In an unprecedented partnership that bridges centuries of winemaking mastery, Penfolds and La Chapelle have joined forces to create one of the most ambitious red wine collaborations ever attempted. The limited-release vintage, named Grange La Chapelle 2021, melds the bold expressiveness of Australian Shiraz with the old-world finesse of French Syrah—an oenological duet decades in the making.
It’s a collaboration born not in boardrooms but in the convivial swirl of glasses at Bordeaux’s Vinexpo, where Peter Gago, Penfolds’ celebrated chief winemaker, and Caroline Frey, the visionary behind La Chapelle, first imagined the impossible: blending two flagship wines from opposite hemispheres into a single, unified expression of excellence. “We wanted to let the wines speak to one another,” says Frey. “And they had a lot to say.”
A Tale of Two Legends
Penfolds Grange, established in 1951 and often hailed as Australia’s premier red wine, owes its name to the original Penfolds homestead in Adelaide, where French Syrah cuttings were first planted over 170 years ago. On the other side of the globe, La Chapelle, a jewel of the northern Rhône, draws its name from a 13th-century chapel that still crowns the Hermitage Hill, where its vines bask in granite-rich soil and Mediterranean light.
La Chapelle’s vintages have reached the pantheon of wine perfection with multiple 100-point scores from global critics. For its part, Grange enjoys cult-like reverence among collectors, often fetching thousands at auction. Their shared grape—Syrah in France, Shiraz down under—is the link that made this audacious blend more than a novelty. It became a narrative.
Precision from Harvest to Harmony
Because French law prohibits co-fermentation with foreign wine, Frey’s 2021 Syrah had to be meticulously transported from the Rhône to Australia in temperature-controlled tanks—a journey as carefully choreographed as the blend itself.
The two wines were first aged separately in oak before being brought together for blending, then returned to the barrel for a final period of integration. The result is not a patchwork of origins, but a seamless fusion where neither terroir dominates—only complements. “Think of it like a duet between two virtuosos,” Gago says. “It’s not about compromise. It’s about harmony.”
Tasting the Extraordinary
In the glass, Grange La Chapelle 2021 is a brooding, velvety violet. The nose unfolds with black cherry, crushed eucalyptus, and hints of forest undergrowth, while the palate delivers an orchestration of flavours: ripe cranberry, spiced plum, dark chocolate, and a whisper of mint. Subtle tannins glide across the tongue, with black pepper and clove dancing into a long, silky finish.
A Coveted Rarity
Just a few hundred bottles of this once-in-a-lifetime release exist—and none will be found on retail shelves. Each is priced at 3,500AUD, available exclusively through private client sales. Future vintages—2022 and 2023—have already been bottled and are aging in the Penfolds museum cellar, quietly awaiting their moment. As Gago puts it, “This is more than wine. It’s history in a bottle.”
Writen By: Lydia Kelly
Published: 15th April 2025