Penfolds Grandfather 20 Year Old Rare Blended Tawny Port Wine 750mL

The Grandfather name dates back to 1915, when an oak cask containing the finest blend of available Tawny material was set aside for the exclusive use of the Penfold family.

This wine was known as The Grandfather due to the age of the oldest Tawny in the blend. With each vintage varietal batches are selected for Grandfather. These batches are individually aged in seasoned old oak casks before being blended together at 14 years of age. This blend is then introduced into the ‘Grandfather Solera’. This Solera consists of six stages that are designed to fully integrate all components offering consistency and freshness with a final minimum average blended age of 20 years.

Specially selected South Australian vineyards. Many of the vineyards selected for the production of Grandfather have been doing so for well over 25 years. These vineyards are selected for their consistently high quality and reliability year after year.

As Grandfather is produced using a Solera system it will always retain every variety used over the years, albeit in small amounts. Of the some 13 varieties identified the major varieties which form the backbone of the blend are Shiraz, Grenache, Mataro and Cabernet.

A specially selected ex-still fortifying spirit that has a distinctive aroma and flavour. The selected spirit traditionally has a strength between 78 and 85%v/v and must have the power and intensity to combine with the 20 years of age concentration and complexity without presenting as the dominant character. While spirit is the main driver of style in younger wines it becomes a less dominant contributor in wines of this age as the aged components take the forefront.

As Grandfather is matured utilising a Solera system all vintages introduced into the system are retained forever. This system of maturation ensures freshness, consistency of quality and style is sustained over the decades. The Solera currently contains vintages from 1960 to 2004. Including some 44 individual vintages in the Solera is testament to the complexity and age yet also highlights the importance of freshness and fruit.

The initial maturation for Grandfather occurs as individual vintage and varietal components. These components remain in the same seasoned old oak hogsheads for approximately 14 years, before being selected and blended to form the topping wine. This topping wine is then introduced into the first stage of the Solera. The Solera is comprised of six individual stages with stage six supplying the wine for bottle at a minimum average blended age of twenty years.