Penfolds’ world-first Grange-French blend may be a fine drop, but SA’s extreme summer heat may affect the future quality of wine across the state.

On Monday, Penfolds launched Grange La Chapelle 2021, a blend of 50 per cent Grange from wineries across SA, including in the Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, and McLaren Vale, and 50 per cent La Chapelle France from the Rhône Valley, a combination that the luxury wine brand says “combines the attributes of French Syrah and Australian Shiraz”.

It marks the first time that Penfolds flagship Grange has been blended with product from another winemaker.

Penfolds global ambassador Jamie Sach with a bottle of the new Grange La Chapelle 2021. Picture: Dean Martin

With grapes from both hemispheres, the wine has been “synergistically wed” to create something “wondrous and entirely unique”, Penfolds global ambassador Jamie Sach said.

“It is a paradigm shift for both houses, some might say a daring wine, and is bound to provoke some debate among the cognoscenti.

“We are excited by the prospect of continuing this collaboration between Grange and La Chapelle.”

Grange La Chapelle will sell for $3.5k a bottle, with only 18 wine merchants in the world permitted to hand sell it to private customers.

Penfolds held a global launch on Sunday in Paris, at an exclusive black-tie event hosted by winemakers Caroline Frey and Peter Gago.

A limited supply of the vintage will be sold by Penfolds in Australia.

Originally published as Luxury winemakers launch world-first Grange-French blend, complete with hefty price tag