Yvonne Lorkin: Guest judging an Australian idol

The Penfolds Collection is a living piece of Australian history, 170 years in the making.

Shall we double-decant the Granges?" isn't something I hear everyday. In fact my days are normally, "Do you want fries with that?" or "What'll it be; trim or full fat?" But for a wine nerd like me, "Shall we double-decant the Granges?" is akin to hearing fairy-tale utterances such as "Mr Clooney, Mr Pitt and Mr Depp are here to see you, madam", or "Shall we take the Bentley or the Bugatti to the polo?"

On a blisteringly bright Melbourne afternoon some weeks ago, I was bundled into an elevator with an army of wine writers from around the traps and hurtled to the top of the building and a space known as "Luminaire". We'd been gathered together to sip our way through the Penfolds Collection, a group of wines that since 1844 has built up a pedigree of pow factor still capturing the attention of the wine world.

And Kiwi wine lovers are no exception. For a nation of just 4.4 million, we've had an unslakeable thirst for Penfolds wines ever since they crossed the ditch, with collectors snapping up what little we can to squirrel away and bring out only on special occasions like birthdays, weddings and when the All Blacks win a World Cup.

Penfolds Grange is the most famous wine produced in the Southern Hemisphere. It is listed as a Heritage Icon of South Australia and is also the only wine that can claim to have single-handedly collapsed the career of a New South Wales Premier (he lied about being given a bottle of 1959 as a gift from Australia Water Holdings). It boasts an unbroken line of vintages since Max Schubert had a crack at making "a red wine capable of staying alive for a minimum of twenty years" in secret back in 1951. It's also the only wine to have increased in price by a whopping $200 a bottle over the past four years - global recession anyone?

AMBER GLOW: Tastings from the Collection included the $3500 special release 50 Year Old Rare Tawny (left) and the 2008, 2009 and (new) 2010 Penfolds Grange vintages (right).

On this day, I'd get to taste the 2008, the 2009 and the shiny new 2010 vintage, a wine custodian Peter Gago publicly announced as the best he'd seen from a vintage where nothing went wrong. I was trying to stay cool, but inside my excitement was volcanic.

As we silently sipped our way through a comprehensive selection of their Icon, luxury, special bins, cellar reserves and bin wines, it dawned on me that the Penfolds people had been extremely clever in their planning of this tasting. Completely surrounded by floor-to-ceiling glass, we looked out over Melbourne's city skyline silhouetted in the late afternoon sun, helicopters hovering above snaking motorways, puffs of cloud snailing their way across the horizon and jumbo jets coasting in and taking off from the distant airport. It was so beautiful in fact that when Gago himself sidled up to me and whispered, "How are you finding the wine?" just as I slurped a mouthful of the 2012 Yattarna Chardonnay, I found myself saying, "Peter, I could be drinking wombat wee right now and it'd still taste like ambrosia of the angels".

To be fair, Penfolds Senior White Winemaker Kim Schroeder has crafted something stunning in the Yattarna. With its exotic, grilled grapefruit, roast peach and hazelnut butter aromas and a palate bursting with clean, fresh citrus lines cloaked in creamy, cashew-like richness, it is exquisite. I try really hard to forget I'm sipping wine in such a salubrious environment and imagine I'm back in my pokey little office where all things are equal - but it's bloody hard.

Of the three Granges, the 2009 was my favourite to drink now. The 08 had aromas of Snifters (the lollies), milk chocolate, intense plum, spice and robust oak. Lifted violets, sweet Christmas pudding characters, nutty nuances and a warm, velvet ribbon-like quality, it was seamless and pretty.

"That year we had 16 days above 35 degrees in South Australia and three days over 38C," offers Penfolds senior red winemaker Steve Lienert. The 09 had a blend of buoyant florals and dusty, carpentry workshop notes on the nose and a profound density on the palate. It somehow balances plump, berry and spice generosity with poise, restraint and elegance. Like Bruce Lee's one-inch-punch, you don't see its power until it hits you. I couldn't fault it.

Last but not least, I was treated to a thimbleful of the Penfolds 50 Year Old Rare Tawny, of which only 330 bottles were made. At an eyewatering $3600 per bottle (one's available at glengarrywines.co.nz), this inaugural release contains components dating back to 1915 and material from 1940, 1945 and post-war decades, capturing almost a century of fortified history in one blend. It was crafted to commemorate Penfolds 170th year and sipping it was one of the most special moments in wine I've ever experienced. A deep amber, raisin juice colour, it smelled like caramelised malt, fig paste and ancient fruitcake complete with fossilised almond icing - like that slab of your parents wedding cake from 1973. Silky and sensuous with honeyed sweetness, it's rich and velvety, leaving a layer of scorched toffee, coffee and cocoa on the finish. It was an unspeakably gorgeous thing to drink.

Penfolds New Releases
2010 Bin 95 Grange $835
2012 Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon $350
2012 RWT Barossa Valley Shiraz $220
2012 Magill Estate Shiraz $180
2012 Bin 144 Yattarna Chardonnay $130
2011 St Henri Shiraz $100
2012 Reserve Bin A Adelaide Hills Chardonnay $100
2012 Bin 150 Marananga Shiraz $70
2012 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz $70
2012 Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon $70
2012 Kalmina Bin 28 Shiraz $30

Sips of the week

Penfolds Grange 2010, $835

Impenetrably glossy in the glass, wafts of dried bouquet-garni herbs cloak a core of red fruits, chocolate, quince and pepper. Four per cent cabernet sauvignon and injected with a splash of berry concentration, soaked in spice and saturated in a pure, powerful acid spine. The tannins are tightly coiled, ready to unleash in decades to come.

Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2012, $30

This wine represents insanely good value for money. It smells fruity and ripe and edged with liquorice. It oozes boysenberry and the roasting juices of cocoa-nib dusted venison, pillowy and plush on the palate, with pot-pourri and cough-drop flavours. Fantastic.