Penfolds RWT Shiraz 2009
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Braised guinea fowl, house cured pancetta, Dutch creams and native thyme (Magill Estate Restaurant).
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RWT (unromantically derived from “Red Wine Trial”) is 100% Barossa Valley Shiraz, aged in 100% French oak. In some vintages, like this one, the combination is incredibly sumptuous, offering layers of blueberry and blackberry fruit intermingled elegantly with hints of French vanilla. It’s long, subtle and complex on the finish—a stunning effort. It’s approachable now, but should age well through 2030 or so.
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Wine Spectator
Dark and dense, with firm tannins around a juicy core of black cherry and spice flavors. This lingers well on the finish.
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Wine & Spirits
Grange-level fruit aged in new French oak, RWT is a big, bosomy Barossa shiraz in 2009, huge, warm and gamey. There's dark meatiness and cedary spice over the wine's blueberry and cherry richness. All baby fat for now, this may grow more structured and detailed with age.
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Penfolds has been producing remarkable wines since 1844 and indisputably led the development of Australian fine wine in the modern era. The introduction of Penfolds Grange in 1951 forever changed the landscape of Australian fine wine. Since then a series of stand-out wines both white and red have been released under the Penfolds masthead.
Peter Gago, Penfolds Chief Winemaker and only the 4th custodian of Grange, relishes the opportunity to bring Penfolds to the world stage and is an enthusiastic ambassador and natural educator. Penfolds came to the attention of the US market when 1990 Grange was Wine Spectator’s ‘Wine of the Year’. Since then, Penfolds Grange has become one of the most collectable wines of the world and was honored to grace the front cover, once again, of Wine Spectator, with declarations of Grange as Australia’s Icon.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Historically and presently the most important wine-producing region of Australia, the Barossa Valley is set in the Barossa zone of South Australia, where more than half of the country’s wine is made. Because the climate is very hot and dry, vineyard managers work diligently to ensure grapes reach the perfect levels of phenolic ripeness.
The intense heat is ideal for plush, bold reds, particularly Shiraz on its own or Rhône Blends. Often Shiraz and Cabernet partner up for plump and powerful reds.
While much less prevalent, light-skinned varieties such as Riesling, Viognier or Semillon produce vibrant Barossa Valley whites.
Most of Australia’s largest wine producers are based here and Shiraz plantings date back as far as the 1850s or before. Many of them are dry farmed and bush trained, still offering less than one ton per acre of inky, intense, purple juice.