Few wine brands have such a rich history and importance in the story of Australian wine as Penfolds. From their beginning as a fortified wine company to their evolution as an iconic premium wine brand, there is now an outstanding legacy of table wine making spanning well over 60 years.
Since the early 1990’s, collectors of Penfolds Grange & other Penfolds red wines have had the opportunity to attend Re-corking Clinics held in the Australian major capital cities every 2 years. Now also offered internationally, this has given the chance for ordinary people and avid collectors of wine alike to have their wines assessed by a team of expert winemakers. Bottles are visually inspected and if deemed necessary, are opened and assessed. If the wine passes the meticulous tasting assessment of a Penfolds winemaker, they are re-corked and given a special Clinic label and capsule.
Starting this year, Penfolds has introduced a new label designation for some of their oldest and rarest wines. The curio label designation applies only to 1950’s vintage wines that have special historical significance. These bottles are now extremely rare and form part of Australia’s vinous history. Although some are still drinking well, many are past their best drinking, yet still have an important role in the history of Australian wine. Bottles that quality for the curio label, will have been assessed at a 2012 Re-corking Clinic and authenticated as a genuine historic curio and an important part of Australian winemaking history. The contents of a bottle with the curio label will not have been certified.
Bottles with curio labels have a distinctive black capsule and are already appearing in the Australian secondary market. Langton’s has created a separate code for these wines in our catalogue to distinguish them from both regular bottles & those that have passed a Penfolds Re-corking Clinic and display a Clinic label & capsule.
The curio label is another step in the historical evolution of Penfolds wines. For enthusiasts of Australian history, the curio bottles will undoubtedly have special appeal as they represent a wonderful opportunity to secure a rare piece of Australia’s precious wine history.
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