Penfolds’ Fabulous Old Tawnies
Penfolds began making fortified wines in the 1850s and by the early twentieth century they were one of Australia’s leading producers of wines labelled ‘Port’ and ‘Sherry’. The days when fortified wines could masquerade under these titles have long gone and Penfolds now uses the description ‘tawny’ to describe their ‘blended oak-matured fortified red wines which take on a tawny colour with age.’
Penfolds tawnies are based on Barossa and Riverland fruit, mostly shiraz and mataro with grenache and cabernet sauvignon. Occasionally a few Portuguese grape varieties may be included in the blend, up to a maximum of 10%. The wines are fortified with grape spirit between 78 – 85% in strength (cp. Port and 77% strength) and aged in old oak hogsheads with 300 litre capacity for between three and fifty years. Unlike the steady, cooler, humid conditions favoured by the Port shippers, Penfolds wines are aged in corrugated sheds where the temperature varies from 8oC in winter to as much as 55oC in summer. They maintain stocks of wine dating back to 1915.
There is a hierarchy of bottled Tawnies from ‘Club’ and ‘Reserve’ (3 and 5 years old respectively) through ‘Father Grand Tawny’ (approx. 10 years old) to ‘Grandfather’ (approx. 20 years old) and ‘Great Grandfather’ (approx. 30 years old) and ‘50 Year Old Rare Tawny’. For the older wines, Grandfather and above, there is a solera system of continuous fractional blending which dates back to the 1990s. This compares with the lote system that is the basis for blending aged tawny Ports.
A tasting at the Big Fortified Tasting in April 2024 led by Toby Amphlett and John Rogerson focused on the older wines including the 50 Year Old first released in 1994. There have only been seven releases of this wine since it was first created and it commands a price, commensurate with its rarity, of around £1,750 a bottle.
Penfolds Father Grand Tawny ****
With a minimum average age of 10 years, pale-mid amber-tawny in colour with rich, creamy fruit on the nose and palate, sweet but light in touch with a soft crème brulée character and a lightly worn dry finish (seemingly drier than a 10 year old tawny Port). 18.5% abv, Acidity: 5.7g/L, pH: 3.5, Bé: 8.0 17
Penfolds Grandfather Tawny ****
Aged for an average of 14 years before entering the Grandfather solera system and bottled (on demand) at a minimum blended age of 20 years old: mid-deep amber mahogany with wonderful leathery intensity on the nose and rich yet elegant dried fruit character with a touch of spice. Dried herbs and orange peel on the finish. 20.2% abv, PH: 3.2, Acidity: 8.1g/L 18
Great Grandfather Tawny ****/*****
Created for the 150th anniversary of Penfolds in 1994: wonderful brick-red / mahogany colour with a green tinged rim; rich, rancio complexity, very refined in style and not all that intense with restrained sweetness (nothing at all cloying about this) with a dry, spicy, herbal quality on the finish and notable acidity keeping the wine long, fresh and lithe. 20% abv; Bé 11.3. 18.5
Penfolds 50 Year Old Rare Tawny *****
This is the seventh release of this wine since it was first created in 1994, a bland including wines from 1915, 1940, 1945, 1965 and 1969. Just 330 bottles in total for each release. Mid-deep red-mahogany with a thin green tinged rim; lifted on the nose, redolent of black olives with a torrefaction chacarter and, dare I say, maderised complexity; very rich and wonderfully intense, seamless on the palate not even verging on cloying despite the obvious richness and depth of age. A hint of spice on the beautifully poised on the finish. abv: 19.5%. 19
