Caroline Frey and Peter Gago at the Hill of Hermitage in France. Image courtesy Penfolds

Penfolds has announced the release of a new wine: Grange La Chapelle 2021: half Australian Shiraz and half French Syrah “blending the heritage of French wine tradition and the innovative spirit of Australian craft”.

A long-standing friendship between Caroline Frey, chief winemaker and vigneron, La Chapelle and Peter Gago, chief winemaker Penfolds Grange enabled this unexpected union to showcase what the varietal can achieve. Frey and Gago acknowledged that after many conversations, the time was right to work together.

“When things are real, all quickly becomes self-evident…This friendship created an idea, this idea became a trial, the trial became a wine,” said Gago. “Who would have thought…”

This wine combines 50% La Chapelle France, from the steep, sun drenched slopes of the Hill of Hermitage and 50% Grange made from a collection of select South Australian vineyards: Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley – including many old 19th-Century vines.

It mixes the attributes of French Syrah and Australian Shiraz, expressions that share a common ancestry yet have evolved into distinctive styles from their respective terroirs. A new wine different and yet respectful of parentage and original DNA – bravely using the flagship wine of both…not without risk.

Gago referenced earlier links between the two wines, including a major La Chapelle and Grange tasting organised by The Institute of Masters of Wine many years ago. More recently, in 1987, a Hermitage Luncheon at Rakel Restaurant in New York (with a young chef, Thomas Keller) co-hosted by Gerard Jaboulet and Max Schubert. Pouring the 1971 Penfolds Grange and 1978 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle. Fast-forward 38 years to 2025 and this connection has now come full-circle.

“As the project progressed, I saw the elegance in Grange and the strength in La Chapelle,” commented Caroline Frey.

While this is the inaugural vintage release (2021), the wine is intended for future release, mother nature permitting – annually.

Eighteen customers from around the world were personally invited by both teams sensitively to hand-sell Grange La Chapelle 2021 to their private customers. The wine is rare, and the make size small. A limited allocation will be sold by Penfolds direct to consumer channel in Australia, and the USA.

Grange La Chapelle 2021 was celebrated at the inaugural global launch in Paris on February 9, 2025, at an invite-only evening hosted by Caroline Frey and Peter Gago, at Monnaie de Paris.

The recommended retail price for a 750ml bottle of Grange La Chapelle in Australia is $3,500, and €2,600 in France.

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