Penfolds, whose flagship wine is ultra–premium Grange, is the most popular brand among Australian fine wine collectors, one of the country’s largest wine storage companies claims.
The Sydney-based Wine Ark also revealed that Coonawarra is the most popular wine region among collectors.
The company, which estimates it has more than half the national wine storage market, has released an analysis of 3 million bottles of wine worth AUS$250m held in 8,500 private collections.
The list is based on the number of bottles of each wine in storage, and Wine Ark chief executive, Dean Taylor, believes it is a reasonable national representation.
It shows that Foster’s-owned Penfolds has eight of the top 50 wines with Wynn’s Coonawarra Estate, also owned by Foster’s, the next most popular with three of the top 50.
South Australia is the top state with 60% of the top 50 coming from it.
Coonawarra is the dominant region, providing 22% of the top 50 and 46% of the wines are Shiraz, making it the most collected variety.
‘It shows how much Australians have embraced Shiraz,’ Taylor said.
In contrast, no Pinot Noir made the top 50 but, said Taylor, Australia was still developing the variety and not a lot was being cellared.
Grange is the most collected Shiraz and red wine – and the most collected wine overall, ahead of cellar-mate Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz blend, which was the leader when Wine Ark released its inaugural list in 2006.
The most collected Pinot Noir was Mount Mary, from the Yarra Valley.
Leeuwin Estate Art Series heads the whites and Chardonnays and was 11th overall, ahead of the top Riesling, Gosset Polish Hill, which was 13th, and the most collected Semillon, Tyrrell’s Vat 1, placed 26th overall.
Check out our recommendations section for the ten best beers for summer drinking.
Written by Chris Snow in Adelaide
