Chief winemaker at Penfolds since 2002, Peter Gago is the creator of many iconic cuvées. He takes a proactive yet respectful approach to global viticulture and the challenges facing his company, in keeping with the values that have shaped wine culture.
Interview by Thierry Desseauve – photos by Mathieu Garçon
Peter Gago, you came to wine somewhat by chance. Tell us about it.
I was born in Jarrow, near Newcastle, where both my families have lived for a long time. On my mother’s side, the Lawsons have deep roots in England, while on my father’s side, the family came from Spain. I taught chemistry and mathematics for eight and a half years at the University of Melbourne in Australia. Many of my friends knew about wine and introduced me to it. I quickly became an enthusiast, then a collector and finally a winegrower. It was a path that unfolded naturally over time.
How did your first encounter with fine wines go?
There was no sudden revelation. The first wines I tasted were not particularly good. I remember tasting old, oxidised wines that were of little interest. Over time, I began to discover more serious wines, then fine wines. Little by little, I realised that this passion was taking centre stage in my life, but that the challenge would be to turn it into a career. Often, our hobbies remain separate from our daily work. For me, wine quickly became a priority. As they say, when you love what you do, you never really work.
You have been with Penfolds for thirty-five years. But from the beginning, you envisaged becoming a winemaker.
My wife and I acquired land quickly, without necessarily wanting to create a dynasty. We bought a vineyard in Marananga, in the Barossa Valley. The idea was to grow vines and produce grapes. When I joined Penfolds, my friends wondered what I was doing. For many, it was a huge organisation.
Was it already big at the time?
And it’s become even bigger today. We often tend to think that the bigger a wine organisation is, the lower the quality. That’s not necessarily the case. Many of my friends in the industry started out in small artisan wineries or family vineyards. Yet almost all of them ended up joining larger organisations.
After all this time at Penfolds, I feel like I’ve grown within a company that is constantly changing.
When you joined, what was your opinion of the style of the house wines?
Penfolds has always been an innovative and daring company. Recently, I explained to the Chinese Prime Minister that the house had been exporting wine to China since 1893. We have invoices dating back to the late 19th century that prove it. I also spoke with Olivier Krug, who told me that Krug was selling Champagne in the state of Victoria, Australia, as early as the 1860s and 1870s, during the gold rush. Krug was founded in 1843 and Penfolds in 1844, one year later. My opinion of the wines hasn’t changed much since I started out. Penfolds’ size allows us to access the best equipment and optimise our vineyards. I started out making sparkling wines, which is amusing when you consider that today we collaborate with the Thiénot house in Champagne. This is not a new skill for us.
From 1912 until 1978, Penfolds produced sparkling wine at its Minchinbury winery. Sparkling wines have always been part of our identity, just like still wines.
Penfolds has also been producing fortified wines for a long time. And we continue to do so. We recently produced a 50-year-old tawny, incorporating wines dating back to the 1800s. It is a faithful replica of what we produced at the time. What I like about Penfolds is our journey, marked by experiences and sometimes mistakes. We probably make more mistakes than most companies, but we have always been able to bounce back quickly.
The range of wines on offer is very wide. How is it structured?
The portfolio is vast, even though many references have been discontinued. Over the years, our range has been redefined. For example, we had a Semillon from the Barossa Valley that didn’t sell well and no longer exists. St. Henri Shiraz dates back to 1888, and Bin 28 has been produced continuously since 1959. Our portfolio is evolving, but it must not become too expansive. From time to time, recalibration is necessary.
You often talk about Penfolds’ values. What are they?
When I arrived in 1989, Max Schubert was still alive. He passed away in 1994. John Duval was then in charge of wines, and I was also close to his predecessor, Don Dieter. From the moment I arrived, I was struck by the company’s ethics and the richness of its wine culture. These are values that endure.
What exactly is this spirit?
From the very beginning, in 1951, Max Schubert was able to create Grange thanks to the expertise of Ray Beckwith, a wine chemist with whom he collaborated. The spirit of collaboration was already well established at that time. The wine industry was going through a difficult period. Malolactic fermentation was not yet under control. As a visionary, Dr Beckwith introduced methods for controlling and monitoring humidity at Penfolds in the 1940s. These advances were made internally, at our company, and it was only much later that their importance was recognised.
Although perceived as a traditional winery, Penfolds has never stopped innovating and pushing its boundaries. We have already written the first chapter of our history. The challenge now is to anticipate the next 180 years and preserve what makes us excellent today.
We must strengthen our iconic Australian brands, Grange, St. Henri and Yattarna, but we must also be alert to opportunities. This has always been part of our DNA.
The founders of Penfolds owned a small vineyard, Michael Estate. At the time, the concept of ‘terroir’ was unknown to them, but they immediately embodied its spirit. Due to growing demand, they began expanding in 1911 and exploring the Barossa region, then Coonawarra, New South Wales and finally the Hunter Valley.
How would you describe the style of Penfolds wines?
We produce wines from unique vineyards in a single region, but we are also known for our multi-regional blends. For each of these blends, we seek a specific style that adapts to the diversity of the raw materials. The grapes and soils of Coonawarra are different from those of the Barossa Valley, and we play with these specific characteristics to create balanced and complex wines.
At the beginning of the century, the media described Australian wine as New World wine, as opposed to those produced by traditional European viticulture. Things have changed a lot. Few people travelled back then, and viticulture in Australia was not as developed. Since then, many winemakers have gone to Europe after completing their studies. Today, French influence is very present. People appreciate technological progress, but they are also returning to traditional methods. It is not a question of classicism, but of valuing experience. For example, at our Magill estate, we use open fermenters, a technique that was already in use in the mid-1800s. Technology allows us to do more, not necessarily to make better wine. That is its true value. In the Barossa Valley, robotics is widely used. We were already using it in 1989 for tasks such as handling wine crates.
Sometimes, in the wine industry, some people think they are more advanced than they really are. What I have noticed over the last twenty years is that there is more open-mindedness in the world of wine. In the past, we were very “tribal” in defending our regions and our wines. Today, we can have open discussions, especially with sommeliers. Twenty years ago, that was impossible. Now we talk more about “world wines”, and the term seems appropriate for Penfolds, which cultivates this specificity.
We are blenders and we like to mix wines from different regions. For example, Bin 149, one of our historic ‘world wines’, made mainly from Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley, was born out of experimentation. After a tasting, I took a gamble and added 15% Australian wine, which created something unique. At the time, we didn’t even know if it was legal. In a way, the term ‘world wine’ was born out of a mistake.
Penfolds has been working with some of its producer partners for a very long time. What are the challenges of this collaboration?
We work with hundreds of producers across Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. We have long-standing relationships with them, to the point that some do not even have formal contracts. Others, however, are bound by very solid agreements. Some producers have been working with us for decades. For example, in April 2024, one family delivered its 100th consecutive harvest to us. We have also purchased vineyards when their owners have retired. Our liaison offices play a key role in helping producers improve the quality of their production. We have also set up initiatives such as the Grange and Yattarna Growers Club, which rewards winegrowers for their commitment.
For an organisation like yours, we imagine that global warming presents many challenges.
Australia is a country where water is a precious resource. We have learned to manage extreme conditions by diversifying our sources of supply. Our multi-regional blends allow us to compensate for climatic variations. We have also invested in high-altitude vineyards, particularly in Tasmania, to seek out cooler areas. Recently, we have protected entire vineyards from the sun. We are exploring all options to anticipate climate challenges.
Are so-called international grape varieties still suitable?
We have rethought our approach. While Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon remain the pillars of our production, we have introduced varieties that are better suited to drought, such as Grenache, Mataro, Tempranillo and Sangiovese. These choices enable us to ensure the sustainability of our wines in an uncertain climate context. Climate change is pushing us to experiment with varieties adapted to intense heat, such as certain Greek varieties. The market plays a key role in these developments. We had debates about our decision to produce a high-end Chardonnay. Some thought we should focus on varieties such as Riesling or Sémillon instead, but we believe that the market is not yet ready to appreciate the potential of these varieties.
You mentioned Grange, the icon of Australian wine. How do you ensure that it remains consistent over time?
Grange is a multi-regional blend, which allows us to select the best grapes each year, regardless of climatic variations. It is always aged in new American oak barrels, which is part of its identity. We have, of course, adjusted a few details over time, but the spirit of the wine has remained the same. Each vintage must embody excellence; that is our commitment. Grange is also a witness to the many trends in recent winemaking history.
At one time, the use of wood was ubiquitous. Today, there is a return to Cabernet Franc. There are always trends.
How do we manage them in our winemaking process and with our constraints in Australia? What works today will probably no longer be relevant tomorrow. We have always wanted to offer consumers an alternative by offering, on the one hand, wines from a single region, such as RWT Shiraz, from the Barossa and aged in French oak, and, on the other hand, wines from several regions, such as Bin 707, our iconic Cabernet Sauvignon, which is hugely successful all over the world. It is a multi-regional blend, aged in American oak, sold at prices similar to those of Grange. We seek to provide choice.
With the desire not to please everyone?
Grange is a sure bet, as is Bin 707. The challenge is to maintain them at this level while remaining attentive to trends. When I started, wines such as Bin 150, Bin 169 and RWT did not exist. These creations are not mere distractions, but responses to market developments and consumer tastes. Today, we are proud of Grange because it remains true to itself. Other wines, such as Bin 389, nicknamed ‘Baby Grange’, may evolve slightly from year to year, particularly in terms of the proportions of Cabernet Sauvignon and new oak used for ageing. Grange, on the other hand, is always aged in 100% new oak. In fact, for us, this is a good indicator. If a wine cannot withstand this ageing process, then it is not Grange.
Anticipating consumer expectations, particularly those of younger generations, is essential today. What is Penfolds doing in this area?
Since 1998, we have had an experimental range of wines and we have developed our first ‘natural wine’ from Sangiovese, although we do not market it as such. We also offer a Pinot Noir and a Tempranillo aimed at customers and sommeliers who want something new.
For the first time ever, sales of rosé and white wines have surpassed those of red wines worldwide. Does Australia, which mainly produces red wines, plan to rebalance its production?
Market dynamics are complex. We must not be arrogant and reject rosé production on the pretext that it is not noble enough. We have already explored this category and currently offer an entry-level rosé as part of the Max’s programme. It is not a segment to be ignored.
Trends are changing. Rosé has never disappeared in Australia, but it is enjoying a resurgence of interest. We also offer reds that respond to these trends, lighter wines made from Pinot Noir or Syrah. Many of our wines are medium-bodied and are not aged in new oak barrels. Bin 138, for example, is a Barossa wine whose blend varies from year to year: sometimes dominated by Grenache, sometimes by Mourvèdre or Syrah. It is medium-bodied. So there is something for everyone. But innovation should not be an end in itself. I often say that a new car is only new for six months. We must also be careful about this obsession with renewal. New product launches generate revenue, but the real challenge is to sell wines that have been around for ten or twenty years. That is why the development of new products must be based on quality.
TASTING NOTES
Whites
Bin 311 Chardonnay 2024
Classic barrel-aged Chardonnay, fresh butter, floral and yellow fruit, creamy, velvety, fairly conventional. 87
Reserve Bin A Chardonnay 2024
Quite intense nose with peppery floral notes, white fruit and citrus. Sleek and comfortable on the palate, with a certain tension, a fruity finish, delicious and full-bodied. 90
Yattarna Chardonnay 2023
Penfolds’ iconic Chardonnay cuvée imposes a real minerality, combined with notes of lemon and zest; long and straight body, offering a chiselled length, without frills, very vertical and deep. Great energetic intensity, promising future. 94
Reds
Bin 28 Shiraz 2023
Intense but fresh black fruit and peppery floral notes, generous and exuberant on the palate, fleshy with fairly firm tannins, classic and contemporary. 88
Bin 407 CS 2023
Fresh red and black fruits, spicy finish, coated tannins supporting a fleshy and balanced body, freshness and style, accessible with depth. 91
Bin 389 CS Shiraz 23
Full-bodied and fleshy, with generous, spicy fruit and integrated oak, a comfortable and generous wine with great accessible flavour. 92
RWT Bin 798 Barossa Valley Shiraz 2023
Quite demonstrative oak but the volume is there, as is the spicy, deep fruit. It is generous, intense, powerful and still needs time. Big, ripe tannic structure. 94
Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon 2023
Brilliant, smooth and intense Cabernet Sauvignon, refined tannins, red fruit and pepper, lively and robust finish, lots of energy, superb. 96
Grange 2021
Deep, brilliant colour, refined and very complex nose, combining black fruit, meat juice, fine woodiness and very refined floral touches. Smooth, refined body, super elegant tannins, style and depth, a great, harmonious and precise wine, beautiful, indulgent persistence, superb length. 98
World, reds
FWT 585, Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Petit Verdot 2022, France
Fresh and expressive red fruit, discreet woodiness, comfortable and round, good freshness, a direct and simple wine, but with great frankness and natural fruitiness. 90
FWT 543 Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah 2022, France
Spicy and fruity, a fleshy, modern wine, well-balanced with depth and a certain power, a beautiful, intense and fleshy blend. 92
Bin 704 Cab 2022, USA
Napa Generous, rich, straightforward and exciting, beautiful black and red fruit, quite brilliant. 93
Bin 600 Cab Shiraz 2022 , Napa, Paso Robles
Ample, full-bodied and indulgent, peppery and generous, with a delicious balance, but not very deep or persistent. 92
Grange La Chapelle 2021 Australia-France
50% Grange, 50% La Chapelle, a beautiful, very harmonious blend with ultra-precise tannins, a nose of bright black and red berries, a smooth, precise and intense finish, and remarkable volume. The best of both worlds. 98
