Grange back on top; Tolpuddle shines

Penfolds Grange has regained its spot as Australia's most popular wine collectible. 

Wine Ark, Australia’s largest wine storage provider and retailer of vintage wines, has released its report card on the wine cellars of Australia, showing Grange has overtaken the much more affordable Penfolds Bin 389 as the most collected wine in the country.

Wine Ark’s Most Collected Wines is a survey of the company's cellars, which hold two million bottles of wine in climate-controlled conditions. 

The list of the 50 most collected wines was first released in 2006 and is the only report of its kind in the country that measures the cellars of Australian wine collectors.

John Cuff, CEO of Wine Ark, said, “Due to the number of bottles in the count, it takes a large change to shift wines in the top 10. 

"The rise of Penfolds Grange to be the most collected wine in Australia, which is also one of the country’s most expensive wines, again emphasises the importance of this iconic wine to Australian wine collectors”.

It was though not all good news for Penfolds and other well-established wineries. 

“We are seeing a big shift away from large wineries," Cuff said. "The popularity of old cellar staples of Penfolds, Wynn's and Lindeman's is generally falling while a new breed of wineries is rising quickly. These include Tyrrell’s, Rockford, Turkey Flat and Tolpuddle Vineyard."

Tasmania’s Tolpuddle Vineyard Pinot Noir moved up 101 places to enter the top 50, underlining the increased interest by collectors in premium wines from small wineries. The fact it is made in tiny quantities makes this even more remarkable. 

"We are very excited that Tolpuddle Vineyard (below) is moving up Wine Arks Collectors’ Hit Parade,” said Michael Hill-Smith MW.

”When we bought the property in 2011 we believed that Tolpuddle Vineyard had the potential to be one of Australia’s great single vineyards. Tolpuddle is a special vineyard making small quantities of highly acclaimed individual wines from an interesting place. You can understand our excitement.” 

A quick snapshot of Wine Ark’s list of Australia's Most Collected Wines 2019:

• Most popular wine brand:  Penfolds (eight entries)
• Most popular wine region:  1st: Barossa (nine entries), 2nd: Hunter Valley (six entries)
• Most popular varietal: shiraz (25 entries)
• Most popular state: South Australia (27 entries)
• The most collected Shiraz: Penfolds Grange #1 (Multi-regional)
• The most collected Cabernet Shiraz: Penfolds 389 #2 (Multi-regional)
• The most collected Cabernet Blend: Lake’s Folly #4 (Hunter Valley)
• The most collected Cabernet Sauvignon: Moss Wood #6 (Margaret River)
• The most collected Riesling: Grosset Polish Hill #11 (Clare Valley)
• The most collected Chardonnay: Leeuwin Estate #10 (Margaret River)
• The most collected Pinot Noir: Mount Mary #30 (Yarra Valley)

All the details of Australia’s Most Collected Wines can be found at www.wine-ark.com.au/australias-collected-wines-2019/