~ News Flash! Penfolds Grange 2005 Pre-Arrival Orders Now Being Accepted!! ~

The Largest Selection of Penfolds Grange in Australia

Penfolds Grange is our specialty! If you're looking for a certain vintage of Grange there's a better chance you'll find it here than anywhere else. You won't find any annoying "sold-out" notices, just vintages of Grange from 1952-2005. If a vintage isn't available, check back soon because Grange bottles come and go very quickly.

Bar-Coded Inspection Sticker and Bottle Condition

Cellarit inspects all Penfolds Grange bottles and each bottle is shipped complete with a numbered / bar-coded inspection sticker (pictured). Unless otherwise noted, all Grange is in excellent condition with good fill levels, no evidence of leakage and good labels and capsules. It doesn't mean perfect as there may be minor cosmetic imperfections associated with normal shipping, cellaring, handling or age. Older vintages generally have lower ullage levels than current vintages.

Insured Next-Day Delivery From Perfect Wine Storage

Your Penfolds Grange is delivered next-business-day to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane & Canberra (or a bit longer for other locations) direct from perfect climate-controlled wine storage. Grange bottles love constant temperatures of 14 degrees centigrade and 70% relative humidity so that's what we provide prior to carefully packaging your Grange for its journey to its new home. If you don't have a similarly luxurious resting place for your Grange, it's easy and inexpensive to fix...you can buy Grange and leave it in storage with us until you're ready to drink it. Just tick the storage option at checkout and your wine storage account is opened automatically.

Why Cellarit's Penfolds Grange Prices Are Lower

How can Cellarit sell Penfolds Grange for less, often a lot less, than other retailers? It's because the Grange is for sale on consignment by our wine storage customers and Cellarit works on very narrow commissions, invests in cost-saving technology and passes the savings on to both buyers and sellers. That means Cellarit vendors can offer you a bargain and still come out ahead vs. selling via auction or for cash. So, why do some retailers advertise much higher prices? Mostly it's a matter of rent, staffing, overheads and other economic factors. But, of course, it's not just about price, especially when you're buying older bottles of Grange. Look for evidence of proper storage conditions, a quality inspection process, prompt and courteous responses to your queries and fast, reliable insured delivery (after all, you parted with your money, why wait while your wine sits around in inefficient transit hubs and depots, prolonging the time it's outside of temperature-control conditions?)

Where Do Older Penfolds Grange Bottles Come From?

When you're shopping for Penfolds Grange you may notice that quite a few retailers have various vintages for sale...sometimes at wildly different prices! So, are some Grange bottles better than others and/or are they worth more? Generally, no. Buying older Grange is definitely an example of when you should resist the urge to feel that higher prices means better wine. The fact is that most retailers sell their annual allocations of Grange while they're "hot", e.g., upon release. Very few, if any, retailers invest the capital to "stockpile" more than the most current vintage or two. In other words, retailers don't salt away decades worth of Grange in perfect storage conditions and then sell them years later. So where do older bottles of Penfolds Grange come from? Retailers source the vast majority of Penfolds Grange from collectors, deceased estates, restaurant bankruptcies and the like. Everybody's selling the same bottles of Grange and if the condition is honestly described the only difference is...price and service! There's one major exception and that's bottles certified by the Penfolds Red Wine Clinic.

Penfolds Grange Red Wine Clinic

Some owners of Penfolds Grange bottles take them to a Penfolds Red Wine Clinic where they're opened and tested by a Penfolds winemaker. If the Grange is sound, the bottle is topped-up, recorked, recapsuled and a certification label is affixed to the back of the bottle, signed by the winemaker. Should you buy original bottles of Penfolds Grange or "Clinic" bottles? Some Penfolds Grange buyers and collectors prefer an original Grange that hasn't been opened. Others, perhaps buying a bottle of Grange to drink or give as a gift, prefer bottles certified by the Penfolds Red Wine Clinic. There's no "right" answer, it's a matter of personal preference.

Other Tips to Consider When Buying Penfolds Grange from Cellarit or Elsewhere

• Sometimes the same vintage of Grange is listed at different prices in the Cellarit Wine Market
  »That's because some vendors are more aggressive and want a quick sale
  »We recommend buying the bottle with the best price, it's the same as the other bottles unless there's a condition note indicating otherwise
• Other times there's a reason for different prices for the same vintage. For example,
  »Grange that's certified by the Penfolds Red Wine Clinic sells for a premium price
  »Grange with defects such as a torn label or low ullage level sells for a discount
• Buy Grange certified by the Penfolds Red Wine Clinic if you're worried about the quality of what's in the bottle
  »Cellarit's inspection process and storage conditions go a long way towards verifying and safe-guarding the condition of the wine...but we stop short of opening the bottle and tasting the wine (sigh!)

More Info, History & Details

Penfolds Grange Listings are 100% "Live"

Cellarit Wine Market listings of Penfolds Grange are 100% live, meaning if a Grange is listed below, it's available. When you order you get fast delivery, not excuses! Next-day delivery is available to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra...or just a day or two more for most locations Australia-wide.

Where's My Hermitage?

Sometimes buyers are confused about whether they're buying a bottle of Penfolds Grange Hermitage or Penfolds Grange. The original name of Penfolds Grange Hermitage was shortened to Penfolds Grange from the 1990 vintage onward and most professionals and collectors simply use "Grange" regardless of the vintage.

History of Penfolds Grange Hermitage

From humble beginnings in the 1950s, Penfolds Grange has maintained its place as Australia's most prestigious red wine over four decades. Penfolds Grange is a wine of extraordinary dimension and power. Richly textured, intensely concentrated and packed with fruit sweetness, these wines, regardless of vintage, require medium to long-term cellaring. They develop into immensely complex, beguiling wines that seduce the senses. An Australian icon, Penfolds Grange represents a tradition in winemaking that is totally uncompromising. Penfolds Grange has bypassed the fads and trends of modern winemaking in the sense that it has maintained an integrity of style and remained true to its origins in the mind of Max Schubert. Penfolds Grange is the quality standard against which all other Australian red wines are judged. To share a mature Penfolds Grange, 15 to 20 years old, in fine condition, is one of the great wine experiences. Wine Spectator magazine named the 1990 vintage Penfolds Grange 'The Best Red Wine in the World'. This accolade has sent the price of both the '90 and subsequent vintage releases soaring at auction. (Source: Penfolds.com.au for Penfolds Grange tasting notes)

Penfolds Grange "Export" Label

(Note: Cellarit rarely has "export label" Grange for sale but since it's often available elsewhere, it's good for buyers to understand the term)
Each year Penfolds exports Grange to various markets around the world with slightly different labels. However, there's no doubt that the most "ravenous" Grange market is in Australia. So, if Penfolds exports a significant portion of a vintage it can create a vacuum of domestic demand and retailers and others "import" Grange back from offshore. Should I buy export label Grange? So long as the bottle is in good condition, you can buy it and enjoy it with confidence. That said, export label Grange generally trades for a discounted price because collectors prefer domestic Grange so all the bottles in their collection look the same and because, given the choice, Australian buyers simply prefer the look of the domestic label, it's what they're familiar with.

Penfolds Grange Reviews by Robert Parker

The Cellarit Penfolds Grange page includes additional information such as wine reviews for many of the Penfolds Grange vintages as well as user reviews. Please feel free to add your opinion about your favourite Grange! Just click on the icon next to any Grange on the list below to read reviews by Robert Parker and others.

Interested in Selling Penfolds Grange? We can help! 

It's easy to sell Penfolds Grange via the Cellarit Wine Market. Enjoy lower commissions and higher proceeds...plus free transport! To find out how to sell your Penfolds Grange or other wines with Cellarit please visit our Sell Wine section for information and how to get started.

Returns & Transit Insurance

As discussed in various sections above, Cellarit sells Penfolds Grange on consignment, similar to an auction house. We make every effort to inspect the condition of the bottles and to make a note if there are significant defects. However, we cannot guarantee what's inside the bottle. Grange and other wine from Cellarit is sold "as-is" and Cellarit does not replace or refund corked or otherwise "faulty" bottles. By way of explanation, we work on very narrow margins and can't afford to absorb the cost of corked bottles because we can't return them to a wholesaler or winery and get a refund like wine retailers can. It's not a situation we're happy about but any other policy for us is economic suicide. If that's a "deal-breaker" for you, we understand and apologise. You might prefer to pay more money (hopefully not too much more!) from a retailer with a "no-questions-asked" refund policy that delivers on that promise in the unfortunate event that the Grange inside the bottle isn't in top condition. Your best assurance for what's inside the bottle is to buy Grange that's been inspected by the Penfolds Red Wine Clinic.

Transit insurance is included in the delivery price of your order and covers breakage, no-delivey, theft and other perils during transit but not heat damage (we recommend keeping your Grange in storage with Cellarit until the summer months have passed). Please click on the 'Terms & Conditions' link for full details.

Did you know that...

• wine gifts & champagne gift delivery are a Cellarit specialty?
• when you buy wine online you can take advantage of Cellarit's special buy & cellar option?

Questions? See: Wine Market Info l Wine Market FAQs Or Please Contact Us