Château Yaldara Grand Cuvée Shiraz 2021 is one of the most expensive bottles we’ve opened to date—and it knows it. This Barossa Valley Shiraz arrives dressed for attention, with a bold black label, deep glass, and 15% ABV that hints at both power and polish. It leads with presence, and leans hard into its prestige cues. But does the experience go deeper than the design?
Penfolds Max’s Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 was the final bottle in our Max’s trio. After tasting the Shiraz and Shiraz Cabernet earlier in the week, this Cabernet arrived with quiet confidence. The label—Penfolds’ classic presentation with Max Schubert’s profile tucked into the corner—remains as refined and familiar as ever.
Penfolds Max’s Shiraz 2022 carries a quiet reverence within its uniform red-capsule bottles—an homage to Max Schubert, the original creator of Grange. It arrives with understated visual cues, but a reputation that nudges expectations upward. After recently tasting the Shiraz Cabernet from the same range, we approached this bottle with curiosity.