Penfolds RWT Barossa Valley Shiraz 2004 1.5lt Magnum
Aromas of blackberry, blueberry, chocolate, aniseed, coal, spice and vanilla cedar oak. Perfumed but distinctly Barossan. On the palate full bodied with a mix of red and black berries, plum, licorice, coal and spice backed with creamy toasty oak. A perfectly pitched blend of ripe fruit and savoury flavours. It has plenty of smooth ripe fine grained tannins, a sense of freshness, and a fine sense of balance. Finishes long with powdery tannins and savoury flavours of clove and licorice. Beautiful wine with its best days still a long way in front of it. Drink : 2014 - 2024 95 Points Gary Walsh, Winorama
96 points - Drink 2024-2034+ Jeremy Oliver
The 2004 Shiraz "RWT" was barrel-fermented and aged for 14 months in 69% new French oak. Opaque purple-colored, it delivers an expressive nose of smoke, leather, grilled bacon, game, blueberry, and licorice. Full-bodied, it is dense, ripe, and layered as well as opulent. More forward than the Magill Estate, this hedonistic Shiraz can be enjoyed now but will continue to evolve for another 8-10 years. 95 points Jay Miller, Wine Advocate # 173 Oct 2007
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
Vintage Conditions: Regular winter rainfalls ensured ideal soil moisture levels and healthy vine growth. Spring and summer temperatures were amongst the lowest on record, which reduced yield potential, as well as slowing overall crop ripening to a crawl. A warm, dry autumn eventuated, which, combined with careful vineyard management, enabled the grapes to reach ideal ripeness.
Grape Variety: Shiraz (Syrah)
Maturation: This wine was matured for 14 months in 66% new and 34% one year old French oak hogsheads.
Deep red with a dark core. A distinctly Barossa nose of dark chocolate, blueberry and a hint of liquorice. Stylish, 'glossy', oak provides an appealing bruleed, waxy lift. Such stylish shiraz fruit and seductive oak instantly invokes aromatic interest.Mouthfilling and expansive, yet at the same time contained and tightly structured. The wine is bigger and richer than the cues afforded by the nose, and undeniably assertive and defined. A generously flavoured RWT with dark berried fruits and spice courted by pronounced ripe tannins, culminating in an impressive lingering finish. Layered, long and luscious with excellent aging potential.
Awards:
Gold, 2003 Royal National Association (Brisbane) Wine Show
Gold, 2003 Canberra Wine Show
There's balance here. It's big, firm, blueberried and mouthfilling, with mounds of fine, filligreed, mature tannin and flavours of dark olive, blackcurrant, musk, salt, and spice-splashed cedar. It's a high and mighty wine of some power and tannin, but it seems to know itself well, it seems confident and compelling. Drink: 2013-2022. 95 points.Campbell Mattinson Winefront Monthly
