Price:	QTY:
Penfolds RWT Barossa Valley Shiraz 2006 Mattinson once commented (privately mind you, so I hope I don’t get into trouble) that when it comes to wine reviews, people are mainly interested in a score and an opinion. I agree and you’ll get both here, but not much of a tasting note in a technical sense. Why exactly this happened, I don’t know - I suspect I was concentrating on evaluating the wine more than writing snippets down. Anyway, I opened this on night one, tasted it briefly and thought "Nap. That’s more backwards than than the Alabama State Board of Education." The second night it was coming along beautifully, although not really ready to drink. Musky and full of blackberry and plum with toasty dark chocolate and vanilla oak - typically RWT (silly name) with the oak being less overt and better taken up than in previous vintages. It’s tight but smooth and remarkably fresh and lithe for such a big strong wine and there’s an attractive savouriness in the flavour profile too - bitter chocolate and olives if you were looking for specifics. The structure and intensity vibrates long after swallowing. Needs plenty of time but it’s pretty impressive stuff - and so it should be considering the price. Drink : 2016 - 2030+ 96 points Gary Walsh, The Wine Front 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. Vineyard Region: Barossa Valley