Penfolds Releases 1999 Grange and New Rewards of Patience in the Americas.

NAPA, Calif. -- Penfolds Ultra Premium Wines Are Released with the New Edition of Rewards of Patience, the Definitive Guide to Cellaring Penfolds Wines

Penfolds, Australia's most famous wine, today announces the North American release of the 1999 vintage of its flagship red wine, Penfolds Grange, and the other wines within the Ultra Premium range: 2001 Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay, 2001 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2001 Penfolds RWT Shiraz, 2001 Penfolds Magill Estate Shiraz, 2000 Penfolds St Henri Shiraz.

The release of these wines also coincides with the release of the new edition of Penfolds' Rewards of Patience. This fifth edition of the book offers wine lovers the ultimate guide to cellaring and enjoying all Penfolds wines made from the early 1950s to the present day. Content for the book was collected over an intense four-day tasting of 357 different wines in South Australia last September. Past and present Penfolds winemakers were joined by an international panel of independent wine writers: Huon Hooke (Sydney Morning Herald, Australia) and James Halliday (author, Australia), Ch'ng Poh Tiong (The Wine Review, Singapore), Joanna Simon (The Sunday Times, London, England) and Joseph Ward (Conde Nast Traveler, USA). Their comments and tasting notes were compiled by Andrew Caillard MW of Langton's Fine Wine Auctions to create this useful reference guide. It includes optimum drinking windows and tasting notes for all Penfolds red and white wines, as well as vineyard information, the history of the brand and insights into the creation of each individual wine.

Rewards of Patience is available in the United States for $39.95. Visit www.penfolds.com or call 800-255-9966 to order the 287-page book.

1999 Penfolds Grange SRP $225

Grange boasts an unbroken line of vintages from the experimental 1951 vintage. Created by legendary winemaker Max Schubert, Grange is considered Australia's most famous wine and the only first growth of the Southern Hemisphere. This is a historic Penfolds Grange - it is the first Grange since 1963 to be 100% Shiraz. Most vintages contain a small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. Penfolds Chief Winemaker Peter Gago believes this is an excellent release with which to end the 1990s: "It possesses the essential ingredients demanded of this flagship wine - richness, harmony and balance." While it will soon be approachable, it also has decades of life ahead.

2001 Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay SRP $65

Now in its sixth vintage, Penfolds Yattarna is the peak achievement of the Flagship White Wine project. After several years of trial by the Penfolds white winemaking team, the first vintage of Penfolds Yattarna, 1995, was released in 1998. Peter says the style of Yattarna continues to evolve. "Sourcing grapes from the marginal cool climate region of Tumbarumba in New South Wales is felt by some to be a high-risk proposition, but in years when it works - like 2001 - it truly delivers." 2001 Penfolds Yattarna offers layers of fruit flavors including lemon curd and pear that are interwoven with fresh cashew characters derived from French oak. A creamy mouthfeel balanced by natural acidity, brings harmony to the flavors and completes the wine.

2001 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon SRP $70

Devotees of this style of Cabernet Sauvignon will find this was worth waiting for, after missing the 2000 vintage when the quality of fruit available did not meet the wine's stringent criteria. Gago says this is a true 'Grange Cabernet', with a generous share of Barossa Valley Block 42 Cabernet Sauvignon. He says the quality is obvious from the moment you smell the 2001 Penfolds Bin 707. "Immediately powerful, Penfolds Bin 707 has an intense lift of pure ripe blackcurrant laced with mint, and the faintest suggestion of violet. Its depth of fruit and defined structure, coupled with obvious muscular tannins, suggest that the wine is built for the longer term."

2001 Penfolds RWT Shiraz SRP $70

Penfolds RWT stands for "Red Winemaking Trial." It was the result of winemaking trials conducted under the stewardship of then Penfolds Chief Winemaker John Duval, to create a wine to contrast to its stablemate, Penfolds Grange. RWT showcases Barossa Valley Shiraz and is aged in French oak which provides a generous, luscious mouth-feel. Peter says this 2001 Penfolds RWT - the fifth release- has stylistically hit the bull's-eye. It offers persuasive French oak influences, and superior balance and texture.

2001 Penfolds Magill Estate Shiraz SRP$50

Penfolds Magill Estate Shiraz is a single vineyard wine, resting at the spiritual home of Penfolds where it all started 160 years ago. This is a true estate wine, handcrafted onsite at Magill Estate, literally meters from the vineyard. It is the only wine grown and made on the original Penfolds property. The 2001 Penfolds Magill Estate is an elegant medium-bodied wine with velvety texture and fine tannins, and according to Peter Gago "has again benefited from the restraint and control afforded by a hands-on, open-fermented, basket-pressed, barrel fermented approach."

2000 Penfolds St. Henri SRP $40

Peter says the 2000 vintage conditions were most suited to a fruit-driven wine style like Penfolds St. Henri. The wine is considered to be a direct contrast to Grange, first made by a rival Penfolds winemaker, John Davoren, at the same time that Max Schubert created Grange (early 1950s). Davoren also used the Shiraz grape, but made it in an alternate style. St Henri matures in large old-oak vats that impart very little oak flavor, yet like Grange, the wine is capable of aging 20+ years. In fact, great vintages age just as well as Grange. "The 2000 Penfolds St Henri is tight, well structured and balanced" says Gago, who believes that relative to other vintages of this wine, this vintage offers earlier drinking and should be enjoyed before its older siblings including the '99, '98, '97 and '96 are opened.

Editors Note:

Penfolds, Australia's Most Famous Wine, consistently wins medals and garners high ratings and accolades both in Australia and abroad. Penfolds currently has five ranges of wines available in the Americas, delivering greatness at a variety of price points. The entry-level tier is Rawson's Retreat, followed by the Koonunga Hill range including the renowned Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet, which won Great Value Red Wine of the Year at the International Wine Challenge in London in 2001. Next is the Thomas Hyland range, followed by the prestigious Bin Series. Penfolds also makes ultra-premium wines including Australia's most famous wine, Penfolds Grange, overseen by Chief Winemaker Peter Gago. The 1999 vintage of Penfolds Grange was released in June 2004 and is available at top restaurants and selected fine wine stores nationwide. Based in Adelaide, South Australia, Penfolds is owned by Southcorp Wines, Australia's premier winemaker.

For further information, tasting notes or a history of Grange and milestone timeline visit www.penfolds.com or contact Liz O'Connell for an emailed or faxed version.