Penfolds RWT Bin798 Shiraz 2019 (gift box)

 

A strident RWT with a regional signature of tar and coal smoke to the ripe plums and blackberries. Such intense, ripe dark-plum and blackberry drive on powerful, deep-set tannins that run long through the finish. Contained power. Drink over the next decade.

 

Longtime readers will know of my personal fondness for this wine, going back nearly to its first vintage, the 1997. That said, the 2019 RWT Shiraz Bin 798 continues this wine's impressive run, artfully combining hedonistic waves of mixed fruit with the balancing and structural effects of 18 months in French oak hogsheads (57% new, with the balance second-fill). Dark chocolate and vanilla notes join blackberries and plums on the concentrated, full-bodied palate, picking up hints of coffee, black olives and licorice on the long, silky-textured finish. This should easily age up to two decades.""

 

Rich and succulent, oozing with milk chocolate, salted caramel and kirsch flavors, with dense and toothsome tannins that are polished and refined. Blackberry and spiced plum flavors show clove, cumin and white pepper accents, with a sweet note of spearmint lingering on the long, expressive finish. Drink now through 2045.

 

Penfolds RWT Shiraz presents an admirable alternative to the multi-regional sourcing and American oak maturation that are hallmarks of Grange, expressing instead, single-region Barossa Valley shiraz matured in French oak barriques. The initials RWT stand for ´Red Winemaking Trial´, the name given to the project internally when developmental work began in 1995. RWT Shiraz was launched in May 2000 with the 1997 vintage. Its style is opulent and fleshy, contrasting with Grange, which is more muscular and assertive. RWT is made from fruit primarily selected for its aromatic qualities and fine texture rather than sheer intensity or power of flavour. The result is a wine that helps to redefine Barossa shiraz at the highest quality level.