Rich and opulent, the 2018 RWT Bin 798 Shiraz reveals layers of dark berries, cocoa, spice and silky tannins. Aged in French oak, it balances plush fruit with elegance and depth, built to age gracefully for decades.

The Wine Advocate | RP 98
Published: Jul 22, 2020
Drink: 2022-2040

Sourced only from the Barossa Valley, RWT is aged exclusively in French oak, giving it two major points of difference from the rest of the Penfolds range. Always a sexy, voluptuous wine (and admittedly a personal favorite), the 2018 RWT Shiraz ratchets that up to new heights in a great Barossa vintage, boasting layers of berry-like fruit, refined vanilla shadings and baking-spice notes, plus more exotic elements like star anise and cocoa powder. It's full-bodied and plush without being unstructured in any way, with a lingering, complex finish and the concentration to age two decades or more.. 

Jamessuckling.com | JS 96
Published: Sep 11, 2020
Penfolds RWT Shiraz
This has a very attractively fresh, showy feel to the nose with aromas of ripe red cherries, blackberries, goji berries and redcurrants, as well as red plums and some wild-herb and licorice notes on offer, too. Very expressive and fragrant. The palate has a super intense and powerful delivery of ripe red-cherry and plum flavors and immaculately fresh French oak (64% new) that really clasps and holds the finish long. The tannins are so ripe and well positioned. Drink over two decades.

Decanter | D 96
Published: Jul 7, 2020
Drink 2022-2050

 Plush and opulent, this bombshell in a striking oak corset makes an exuberant entry, striding down the red carpet with its ample fruit talking in a bright, effusive voice. After that brassy entry it settles in the glass, its blackberry and brulée flavours singing softly atop a bed of powdery tannins, and the nutty, cedar tones framing a long finish. Having changed so much since its inaugural 1997 vintage, RWT ('Red Winemaking Trial') has never presented its fruit so voluptuously and immediately, with oak now part of the supporting cast rather than playing the star role. 
Closure: Cork
Alcohol: 14.50%
Body: Full
Oak: Oaked
Grapes: 100% Syrah / Shiraz

Penfolds.com

The initials RWT stand for ‘Red Winemaking Trial’, the name given to the project internally when developmental work began in 1995. Naturally, now no longer a ‘trial’, RWT Shiraz was launched in May 2000 with the 1997 vintage. The alphanumeric Bin designation 798 was bestowed upon the wine from the 2016 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 plush texture. The result is a wine that helps to redefine Barossa shiraz at the highest quality level. RWT wines area built for the long haul, with the precision, concentration and balance to age for many years.

- 2018 -

Colour
Great depth of crimson. Lustre, brilliance.

Nose
Blueberry RWT markers thrust ahead of goji berry and loganberry fruits.
An aromatic swirl of choc/hazelnut/liquorice propels all that is RWT style and class.
Thereon, lifted scents of just glazed crème brûlée and wafts of icing sugar.
Barrel-ferment and ferric overtones gently bring all back down to ground level – Barossa iron/earths no less.

Palate
Viscous and lush. An immediate supple fleshiness, liveliness. At release, during this primary fruit stage – berried ice-cream and black forest cake fruits unfold – redcurrant and blackberry. Powdery tannins – silky and glossy – offer textbook velvet/cashmere texture. So smooth!
Dense, verging on unctuous, without any reliance or concession to alcohol or oak.
Wonderful length, depth, balance.

Vintage conditions
2018 Vintage
Rainfall in autumn was below average, a trend that continued into the early weeks of winter with only 25% of the long-term average achieved in June. Increased rainfall occurred in the second half of winter, with vines entering the growing season with moisture profiles well into the root zone, down to one metre. Conditions favoured canopy development in spring, initially dry before plentiful rainfall in November. Temperatures warmed substantially through spring boosting vine growth and rushing the vines through flowering. Summer was dry, with no recorded major rain events. This carried into January with a heat spike around veraison causing vines to stall, pushing the start of vintage out by a week or so. The warm, dry weather carried into autumn, setting up an Indian summer with favourable conditions for ripening grapes. A very strong vintage for Barossa Valley shiraz.