City Wine Shop is a cornerstone of Melbourne’s culinary culture. In pre-pandemic times, hordes of Melburnians and visitors would fill the pavement outside its doors, waiting to pounce on the next available table. With the grandeur of Parliament House opposite, and Melbourne’s classic dining district around the corner, it’s the perfect place to people watch sipping on some of the best local and European wines in the city. Post-pandemic, you can guarantee wine lovers will be back. 

To help us raise a glass to 30 years of another Melbourne cornerstone – 101 Collins – City Wine Shop manager, Dan Schwarze is exploring the last three decades through one celebrated wine – Penfolds Grange. “Penfolds Grange rightly holds the mantle of Australia’s most iconic wine”, Schwarze tells One Hundred and One. “But these titles and badges of honour aren’t given at their beginning – they are earned, with time and with reason. That’s why Penfolds Grange is the obvious choice to help celebrate 30 years of 101 Collins Street.” 

Like all the finer things in life, Penfolds Grange gets better with age. In fact, it’s said to reach its peak after 15 years and continues to improve for another 20 years or more. The Heritage Grange project began when Max Schubert, now senior winemaker, visited the wine regions of France in the late 1940s. Max noted the quality and aging potential of dry red wine styles and wanted to give it a try back in Australia. The first experimental vintage in 1951 was released in 1952 and is now worth over $120,000 a bottle.

Penfolds Grange has grown from strength to strength over the decades. The baton of head winemaker has only been handed down to a select few, contributing to its reliability and success through a long-term legacy. Together with its astonishing aging ability, it has become the number one wine of choice in Australia and is collected by wine lovers far and wide. 

The first of our three wines – the 1991 Penfolds Grange – marks the birth of 101 Collins Street. “The 1991 vintage for Australian wine had big shoes to fill”, Dan Schwarze explains. “The previous release, the 1990, was a stunning year for winemaking throughout Australia and the Penfolds Grange came first in the first ever classification of Australian wine.” Fortunately, the 1991 growing season produced an outstanding vintage, and many people prefer the 1991 release, with huge debate around which is the better wine. Praise for the 1991 Grange flowed and Penfolds Head Winemaker John Duval was named ‘International Red Wine Maker of the Year’. 

“1991 is a rich, buoyant and ethereal Grange with tremendous substance and lasting power”, says Schwarze. According to international wine experts at a tasting in 2012, it has a “rich voluminous palate with saturated dark chocolate, mocha, malty, aniseed flavours and fine-grained supple tannins.” A classic vintage, it’s 95 percent shiraz and 5 percent cabernet sauvignon, good to drink now to 2040. 

Second up is the 2001 Grange. Outside of the wine world, it’s a year that few of us will ever forget. The attack on the World Trade Centre resulted in untold devastation and led to the war in Afghanistan. The reduction in airline flights also led to another lesser-known result –the collapse of Australian icon Ansett Airways. 2001 also saw the passing of another great Australian – Don Bradman, at age 92 with a batting average of 99.96. Thankfully, for Penfolds Grange, it was a year to remember. Grange creator Max Shubert was named one of the Top 100 Most Influential Australians of the Twentieth Century by the Sydney Morning Herald. Further accolades continued, with the National Trust of South Australia recognising Penfolds Grange as a Heritage Icon. This vintage also marked the beginning of new era in Penfolds Grange, with the baton passed to new head winemaker Peter Gago. 

According to international wine experts at a tasting in 2016, the 2001 bottle is “a very tightly structured wine with red plum, blackcurrant, roasted coffee, and liquorice flavours. A fine dense tannin and plenty of mocha oak”. 99 percent shiraz, 1 percent cabernet sauvignon, the 2001 Grange is good to drink now to 2035. 

2011 was a year of highs and lows. A 9.3 magnitude earthquake caused a major tsunami in Japan and Osama bin Laden was found in hiding, but the Royal Wedding of William and Kate was a highlight for many. In winemaking, it was one of the most challenging years on record in Australia, with high rainfall causing only half the production level of a usual vintage. This made the 2011 Penfolds Grange rarer and just as sought after as the 2008 and 2010 releases, which had achieved 100/100 scores. 

“This 100 percent shiraz has a deep colour, fresh dark cherry, plum, liquorice and chinotto aromas with roasted chestnut and biscuit nuances”, says Schwarze. With “inky fresh, finishes chalky with plenty of new oak complexity”, international wine experts noted 2011 as “an attractive and elegant style of Grange transcending the reputation of the vintage.” We’ll drink to that.