Biography
Peter Gago is a BritishAustralian winemaker and author, and the current custodian of Penfolds Grange, possibly the best known Australian wine.
Penfolds has been producing an impressive array of wines since 1844 and indisputably led the development of Australian fine wine into the modern era. The introduction of Penfolds Grange in 1951 forever changed the landscape of Australian fine wine. Since then a series of standout wines, both white and red, have been released under the Penfolds masthead. To celebrate the provenance of a truly extraordinary wine, the 2004 Kalimna Block 42 Cabernet Sauvignon and in the spirit of Penfolds reputation of innovation and experimentation, the winemakers are breaking new ground by releasing a limited edition glass ampoule, containing a rare wine in a truly distinctive format. Essentially a hand-blown glass ampoule that provides an ideal wine environment and a bespoke glass plumb-bob that suspends the ampoule within a wooden Jarrah cabinet. Le City Deluxe sat down for an interview with the chief winemaker Peter Gago to learn more about Penfold’s exquisite Ampoule collection.
How many Penfold Ampoules are available?
There are only twelve released, and only one is left for sale.
Chief Winemaker of Penfolds
Do you know your clients and release their names?
We are very discreet when it comes to our clients.
“Wine and food sometimes could be a perfect marriage but there’s always risk”
Have you tried the Ampoule yourself ?
Yes. It’s is a very incredible wine.
What do you think is so unique about it?
We have created a time capsule. This wine is a continuum in a glass.
Is this wine aged or still aging?
It will age in a bottle. All wine ages slowly.
The 1953 Grange wine aged is still aging in the bottle. It is now 60 years old and it drinks beautifully. Imagine that it’s drinking so beautifully now what a wine released in 2012 and 2013 will taste like futuristically, done perfectly with 2012 bottling technology.
Now that you’ve tried the wine, how would you describe the taste of it?
This wine has no rough edges. It just flows
across the palette. There’s persistence of flavor in your mouth that you could still taste five minutes later. There wine is only 13.5% alcohol yet it has such an intensity of flavor.
Did you blend the grapes?
No. The wine is purely off that single little branch of grapes which comes from Penfold’s vineyard. Every vine in that vineyard was planted there in the 1880s. Same vines producing grapes that make this unbelievable wine.
What would compliment this particular wine really well?
Nothing. It is great on its own. Wine and food sometimes could be a perfect marriage but there’s always risk. If I was drinking my own Ampoule, I would drink it on its own.
Untouched and pure.
What is the perfect glass for this wine?
The perfect glass would be a Sommelier or Bordeaux wine glass. Open, breathable glasses.
Where does luxury come in when it comes to wine?
Luxury is not a light switch that you can flip on and off. Live it, breath it and it’s gonna be real and that is the true aspiration of luxury.
But I think with wine, it’s not purely dependent on money. Fine wine is something a lot of people can appreciate. Using Penfolds as an example, we produce both luxury wines and commercial
DEC- JAN 2013/14
Will you make more?
No. There were only twelve in existence. It’s a rarity and we’d like to keep it that way. In the future we may evolve it into something else. Penfold wines is the oldest continuously producing cabernet vineyard on the planet.