The first French Release marked not only a new chapter for Penfolds, but also a return to the region that inspired Max Schubert’s development of Grange. Through these wines, we have the opportunity to showcase the nuances of varietals and regions, while representing our distinct House Style.
Bringing Penfolds to France was driven by our determination to craft our signature House Style with each vintage. We forever chase fruit that speaks to our unique Penfolds character, and we have found new homes in several French wine regions, including Champagne and Bordeaux.
The French Release is led by Penfolds II, a wine made in partnership with one of Bordeaux’s most respected winemaking Houses, Dourthe Bordeaux, where the elegance of French cabernet meets the depth and power of South Australian shiraz. The release also features FWT 585, a multi-varietal blend with fruit from Bordeaux’s prized sub-regions, including the Haut-Médoc on the Left Bank.
In 2019, we launched our first partnership wine with family-owned Champagne House Thiénot, marking a new chapter for Penfolds. This collaboration was launched to toast 175 years of winemaking experimentation, curiosity and uncompromising quality, taking Penfolds back to France, where Max Schubert’s early vision for Grange began.
Now, in our 180th year, there are four champagnes in the series, including a vintage Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs and Blanc de Noirs and a non-vintage Champagne Brut Rosé.
Penfolds sources fruit for its French release from vineyards in two prominent French wine regions, Champagne and Bordeaux. The historic Champagne wine region is located in North-Eastern France, about 160km east of Paris. Primarily centred around the town of Épernay, the region is regarded as the birthplace of the ‘traditional method’ of sparkling wine production, also known as méthode champenoise.
One of the world’s most famous wine regions, Bordeaux, is in South-Western France. Its name is a contraction of au bord de l’eau (meaning at the water’s edge), and bodies of water naturally play a crucial role in the region's unique terroir. The Garonne and the Dordogne rivers meet to form the Gironde, and famously separate the greater Bordeaux area into two primary distinctions—the Left Bank and the Right Bank.
Our Blanc de Noirs and Blanc de Blancs Grand Crus are single-vineyard, single-varietal wines of pinot noir and chardonnay, respectively. Our Vintage Cuvée offers a 50/50 blend of pinot noir and chardonnay, while our final blend comprises all three champagne varietals crafted in a Brut Rosé style.
The Champagne ‘traditional method’, also known as the méthode traditionelle or méthode champenoise, is a winemaking technique used to produce sparkling wines, notably Champagne. Penfolds utilises this method to craft our sparkling wines, ensuring exceptional quality and complexity. This process involves a secondary fermentation inside the bottle, creating the characteristic effervescence and fine bead synonymous with Champagne-style wines.
