The Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) share price finished in the red today amid news a rival could be coming for a Penfolds icon.
A Victorian winery has launched its own luxury shiraz and media are reporting it could compete with Penfolds Grange.
As of Thursday's close, the Treasury Wine share price is $11.66, down 1.02% on the day.
For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gained 0.12% today.
Let's take a closer look at the newest entrant in Australia's premium wine market.
Is Penfolds Grange facing new competition?
Move over Penfolds, another luxury shiraz is hitting the market. This time, it's from Victoria.
Yarra Valley winery Levantine Hill Estate has launched what is expected to be Victoria's most expensive new release wine – with an $800 per bottle price tag.
It's released the 2017 Levantine Hill Optume Shiraz and the 2017 Levantine Hill Optume Cabernet Sauvignon.
The wines are extremely limited. Only 65 dozen of the shiraz and 58 dozen of the cabernet sauvignon will be available to purchase.
And while Levantine Hill owner and founder Elias Jreissati describes the wine as the "polar opposite" of Penfolds Grange, he told The Australian it will compete with the South Australian icon on price point.
Optume is entirely created in the Yarra Valley. Though, the bottles it's sold in are imported from France.
It's made using the region's best cabernet sauvignon and shiraz, creating what Levantine Hill managing director Samantha Jreissati describes as "the optimum expression of a GI-specific, cool climate wine".
Though, Optume is still slightly cheaper than Grange. The most affordable bottle of Grange is priced at $950 while the most expensive retails at $2,500.
Not to mention, a bottle of Penfolds Grange Hermitage Bin 1 Shiraz 1951 was sold at auction for $157,624 in December 2021, making it the most expensive bottle of Australian wine ever sold.
Treasury Wine share price snapshot
It's unlikely today's comparisons between Penfolds Grange and Levantine Hill Optume have dampened the Treasury Wine share price but the company's stock has been struggling on its own lately. It has fallen 6.3% since the start of 2022. For comparison, the ASX 200 has fallen 2.7% over the same time frame.
However, the Treasury Wine share price is still 7.4% higher than it was this time last year. That's not far off the benchmark index's 8.8% gain.
