The inaugural launch of the Penfolds Chinese Release was spearheaded by the Penfolds Chinese Winemaking Trial. Adhering to Penfolds time-honoured and distinctive House Style, this wine combines the essence of cabernet sauvignon from the Shangri-La region and Marselan from Ningxia.
Our endeavours in China began with a spirit of exploration, culminating in the groundbreaking Chinese Winemaking Trial 521. This trial marked a significant milestone in our heritage and introduced us to two distinct regions in China. Yunnan’s Shangri-La, with its high-altitude vineyards, offered the perfect conditions for cabernet sauvignon, while Ningxia, near the Yellow River, provided exceptional terroir for the cultivation of Marselan.
In 2022, we introduced our first China-made wine in China under the ‘One By Penfolds’ label, a range that celebrates community, culture and collaboration. The 2023 Penfolds Collection featured our first wine in our Chinese Release, CWT 521 Cabernet Sauvignon Marselan, a multi-regional blend embodying our time-honoured winemaking practices.
Many of our flagship wines, such as Grange, Yattarna Bin 144, and RWT Barossa Valley Shiraz, are founded upon our relentless pursuit of excellence and were born through many trials and experiments prior to release. This legacy continues with the Chinese Winemaking Trial.
Since 1844, Penfolds commitment to quality has been underpinned by our House Style; a multi-regional sourcing philosophy and blending approach. Our single-minded focus is to create our signature House Style with every vintage and to achieve this, we don’t rely on a single factor. Fruit that has the right characteristics for Penfolds can be sourced from a single vineyard, a region, multiple regions or countries.
Inspired by curiosity, Penfolds was drawn to China’s burgeoning premium wine regions through this continued pursuit of excellence. The distinct terroir of both the Shangri-La region in the Yunnan province and Ningxia in north-central China allow Penfolds to view our House Style through a unique lens.
As with all wines in The Penfolds Collection, our Chinese wines are made to be approachable upon release, with further complexity derived from further bottle maturation. You can certainly cellar Penfolds Chinese wines and we encourage you to do so.
Penfolds wines are crafted with the same care and expertise in every region we operate. Our winemaking approach is consistent and our discernible House Style ever-present, however we always allow room to showcase regional nuance.
Our first Chinese wine, the CWT 521 Cabernet Sauvignon Marselan 2021, embodies the Penfolds spirit of trial and experimentation, continuing a naming tradition and philosophy pioneered by Yattarna Bin 144 and RWT Bin 798, also known as Red Winemaking Trial.
As a Winemaking Trial, it is a wine of youthful exuberance, with a medium body and bright acidity. It is aromatically and flavourfully distinct, yet altogether familiar.
