Penfolds Wine History

By Alexander James

The name Penfolds has been linked with wine since a young English doctor, Doctor. Christopher Penfold, and his wife Mary bought 500 acres of land in 1884 in South Australia. This vineyard came to be known as Magill Estate; the first vineyard to carry the Penfolds name. Penfolds now operated 5 wine shops in Southern Australia - Magill, Barossa Valley, Eden Valley, McLaren Vale and Coonawarra.



Producing all kinds of wine from all vintages, perhaps their most famous wine is Penfolds Grange. It also turns out to be one of the most costly wines worldwide. In 2012, a bottle of Penfolds Grange 2004 vintage went on sale for $168,000, with the wine came in a special hand blown glass ampoules



Since the first vintage in 1976 of a Shiraz Cabernet, Penfolds Koonunga Hill has positioned itself in the upper echelons of Australian premium wines. It's high quality and consistency, as well as it's good value, has made sure that Koonunga Hill remains a favorite of wine buffs all over. Produced from premium vineyards around South Australia, the heart of this wine comes from the Barossa Valley. A grade fruit from Coonawarra and McLaren Vale may also be found in this wine, giving it glorious structure and length.



While this wine is ready for drinking straight away, the Koonunga Hill Shiraz will age gracefully and gain further qualities over the next few years. This is a rich Shiraz, with the flavour of blueberries, plums and layered with a hint of spice.



In our video, the Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz held up well to Penfolds own outlines of the wine. Priced at around about $9.99, it provides good value for money for a Shiraz. It has a full bodied taste, with a definite berry like sweetness that comes straight out at you. There's also some hints of vanilla, though the after taste is a little green, with a resentment that sits on the tongue. Nothing too major though, and definitely not something to put the drinker off.

Overall, for taste and value for money this is a solid Shiraz. If you like Shiraz's you could go worse than this.

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For more in-depth information on the wine mentioned in this article, tcheck out the full video review by Alexander James on our YouTube channel over here.