Penfolds has kept prices flat for its luxury wines

The cost-of-living crisis is even hurting the nation’s well-heeled drinkers of luxury wines such as Penfolds Grange, with the winemaker keeping prices unchanged for its flagship wines.

Penfolds latest 2025 release has kept prices mostly flat for flagship wines like Grange, St Henri and Bin 707. Picture: Marten Ascenzo

Penfolds has kept prices flat for its most cherished brands such as its champion luxury wine Grange as well as St Henri, Bin 389 and Bin 707 amid cost-of-living pressures for even the nation’s most well-heeled imbibers of the rock star wine collection.

The stable pricing for the Penfolds 2025 vintage release comes as the chief executive of Treasury Wine Estates, the company that owns Australia’s most famous wine label, recently pledged that he wouldn’t drop prices for Penfolds by placing it “on sale”, despite recent weaker global demand for labels like Grange and Bin 707.

CEO Tim Ford has kept that promise, not tarnishing the label’s prestige by dumping it in a bargain bin but similarly he hasn’t ratcheted up the recommended retail prices either after recent steep price hikes, such as in 2022 when the price of that year’s Grange release – the 2018 vintage – was lifted to $1000 a bottle from $950 for the 2017 and 2016 Granges.

Prices for Grange have been kept flat this year. Picture: David Geraghty / The Australian.

According to the recommended retail price list for the 2025 latest release, Grange will remain at $1000 a bottle, with prices for the 2023 Bin 707 ($800), 2023 Yattarna chardonnay ($220) and 2022 St Henri shiraz ($135) all stable.

The only new Penfolds wines to attract price increases are the ­Magill Estate shiraz, lifted to $180 a bottle from $165 last year, and the RWT Bin 798 Barossa Valley shiraz, which has been recommended at a price of $220 from $200 in 2024. RWT hasn’t increased in price since 2017.

It is believed some price pressures for these wines has flowed from the lower vintage and grape crush in 2023 and cost of inputs rising such as labour and energy.

“Penfolds’ entry level wine such as Bin 28 and Bin 128 shiraz will be highly sought after as they represent great value at the $45-$65 mark for customers who want a taste of the collection,” Coles ­Liquor general manager Jon Haggett told The Australian as the Penfolds collection is prepared for its debut in the stores on August 7.

The lower priced, or “entry level” Penfolds should prove popular, given cost-of-living pressures, but some shoppers have been saving up for the annual Penfolds release and will select more expensive wines.

“Despite cost-of-living pressures causing many customers to trade down into more affordable options, we are seeing significant growth in interest for premium wines,” Mr Haggett said.

“While consumers are generally drinking less frequently, many are seeking out higher quality options when they do, and we expect this trend to boost sales of the Penfolds release even further.

“The Penfolds Collection is undoubtedly the most anticipated wine release of the year and continues to be known for some of Australia’s most iconic wines. Grange and St Henri will once again be top sellers, with wine enthusiasts and collectors alike looking to add this year’s release to their wine cellars for ageing.”

Penfolds chief winemaker Peter Gago.

More broadly, luxury wine, along with other luxury categories or assets like fashion, apparel and artwork, have come under pricing pressure in recent years as many rusted-on loyalists of premium brands begin to baulk at the prices demanded for their favourite designer handbag, fragrance or wine.

Recently, The Australian reported a sharp decline in sales and profits for luxury fashion brand Chanel in Australia as accelerating prices for its catalogue of fashion, apparel and accessories became out of reach.

In the wine category, prices for luxury wine, such as Penfolds, have also been under pressure.

The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100, a benchmark index of global luxury wine prices, is down 4.9 per cent for the year to date and tracking t 20.9 per cent lower over the past two years.