Price includes senior Penfolds winemaker at opening ceremony
Penfolds has just released its 2004 Block 42 Kalimna Cabernet in a limited edition, hand-blown glass ampoule and a bespoke glass plumb-bob that suspends the ampoule within a wooden Jarrah cabinet. Only twelve ampoules will be made, individually numbered as you’d expect for such ‘a beautiful, thoughtful, unique objet d’art, designed to store wine in an ideal environment.’
‘The Penfolds Ampoule is not only a compelling work of wine art,’ the press release goes on, ‘it also provides a truly memorable experiential and sensory engagement. When a decision is made to open the ampoule a senior member of the Penfolds Winemaking team will personally attend a special opening ceremony for the owner (essentially your very own master-class).
The winemaker will travel to the destination of choice, where the ampoule will be ceremoniously removed from its glass plumb-bob casing and opened using a specially designed, tungsten-tipped, sterling silver scribe-snap. The winemaker will then prepare the wine using a beautifully crafted sterling silver tastevin.’
We assume that the Penfolds winemaker will also blow your nose and wipe your bottom after the event, most likely with a handkerchief made from spun gold.
The launchpad? Moscow!
The wine is made from 130-year-old vines on Penfolds’ Kalimna vineyard near Moppa in the Barossa Valley. As the Australian newspaper points out, Dan Murphy’s will sell you a bottle of the 2004 for $850. Decanter reports that the 1996 sells for around £2,500 a case in London. Neither comes with a senior Penfolds winemaker to attend the opening ceremony.
The Australian reports that Penfolds chief winemaker Peter Gago unveiled the ampoule in Moscow this week at a dinner for wine collectors. ‘Asked who would shell out so much for a bottle of wine, he replied: “Wine lovers, collectors … we’ll wait and see!” The decision to reveal the wine to the world in Moscow follows last year’s launch of Penfolds Bin 620 Coonawarra Cabernet Shiraz 2008 – at the time Australia’s most expensive wine – in Shanghai.
‘Mr Gago said neither venue was chosen due to the large number of local billionaires who were the most likely buyers of the wines. “No, not really, it’s about showcasing premium Australian wine on a global stage,” he said. The price of the ampoule suggests Penfolds will get to keep the ‘most expensive’ crown for some years to come, with the winery’s famed Grange having lost the title several years ago to wines such as Henschke Hill of Grace, Torbreck The Laird, and most recently Parawa Estate Ingalalla Grand Reserve 2007, which has a price tag of $1100 and is being sold exclusively for export.’
I found this tasting note by Neal Martin in the Wine Journal ( September 2010) for a magnum of the 2004 Block 42 Kalimna Cabernet: ‘Tasted at the Fine Wine Experience “Dream Fourteen” tasting with Peter Gago. Sourced directly from Penfolds’ library reserves, the Kalimna Block 42 has a deep garnet/purple core. A huge, ostentatious bouquet: macerated black cherries, orange liqueur, over-ripe tangerines and a touch of cloves. You just want it to calm down but you will have to wait a decade. The palate is full-bodied with chewy tannins, a touch of spice, exuberant summer fruits, a touch of fresh fig. Bizarrely there is a flavour profile that reminds me of a Tokaji Essenzia on the finish and yet I cannot deny that this wine is beautifully balanced. Decadent, brazen and outrageous.’
And a footnote saying: ‘eRobertParker.com: 97 Points!’
The wine sold for $250 a bottle when it was released 5 years ago. As I said in my last piece on Penfolds 2012 Icon and Luxury Release, Penfolds would do better to put their efforts into making the best wines they can, rather than trying to compete with famous couturiers and sculptors
Constantin Brancusi – endless column
Kim