Accolades and a price war greet new Grange

There were parties and intimate gatherings for tastings as far away as London on Thursday for the global release of one of the world's most prestigious wines, Penfolds Grange, with retailers in Australia battling it out in a race to the bottom to have the cheapest price for the 2008 vintage.

With the kind of buzz usually reserved for the arrival of a royal birth, the launch in the early hours of Thursday morning of the 2008 Grange grabbed the attention of wine buffs worldwide.

A respected international wine critic awarded the vintage a score of 100 out of 100, the first time in 40 years the label had carried such a score, while demand for a bottle was intensified by limited supply and Penfolds exporting a great quantity, especially to China.

In South Australia at the spiritual home of Penfolds Grange, the Magill Estate Winery, a bell was rung as the sun came up over the vineyards and the cellar door was opened to the public to taste and buy the 2008 vintage. Penfolds chief winemaker Peter Gago said that after he first inspected the grapes that would create the 2008 vintage, he knew he had something special.

''Right through the winemaking process we thought we had a very good wine,'' he said. ''Is it worth 100 points? Well, that's for others to say, but a number of respected wine magazines in the old world, as well as the new world, have given it a perfect score.''

Mr Gago said weather during the growing period suggested the vintage would be less than perfect.

''Well, to be honest, 2008 won't go down as one of the great vintages for the Barossa. There was a 15-day heatwave in March, right in the midst of the picking season.''

Retailers began a Grange price war. At 5am Dan Murphy's offered it for $669 - well below the recommended retail price of $785. Rival 1st Choice matched it but both were beaten by Costco, with $649.99. Dan Murphy's and 1st Choice cut their price to meet Costco but then Costco dropped it to $645. By the afternoon Dan Murphy's dropped its price to $645 too.

Critics take a sip

Huon Hooke: ‘‘If anything it’s better than ever, the quality of the tannins finer and the oak barrels of better quality resulting in more subtle oak-derived flavours. The wine does taste old-fashioned beside our modern, cutting-edge shirazes, though. And it’s not a wine of terroir, which is the fashion these days, as it’s a blend of regions and is more about house style.’’

Ralph Kyte-Powell:‘‘Grange’s style is remarkably consistent and the 2008 is a great example. Assessing one vintage as better than another is difficult with a big, brawny, oaky, impenetrable, unevolved red wine like Grange. Vintage differences probably don’t reveal themselves until the wines are 20-plus years old.’’