Australia: John Duval

John Duval has had a fortunate career, graduating in agriculture and winemaking in 1973 at Adelaide University and then following in the footsteps of some of the greats of Australian winemaking such as Max Schubert, the creator of Penfolds Grange and Don Ditter, another famous Penfolds winemaker who mentored him in the 1970s and early '80s. He was appointed Chief Winemaker at Penfolds in 1986 and was lucky enough to oversee one of the most dynamic periods of change in the Australian wine industry. With the support of his team in the Barossa he secured a number of awards for the company - Winemaker of the Year at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in London in 1989; Red Winemaker of the Year at the International Wine Challenge in London in 1991 and again in 2000; and seeing the 1990 Penfolds Grange named the Wine of the Year by the prestigious US magazine Wine Spectator in 1995. Since leaving Penfolds, he has consulted to a number of international wine companies in Europe, South America and Australia. John Duval Wines will never be another Penfolds - it is simply his chance to express my 40 plus years of premium winemaking knowledge using some of the best fruit in the world.

Download Tasting Note